Guide for publishing 3D models

Below you will find information about good practice when publishing 3D models on external platforms such as Wikimedia Commons or Sketchfab.
The information is mainly aimed at museums and institutions, but also at others who want to start publishing their own 3D models in a quick and easy way.
Below you will find information about good practice when publishing 3D models on external platforms such as Wikimedia Commons or Sketchfab.
The information is mainly aimed at museums and institutions, but also at others who want to start publishing their own 3D models in a quick and easy way.

Digitisation guidelines and agreements

Below is information about general guidelines and agreements which can help you when digitising 3D models. Start by planning your work and drawing up an agreement with the other party, which ...

Do it yourself or hiring external expertise

Depending on the expertise that already exists internally, and the scope of the 3D digitisation that is needed, there are pros and cons of doing it yourself or hiring external expertise for the ...

Equipment and procedures for photogrammetry

As photogrammetry is the most useful method for getting started on creating 3D models quickly, easily, and at a reasonable price, we will only describe this technique and its associated ...

Make use of others’ experiences

Here we will compile stories and experiences from museums who have worked on creating and publishing 3D models. The National Museum of Science and Technology Example: Photogrammetry of complex ...

Metadata – giving 3D models a context, searchability, and usability

For a 3D model to be searchable, useful, and comprehensible, its publication should be accompanied with as much detailed information as possible. Examples of information that can be included: • ...

Methods for creating digital 3D models

Currently, creating 3D models of objects mainly involves two methods: photogrammetry and laser scanning. The methods can be used separately or in combination. The methods can produce similar ...

Planning your work

Before you start creating your 3D models: Make a plan for how, and for what purposes, the completed 3D models will be used, and then adapt your work accordingly, for example by choosing ...

Publishing 3D models on external platforms

We primarily emphasise good practice when publishing 3D models of objects, buildings, and smaller archaeological sites on external platforms. But to contextualise the publishing of 3D models, we ...

Publishing on Sketchfab

Sketchfab is the world’s biggest platform for publishing 3D models, with millions of models and users. The platform has a number of useful functions for presenting models. This is also the ...

Publishing on Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons has evolved from its original role as a file database for Wikimedia projects to a database for free fact-related images which are intended for educational use. Wikimedia ...

Standards and methods for archiving 3D models

3D models are part of the continuing digitisation efforts, but as the technology is fairly new in the cultural heritage field, work is still under way to identify file formats, methods, and ...