Marshall Group (formerly Zound Industries) wanted to display their products in 3D on their retailer’s websites. They also wanted to give users the ability to look at their speakers and headphones in AR. Marshall turned to Animech to create these 3D models.
Background
The project started with a proof of concept. The goal was to create a 3D model of the Marshall Emberton II. Since we wanted to display it in a browser and in native AR, we needed to create both GLB and USDZ files. The files needed to be below 5 MB each to conform to the customers specification. Also, the speaker comes in 2 different colors — Black and Cream, which needed their own separate files.
The POC was a success, and it received lots of praise from the customer. It showed we could deliver on both quality and performance. The customer gave us the order to create 3 more models: Marshall Middleton, Marshall Willen, and the new Marshall Motif II A.N.C.
Modeling
We received CAD models and reference images from the customer, which we used to create the 3D models. The CAD models were very detailed, so we were able to reduce them and then do some minor cleanup. Some parts however, such as the speaker grills, were not part of the CAD models so we had to model them by hand. We also removed details from the mesh such as icons, labels, and other graphics, and added these in the textures instead.
Texturing
We textured the models in Substance Painter. The models use a single texture set per model (except for Marshall Middleton, which has a separate texture set for the strap). We used a combination of pre-made materials, layers of procedural maps, generators, and effects to get the result we needed. The customer had sent over physical samples of all the products too, so we could directly compare them to the 3D models. This was an invaluable resource when trying to recreate the materials.
To get a consistent look on the different models, we relied on Painter’s Physical Size feature. It allowed us to easily transfer materials between Painter projects. Another thing that helped us work efficiently was to reuse ID colors between models. Instead of letting Painter generate random ID colors for each part of the models, we defined them using Vertex Colors beforehand. That way, the same ID colors represented the same materials in all Painter projects.
To create the 2 different colors of the models, we had a base layer at the bottom of the stack which had two fill effects — one for black and one for cream. This layer was then used an Anchor Point, which we referenced for other layer’s base color. This meant we could easily switch between the black and cream colors by just toggling the fill effect on the base layer.
Creating AR models
The biggest challenge in the project was to find a workflow for creating GLB and USDZ files. They needed to export correctly, be below 5 MB, and look good. These criteria were harder to meet than you might think! We had at least settled on exporting GLB as our primary format, and then create a USDZ from it. We tried multiple GLB exporters: Substance Painter, 3ds Max, Marmoset Toolbag, and various command line tools.
Finally we settled on exporting using Blender, which turned out to have the least amount of drawbacks. It gives users control over texture compression quality, draco compression for the mesh, is able to export animations, can use unlit materials, and has very flexible texture inputs. The only downside to using Blender for exporting GLBs is that it lacks a dedicated AO material slot, and cannot display baked AO in the viewport. However, since we knew our textures looked good in Painter, we could simply ignore this issue.
Apple devices do not use GLB for their AR viewers though, so we needed to create USDZ files too. Luckily Apple provides a suite of AR creation tools which can convert other formats into USDZ. We used the command line tool usdzconvert to convert the GLBs into USDZ. One small caveat though is that USDZ doesn’t support any kind of mesh compression. This meant we had to decrease the texture quality to hit the 5 MB target. So we actually had to export a separate GLB for USDZ conversion — one without Draco compression and with more compressed textures.
We delivered the final models to Marshall Group who in turned distributed them, along with an HDRI for lighting, to their various retailers.
Closing thoughts
I was responsible for all 3D work on this project. I created the 3D models, materials & textures, and the lighting. I’m extremely happy with how this project turned out. This was another one of those projects where I could really focus on the quality, which I do so enjoy. It’s also very rewarding to be met with such positive response from the customer.
The first batch of models were implemented on the UK retailer Argos’ website first. You can check out the Marshall Motif II A.N.C. (Marshall Middleton, Marshall Willen and Marshall Emberton II have since been succeeded by newer versions, which you can read about here).
