Ways to Digitize Material Surfaces — and Which Surfaces Need Which Method

Flat-bed Scanning

The best possible way to digitize a surface is to bring a sample to the device that’s natively designed to capture all aspects of a surface under controlled, ideal conditions. While this method is preferable, not all surfaces can be captured this way for various reasons.

👌 Pro tip
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Best for: fabrics, carpets, wallpapers, laminate, floor boards, veneers

Advantages: extremely color-accurate, high-detail, perfect for seamless patterns, captures also transparency
Challenges: works with thinner materials with minimal height differences in the structure
What’s needed: Samples of an advised size sent to our digitization department

ℹ️ At Reawote we currently operate two large flat-bed scanners.

Photogrammetry

This method is generally used for large scale applied surfaces that cannot be transported such as whole walls, roofs, facades etc. A specialist is sent to capture the surface on-site with a professional camera or a drone.

Best for: stones, roof tiles, floor bricks, pavements, concretes, asphalt, plasters
Advantages: captures surfaces on-site – no need for sample shipments
Challenges: more demanding in post-production, not ideal conditions (lighting…)
What’s needed: Access to the site where material is implemented.

ℹ️ A lot of general materials in our 3D asset library (reawote.com) have been captured this way (roads, stone walls, pavements, grass, leaves, snow etc.)

3D Reconstruction

We use this method for surfaces that are more structured, i.e. have larger height differences in the pattern, or for very shiny metallic surfaces.

Best for: decorative panels, structured tiles, embossed surfaces, metals, fences, perforated panels
Advantages: real geometry, rotatable, works great for close-ups
Challenges: longer production time, more technical setup
What’s needed: photos or 3D models

The output is always seamless, i.e. tileable and in PBR format containing all the necessary bitmaps telling 3D software how to work with the surface. We’ll cover PBR more in depth later on.