How I 3D scanned a whole freakin' mountain range with a drone | FULL WORKFLOW

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In today's video, i'm rock climbing a mountain and 3D scanning the entire thing from the top. I'll be guiding you through my aerial photogrammetry process, breaking down important tips for you while scanning on-location, and running you through the entire post process in Reality Capture. We'll go over stitching our data set together, meshing our point cloud, and baking hi-res textures to a simplified mesh. And in the end, we'll view our final scans in Unreal Engine 5 after buildilng a customizable master material. So gear up, and let's get scanning!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:33 What is Photogrammetry?
01:33 Aerial Scanning Tips
03:57 Photoscanning a Mountain!
06:31 Intro to Reality Capture
07:55 Processing our Images in Lightroom
10:15 Aligning our Images in Reality Capture
12:47 Meshing our Point Cloud
15:25 Cleaning our Mesh
16:54 Texturing our Mesh
18:35 Simplifying our Mesh
19:28 Unwrapping our Simplified Mesh
20:10 Texture Reprojection
21:16 Export
22:39 Importing our Scan into Unreal Engine 5
24:01 Creating a Customizable Master Material
30:02 Final Results
REFERENCES:
3D Scanning Basics: • The Ultimate Guide to ...
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[@quinncarlson640]

As an avid rock climber all the work in this video is incredible, mad respect to you and Jan for that adventure and then immortalizing it with the scan!

[@pwnisher]

Man what an experience that was. I'm used to multipitching, but the idea of dropping something hundreds of feet was just utterly terrifying.

[@quinncarlson640]

@@pwnisher definitely a tradeoff when climbing where you have to sacrifice a little bit of your comfort zone for a great experience!

[@telebeam6144]

I don't do 3d work. I have no interest in doing 3d work. And yet I consistently become engrossed by these lengthy-ass tutorials just on the power Clint's specificity and obvious passion. True champ.

[@pwnisher]

Heck yeah!! Thanks so much for checking this out 🙏🏼

[@LaSerpentDEden]

Having followed Clint from the beginnings of corridor back to this channel is such a mind-blowing experience. I just can't stop watching and being inspired by Clint in the same way he gets inspired by others. It feels indescribable

[@ranchy9264]

Thank you so much for doing this! I'm just getting started with 3d scanning and having access to this incredibly thorough documentation is amazing😁

[@sotomonte_]

Four minutes in, and as I expected, this video is very SPECIAL!!! I can't wait to re-watch it with better internet whenever I get home from vacations at the highest quality. It's clear how hard you worked on this video, and the result speaks for itself. Much love!

[@danwallace2900]

From start to finish this was a fantastic tutorial, thanks Clint! Also being a rock climber this gets me excited to photoscan some of my favorite outdoor climbs.

[@dani6816]

Currently the best 3D guy on youtube! , you are doing the right things for us , also maintaining an awesome community in discord , man THANK YOU!

[@pwnisher]

Hahahha i try, and can't do it alone! Thanks for your kind words!

[@MaxNovakTutorials]

Love your channel man! Been getting more into UE lately and its been a ton of fun.

[@JimiJames]

Clint, you are the man. The first portion of this video really made me feel inspired. I love the integration of your hobbies.

[@AlphaCharlieDroneServices]

That was a superb workflow and thorough explanation! I just started learning UE5 and this was so easy for me to follow. Thanks for uploading!

[@Nidy1135]

Impressive work, both the climbing and the art. I like your tutorial style, specially that you cover the details. Keep it up😁!

[@michaelhere985]

Top notch quality content as always pwnisher. Such a great video!

[@Katzenha]

Insane! I love the energy to make something really special and cool. Big probs to you and your team

[@LuxoJunior]

Ahhh Clint! Epic & chill, this was the best thank you ❤️

[@TripTilt]

awesome action and results!

[@meesrenders]

This video couldnt have come at a better time i literally started learning about 3d scanning today 10/10 super usefull great content once again

[@KillerTacos54]

Fantastic video Clint! Would love to see more stuff like this. It’s cool how this video was technically teased by Jan in the NERF finger video on Corridor. Also we’re only 7K subs away from 1M!!! Omg omg so excited for you Clint

[@oxygencube]

Dude! That was awesome. Some great tips here. Thank you

[@christianvolkner2028]

You get better results if you export two sets of images from lightroom. One contrasty for Model Generation, one delit for Texture Generation. It is possible to tell RC to use these sets :-)

[@astralstormgamestudios1259]

Really? How do I set up RC to use the other textures set for texture generation?

[@randallcromer66]

Truly amazing work...my hats off in respect for your dedication and ingenuity. I never thought it could be possible to accomplish something like this. 👊😲👍

[@cepwin]

Great job!! I don't think I'd have the nerve to hang from a mountain to get a scan so mad props there as well! Your end results were super!

[@jasonswanston]

You guys are awesome for this . Keep posting

[@ongbiker]

Very good so clear in every step how to make 3D scan , We need more great video like this

[@MatthewHinmanTexas]

This is so cool. Great use of aerial tech to get a megascan!

[@pwnisher]

Thanks Matthew!!

[@TheBadBone23]

Outstanding video!

[@Macr2229]

Thank you. This video was so helpful for my business.

[@noahlmatos]

Cant wait for you to hit 1 Million!!!!

[@pwnisher]

Shoot it's gonna be SOON too!

[@moiibrahem]

After Watching This GREAT WORK I'm Curious about 3D SO MUCH !! Thanks Clint

[@ErrorUnknownStudios]

Now this is next level... So good!

[@samuelmelton5021]

That was cool to see how modeling and scanning technology is becoming easier to use

[@mbeckerone]

This is so cool! I've kinda wanted to do this with climbing for awhile too haha, I think someone is making an app using this too, like a 3d mountain project. I think it was called "rock garden" or something. So rad!

[@TheDaggwood]

You've inspired me to return to The Steens, haven't been in 20 years and I'm going to head back with full tech in hand. See you guys round the bend.

[@AeroPhil]

I'm currently writing on a thesis about photogrammetry in the construction industry and how to make target-actual comparisons. And AI is becoming a thing. Photogrammetry / LiDAR with drones is a huge new branch and the possibilities seem endless! I'm slightly hyped😎

[@Md_Jubair]

That is awesome man, thank's for that, i appreciate this!

[@jackarnoldramirezvera6136]

Damn! Worked like a charm! Thank you soooo much!

[@amirullokhmurod4107]

Thanks bro i got a new thing from yhis video. I hope you make again such kind of contents.👍

[@instinctisfiercenotcruel.958]

This is such a great video

[@colombodiego74]

Great !! Thank you for your job

[@mr.antzstudios]

wow!! the final scene looks so sick:)

[@pwnisher]

Mr. ANTZ! Yooo wassup! Thanks dude! Yeah all Unreal Engine :D I'm falling deeper in love with the program.

[@mr.antzstudios]

@@pwnisher yeah man unreal is great ! You definitely inspired me to learn unreal:)

[@cd_core]

no way jose... im blown away dude - GGs

[@AjitheshGuruprasad]

You're doing god's work man! Amazing!

[@noorboiten552]

Love the crocs 🫶

[@boigercat]

Just happy I get to see Jan twice in one month also great video 😊

[@marktired4742]

Thanks for lesson number one I'm going to leave ssages on a few of your posts and maybe even a few links to soft I make in the

[@noj3da557]

If you kept it going till now you have all the respect that I can give

[@beMOTIONdESIGN]

You've got some amazing dedication!! I'll stick with Megascans! Hahahaha! Great video!

[@jbiziou]

Very nice Clint ! :)

[@legacyworx1856]

[@zeroflame0]

You are really the GOAT bro

[@thekingofnot8453]

this is sick

[@brunobordini7696]

You are the best man!

[@DanielRieger]

Currently working on a AAA game right now and this is pretty close to how we’re doing rocks and cliffs. But also a lot of cleanup to remove vegetation and some zbrush work to make the asset usable in multiple angles

[@bsbs6646]

for gta6

[@legacylee]

I needs to take out my drone, I'm hoping I can use it today to got a few aerials of the show I'm filming at (Inspecta Deck and Mastah Killa, Wu in the hooouse). Imma have to try this out. I blame you for my addiction to CG work hah. Peace out dude have a great weekend!

[@pwnisher]

Go get it and be safe! Thanks for watching!

[@legacylee]

@@pwnisher no, thank you!!! For posting Masta Clint! Stay safe keep creatin' and collaborating, and always inspire imagination! Peace

[@original9vp]

This ones needed 👍

[@ecastallion6079]

great stuff

[@samuelzachert3837]

I've been using my DSLR and running the photos through darkroom and meshlab, then editing in blender. Haven't done any scans with my drone yet, although I am planning to at some point. I'm definitely trying out this workflow when I do though!

[@dyryiadi6492]

Thank you, it helped but i had a little bit of problems. Good Tutorial

[@hamuArt]

Good video! Nice to teach others! Side note Too many UV shells not optimal for real-time engines (break poly strips, limit optimal auto LOD, break GPU data stream). For good PBR material you need to take out shadows from the albedo - with AI.

[@r.k.hegeler9794]

Awesomeness!

[@SubTheHan]

love ur videos!

[@adamryason5509]

Amazing tutorial, life changing for me (literally). I'm putting together my first drone setup and I was wondering 1) what drone model are you using and 2) what was the total flight time (for batteries)?

[@Treaplscans]

Looks pretty detailed! Very good scanning results. One issue I have with scanning big or medium rock-mountain geological formations are the overhanging parts - the bottom part of the overhanging rock is very dark because of the daylight shadow(not the sun shadow) and even with the new tool in Agisoft for delighting and extra Photoshop work- the texture is not really usable for high quality professional work.

[@ChillieGaming]

well u would need to shoot at overcast days and also try to get a drone that can fit godox ar400 ringflash with a dslr so that there are no shadows there.

[@SpencerMagnusson]

Love the result! I can tell it didn't affect the final result much, which makes me wonder - how important is removing the harsh lighting in the original scan?

[@pwnisher]

In my case, it wasn’t severe because the sunlight only hit like 10-15% of the scan (cause we got there so dang early) but I also chose lighting condition (in 3d) that favored the scan, as well as framed out the pre-baked lighting as best i could.

[@Sebbir]

A pwnisher video at its finest

[@skippydinglechalk8546]

I WAS LITERALLY BORED AT WORK AND STARTED THINKING ABOUT PUTTING A LIDAR SCANNER ON A DRONE AND WONDERING IF THAT WAS A THING THEN I GOT HOME AND WAS RECCOMENDED THIS VIDEO. MY MIND IS BLOWN.

[@syntheticfauna]

Thank you for sharing all this knowledge with us, that's good karma my friend...cheers from Costa Rica!

[@horduks3770]

OH MANNNN! You deserve a sub after this video

[@teach607]

i've never seen a better example of youtube compression then at 20:10

[@pwnisher]

Textbook, son!

[@brokelobster2546]

Almost 1 million

[@bassplayingchris]

Very cool vid, can you use this with nanite in ue5 to include all them polygons?

[@joaobatistaconceicaosilva2450]

Goooood job

[@Gunny672]

That is cool.

[@pablomeza4610]

Hello friend, everything goes perfectly but the models are seen in black and white, when should I colorize or how can I have the coloring of the model done automatically?

[@nictanghe98]

seems like doing an extremply flattend model uving it and generating a heightmap wil make sculpting werry nice.

[@nightcow8767]

wtf man this is mental awesome

[@axhobaxhobstar1369]

with it in a few weeks or months if I pour enough ti and effort into it. I'll be watcNice tutorialng many more of your videos for tips and inspiration.

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

Amazing project! I was unclear as to whether the path the drone took was programmed or it was all manual? And if you had to keep clicking off each shot yourself or it was automatic? Thanks!

[@novusparadium9430]

Imagine what a few 100 of these by some corporation could map out. Kinda mind blowing.

[@LNL-S]

995K subs. Wow That's alot of it

[@jimj2683]

I think the ultimate would be to have a swarm of drones doing 3d scans. Like bees, but solar powered and linked to Starlink. Then you let them out into the wild and they scan the whole Earth bit by bit. Then AI is used to fuse and improve all those 3d scans together.

[@Alittleguy_]

Thanks

[@wankertosseroath]

'Why I did it from the side of the mountain' - but how else would you get a feel for the scale of it! Great scans :-) What drone was it? DJI Mini?

[@BartKuipersdotcom]

You can actually do a proper delighting pass in a completely different (be it somewhat complex) way that will give you 100% control of the new lighting of the scene. What you can do is take an HDRI from somewhere that would be mid air here I guess, in front of the mountain cliff. Then use that HDRI to light the model with a clay material (just plain gray without spec etc). Then you can bake that to a map (which would be your lighting map). Then go to your diffuse map, divide that by your lighting map to get your diffuse texture without lighting. It works really well, especially on things like these if you can get a proper HDRI (need some distance in this case probably, but most lighting is done by the sun and the sky, not much is coming back from the ground). Only thing you might need to add manually is a sun light if the HDRI doesn't capture it properly or you need sharper shadows, but you can get rid of 90-95% of the lighting in your diffuse texture EDIT: If I have time, I'll try to do this with this cliff and post the results in a week or so

[@pwnisher]

Whoa!! I’m legit curious now! I’d love to see this in action. If you’re on Discord, hit me up (link in description)

[@BartKuipersdotcom]

@@pwnisher Sure, just did, sent you a dm on discord

[@IEproductions1]

@@BartKuipersdotcom Did you guys ever do this???!

[@arpitadas2173]

Good vedio

[@WilliamDuckett]

Hey Clint, was wondering what kind of drone you're using here, I'm looking into buying my first drone for photo-scanning buildings pre demolition to preserve the pieces of history that I can. Cliff looks sick, 10/10 would digitally climb that.

[@spiderbite7849]

Would it be better to shoot after sunset or on an overcast day to capture a unlit version? I noticed that your final texture had sunlight baked in

[@irishquinay2752]

TNice tutorials video is the best tutorial I’ve ever seen about soft soft

[@Shanavas4459]

early as heck man. Also, love your content

[@EyeMCreative]

Is this the best way to get control over the textures? I am used to Blenders shader system, which gives you hue and saturation nodes, curves adjustment, as well as a slider for normal intensity. These are such common things to need to adjust that this seems strange to have to do these workarounds to be able to adjust these settings.

[@SanOcelotl]

Are you working with the Quixel team or what, this is insane dude

[@i_am_ergo]

The fact that I found Clint's channel RANDOMLY just yesterday after being a Corridor sub for years is a crime. You gotta plug it on the Corridor channel, brother. At least once.

[@xia8611]

good!!!

[@Cool-wh6ov]

about to reach 1mil!

[@user-tn8qp7ys5m]

It was the sa for , In the GMS I switched the "Program" to "Analog app 1 TE"

[@flayer.prompt]

Ojala te hagas el canal en español. Muy educativo el video. Bendiciones

[@madwilli3205]

23:36 Where did the diffuse map come from? Didnt see that anywhere in the tutorial. Im a 3D noob btw.

[@egretfx]

Some national geographic content right there man!

[@Nuri_Archive]

25:19 Is there a reason to connect channels A and B across each other in Unreal Materials? Does it matter if the order of channel A and channel B changes?

[@jeanneduim]

can you also take snapshots a video ? or is it better to take pictures normally ? in reality captre you can import video and they do it for you

[@alecmiller5296]

Damn so close! I have the climbing gear and the drone but not the Jan

[@pwnisher]

Definitely give the scans a shot. It’s a blast. But yeah … having access to a Janimal is ideal.