Taking someone else's basemesh. Is that cheating?

manilamerc · Jul 2013

Hey just a curious question....

I would like to know if using someone else's base mesh is considered cheating. If you are creating a character and start off with a simple base mesh but sculpt that into a michaelangelo masterpiece, is that cheating? Or would you need to create everything from scratch to make it a legitimately fair piece that you did all by yourself?

cupsster · Jul 2013

NO. there is word called sharing.

Ace-Angel · Jul 2013

Depends on the Author and what kind of rights he gave you when allowing to get access to the base mesh.

Is it for private use only? Commercial, etc?

Then there is the question are you only using other peoples base-mesh, all the time? Are you practicing some on your own time? Would it serve better to create your own base mesh due to the requirements of the model, instead of the usual human hybrid limitation? Etc.

So honestly, it depends, there is no clear answer.

arcitecht · Jul 2013

IMO using someone else's basemesh is like wearing someone else's pants. Might be nicer than yours, but still feels kinda weird.

Jerc · Jul 2013

If you know your basics well enough and it's a quicker way to achieve what you want more than it being the only way to achieve something you can't do on your own, then that's fine.
Why reinvent the wheel?

Kwramm · Jul 2013

arcitecht wrote: »

IMO using someone else's basemesh is like wearing someone else's pants. Might be nicer than yours, but still feels kinda weird.

lol. now that's a weird analogy. sort of makes sense though

Deadly Nightshade · Jul 2013

No I don't think so.
You have to realize that taking shortcuts is part of the deal of being a 3D Artist.
That is not to say that there isn't a moral balancing act in there - because there is.

Vii · Jul 2013

Deadly Nightshade wrote: »

You have to realize that taking shortcuts is part of the deal of being a 3D Artist.

This..
3D is cheating.. as long as you get the end result it doesn't matter if you "cheated". Cheating != stealing other people's work, of course.

Farfarer · Jul 2013

I don't think it's cheating if someone else has made a really good one for your uses and it's legally available to use, but definitely have a crack at building some yourself.

Kbrom12 · Jul 2013

arcitecht wrote: »

IMO using someone else's basemesh is like wearing someone else's pants. Might be nicer than yours, but still feels kinda weird.

lol this is great

MrOneTwo · Jul 2013

I think that everythign you do in cg is ok (except stealing). Everytime you 'cheat' you just loose opportunity to become better artist. One day you might need those skills you might have learned during creation of your own basemesh.

Ruz · Jul 2013

well if it's a basemesh, who cares anyways, as long as the retopo version is different.
there are so many free base meshes out there anyway now, that it's makes the question kind of redundant.
At home I build my own base meshes anyway, but if its for work and they provide you with a base mesh, then you will have to use the one they provide.

Mark Dygert · Jul 2013

Did you punch the guy in the face, take it and sprint off cackling like a madman?

nyx702 · Jul 2013

I have thought alot about this and it's interesting to me where the "using as a tool" and "using as a crutch" blurs. If you rip the hands off a mesh because you don't like making hands is that cheating? Does it feel like cheating? Can you make them just as good as the author of the mesh? You know. You know the answer deep down. If it feels like cheating then it probably is.

THAT SAID... it depends entirely on the context. Most of the studios I have been at already have a base mesh they use and you need to use that to follow the visual style. So I hack that bitch to pieces. I totally agree with Vii/Ruz in this situation. Do whatever you can to get it done faster.

However... for personal work that you display on your website as "I DID THIS ALL MYSELF" yes I feel it's cheating. You are showing where you are at as an artist. If you can't sculpt hands and your work has amazing hands then you are lying to the world and everyone else.

Just my 2 pesos.

Ace-Angel · Jul 2013

nyx702 wrote: »

Just my 2 pesos.

That's about 0.154 US Dollar.

peanut · Jul 2013

When i was starting, this was considered pure evil and unthinkable, but zbrush came along and artist started to work differently. Now its fairly accepted.

rube · Jul 2013

If you want to "make it a legitimately fair piece that you did all by yourself" then I'd say using a someone elses basemesh is cheating. Not bad, but cheating in the rules that you set up for yourself. That said, if someone has made a basemesh available go on and use it, that's what it's for.

Stromberg90 · Jul 2013

Ace-Angel wrote: »

That's about 0.154 US Dollar.

and about 0.926 norwegian kroner, so now we know....

also it's up to you if you see it as cheating, people feel different about these things.
I would not use one in personal projects, in a work environment I would.

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel · Jul 2013

manilamerc wrote: »

Hey just a curious question....

I would like to know if using someone else's base mesh is considered cheating. If you are creating a character and start off with a simple base mesh but sculpt that into a michaelangelo masterpiece, is that cheating? Or would you need to create everything from scratch to make it a legitimately fair piece that you did all by yourself?

define cheating

Synaesthesia · Jul 2013

I'd wager that it's good practice to get used to meshes created by other artists. In my office, we frequently utilize meshes and textures from artists on our team and it's not uncommon to find elements of textures and meshes being reused in other projects to save time.

A phrase we're fond of: There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. ;-)

TehSplatt · Jul 2013

In a studio environment Kit bashing/using base meshes is a common practice but if you couldn't make the base mesh by your self or are using it because you feel like you couldn't make it as good then that's basically cheating your self haha

oxblood · Jul 2013

I agree with the last post. If you can make it yourself and its quicker to use someone elses, then go for it. (if they are ok with it).
but it is really something you should know how to do yourself. So atleast have a decent understanding of how to make your own if you needed to.

Catchingdusk · Jul 2013

It's not cheating by any means but as people above mentioned, you'd want to make sure that you have re-use and redistribution permissions on it.

Personally I feel that there is a greater learning potential by taking the time to make a base mesh from scratch, but I can understand the desire to "get to the fun part"

a3sthesia · Jul 2013

When I started my current job, I made about 10 different trees and rocks, which I now just chop and change and lattice deform whenever we need new objects. It's fast and efficient and saves the company time and money. That said, one of my colleagues keeps spouting, "no wonder you're so fast! you're cheating!" as he insists everything should be made from a single polygon. I think in a private environment (and when you're learning), you can take as long as you like to make things from scratch, but in a work environment, you need to be doing whatever is the fastest and most efficient means to create great work.

Taking someone else's basemesh. Is that cheating?

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