By George Cooper

Routledge, Taylor & Francis, publisher of IIC’s peer-reviewed journal Studies in Conversation, have partnered with 3D content platform Sketchfab to develop an exciting new feature for articles published online. 3D models can now be published in the main text of an article. The pilot program makes Routledge, Taylor & Francis the first major publisher to incorporate 3D models within the HTML version of online journal articles, making Studies one of the first publications in conservation to offer this feature.

Publishing 3D models of the objects you’re working on allows you to illustrate your research or treatment outcomes in an engaging format, promotes better understanding of results, and contributes to preventive conservation by allowing a digital, non-invasive means of representing and interacting with collection objects.
Authors using this new feature will also benefit from increased discoverability of their research, with models being openly available to view on the Sketchfab website. See a live example of a 3D model here (https://sketchfab.com/models/ee6256870ab446d6ad1762adcd9ce132) and view it within the full article text on Taylor & Francis Online.

HOW TO CREATE A 3D MODEL OF HERITAGE ARTEFACTS

Researchers working at the School of Classics at the University of St Andrews, in collaboration with the Museum of St Andrews, have prepared a brief and accessible guide for creating 3D models of heritage artefacts using basic equipment (a camera, turntable, tripod, lights, and a neutral backdrop).

Using these resources, the project team have made the vast array of Cypriot archaeological artefacts contained in St Andrews’ Bridges Collection accessible to as wide an audience as possible, via 3D modelling. They have also been running a number of different experiments on perceptions of archaeological material experienced in a range of ways including touch, sight, 3D, and behind a glass case. Recently they have been working with colleagues in neuroscience on memory experiments to see how well people retain information on the material culture as they experienced it through different senses and media.

Visit the project site to find out about the collection. Here you can read more about what they have been doing with the material, see how it’s being used, and learn what former St Andrews students have been doing in terms of preservation and 3D modelling.

HOW TO SUBMIT 3D MODELS WITH YOUR MANUSCRIPT

The option to feature 3D models within articles is currently available in Studies in Conservation. Visit the journal’s Instructions for Authors for more details about how to submit a model along with your manuscript. If you have already published an article in the journal on a project that involved 3D modelling, you can add 3D content retrospectively to the HTML version of your article.

Contact Studies in Conservation Editor-in-Chief, Chandra Reedy (clreedy@udel.edu), or the journal’s Managing Editor at Routledge, George Cooper (george.cooper@tandf.co.uk), if you’d like to find out more about options to publish 3D models in Studies in Conservation.

Get the article with all the hyperlinks by downloading "News in Conservation" Issue 67, August 2018