In an impressive expansion of its service, over 100,000 off-the-shelf 3D models are being added to the Pond5 library.
Off-the-shelf models have been as much a part of the 3D industry as 3D itself since the very early days. Perhaps even more so than ready made video effects, they can save a vast amount of time and effort for stretched production teams, especially as libraries have grown to encompass such a vast range of objects in a bewildering number of categories that most everything you could wish to find is in them. And, if it’s not in them, it’s easy to purchase a ready bought model and customise it to your own ends.
Pond5’s liaison with TurboSquid is therefore a bit of a no-brainer, especially as TurboSquid has grown its library over its 18 years of existence to around 500,000 models contributed by over 42,000 3D artists. 100,000 of them will eventually feature on Pond5, with 60,000 already loaded and more becoming available all the time covering everything from the human body to motor vehicles, architecture, furniture, sports and more.
TurboSquid reckons that each model it sells averages out as a 27-hour saving for production teams, and it’s not hard to find out ones that might well save more too: a 648,430 polygon model of London’s Tower Bridge, for instance, for just under $400.
Assets are available as C4D, OBJ and FBX models, and there’s a decent post showing how to build a scene with 3D models in Cinema4D over on the Pond5 blog here.