Honestly that 3D scanning tutorial was a total waste of 6 hours

I kept seeing everyone online rave about using photogrammetry for documenting small artifacts, so I finally tried it on a flint arrowhead I found last month. Spent a whole Saturday following a popular YouTube guide step by step, taking like 80 photos from every angle. After 6 hours of processing and aligning points, the output was this lumpy blob that looked nothing like the real piece. Turns out the guide didn't mention you need a turntable and controlled lighting for reflective surfaces. I ended up just drawing the artifact by hand in my notebook in 15 minutes and it came out way more accurate. Anyone else find those scanning methods overhyped for small finds?

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the_derek20h ago

I had the opposite experience actually - used the same method on a pottery sherd with a matte finish and got a printable model in about 4 hours. The flint's shininess is probably what killed your scan, that stuff reflects light like crazy.