Posts with tag 3d

Sure, there are already licensed World of Warcraft figurines by way of DC. But those are just so generic, you know? Now, what if I told you you could get a figure that looks exactly like your in-game character, outfitted in any gear you own? That's exactly what FigurePrints, a new venture that is set to go live on December 11th, promises to do for you. They are apparently official -- check out the "Licensed Blizzard Product" badge in the bottom-right -- and I find the idea quite intriguing. From one perspective it's the next logical step in merchandising, but really, look at the future we're living in: create a character in an online fantasy game, and have a third party step in, take a model of the character, make a custom 3D print of it, and mail it to your doorstep. This type of stuff has been done before, yes, but the quality on the sample FigurePrints is quite impressive.

Here's some information from the site's FAQ: The data is pulled from the Armory, which makes me wonder: how do they get your appearance right? The Armory, unless I'm mistaken, doesn't include things like hairstyle and the other various customization options. The actual statuettes are built using rapid prototyping (AKA 3D printing) using vertically-stacked slices of "plaster-like powder" and then hand-finished. The scale is 1:18, which means a male human comes out about 4 inches tall, not counting the base. And the price? $99.95, plus $14.95 shipping and handling. They warn that availability is limited, and that the best way to guarantee you get one is to make an account at their site, although I wasn't able to get past the "Open December 11th" banner to actually click on anything. So how about it? Will you be lining up to pay $100 plus shipping to bring your toon out of Azeroth?

Rob has sent in these amazing stereograms he created from screenshots of Stormwind City. What's a stereogram, you ask? Well, Wikipedia has some information on them, but the quick version is that they're an optical illusion that makes flat images appear to be three-dimensional. If you're familiar with those Magic Eye pictures, these work the same way -- to view the image, simply let your eyes cross slightly until a third, 3d image appears in the center. (Wikipedia has far more detailed instructions, but I'm guessing they will inspire a TLDR response.)

If you think you understand the concept, why not try to see them yourself? Rob sent in two stereograms for us to enjoy: a shot of one of Stormwind's canals (with the cathedral framed in the background) and a shot of the General Turalyon statue in the Valley of Heroes (taken as a ghost).

Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part.

See more of your pics from Around Azeroth.

OGLE, the OpenGLExtractor, is a little piece of software that can be used to extract 3D geometry data from 3D graphics applications running on Microsoft Windows. What this means is that it can pull out images of our favorite alternate reality for our own entertaining uses. While some people use this to make backgrounds or videos, one of the most interesting uses of this technology seems to be making 3D printouts of your character, using a special 3D printer. And, most recently, color 3d models. While this little gnome may appear to be venturing around Un'goro, it's probably just sitting on a tree in someone's back yard. (Which, to a tiny gnome figurine, is probably about the same.) And if you're just that kind of fan, you might be able to get one of your very own...!