Blog
Engine reviews and comparisons, tested rather than guessed, and the parts of 3D that nobody explains: units, formats, what makes a mesh printable.
29 September 2026 · 4 min
What is retopology, and when automatic is enough
Retopology rebuilds a messy mesh as clean, even quads. Why models need it, manual versus automatic, the tools in Blender and beyond, and where they fail.
29 September 2026 · 5 min
What is a normal map, and why is it purple?
A normal map fakes bumps without adding polygons. How its colours encode direction, OpenGL versus DirectX, normal versus bump, and how to make one.
24 September 2026 · 4 min
How image to 3D works, and why the back is a guess
One photo in, a textured mesh out in about half a minute. What happens in between, what the model cannot know, and the photo that gives it a chance.
23 September 2026 · 4 min
Best AI 3D model generators in 2026, compared
Meshy, Tripo, Rodin, Hunyuan3D, TRELLIS.2 and Stable Fast 3D compared by input, output, price and licence, so you can pick the right one for your job.
22 September 2026 · 4 min
What is PBR? PBR textures, map by map
PBR, physically based rendering, describes a surface in five maps: colour, bumps, shine, metal. What each PBR texture does, shown on a real brick set.
21 September 2026 · 3 min
Why a converted GLB prints 1000 times too small
The most common failure between a generated model and a printer is not the mesh. It is the number 1000, and it lives in the file format.
20 September 2026 · 3 min
Non-manifold geometry and watertight, explained
Non-manifold geometry, watertight and manifold: every slicer error uses the words and none explains them. Three pictures, and what repair does about each.