{"id":142059988332,"date":"2019-03-27T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sketchfab.com\/blogs\/community\/?p=142059988332"},"modified":"2019-05-21T16:16:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T14:16:41","slug":"women-on-sketchfab-shellie-luallin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sketchfab.com\/blogs\/community\/women-on-sketchfab-shellie-luallin\/","title":{"rendered":"Women on Sketchfab: Shellie Luallin"},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is Shellie Luallin; on Sketchfab I am Paleogirl<\/a>. I am an avocational paleo<\/strong>ntologist whose passion is to build a collection of models of invertebrate fossils to be used as a reference so that like-minded collectors can examine and perhaps identify cephalopods, brachiopods, and other fossils they have collected. I retired a few years ago so I have some flexibility to achieve this.<\/p>\n

Note: Retirement is all it\u2019s cracked up to be! I have chunks of time to devote to volunteering and to photogrammetry. Before retiring, I was a full-time IT Systems Manager who still found time to volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS). I have gone on fossil digs, prepped fossils, molded and casted them, and more.<\/p>\n

As a fossil preparator, I cut open plaster jackets brought in from the field, cleaned the dirt and rock (matrix) away from the fossils, applied glues to repair and consolidate fragile and broken pieces, and even learned to make cradles for careful storing of fossils. There was always more to learn.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an organization that provides a forum for some of this learning called Association for Materials & Methods in Paleontology<\/a> (AMMP). A few years ago, at one of their annual conferences, I attended a workshop on photogrammetry. I\u2019ve been learning and creating 3D digital models ever since. Mostly I create models of smaller objects as my passion is invertebrate paleontology.<\/p>\n

I have found many sources of objects and can\u2019t help but see potential 3D candidates everywhere. One of my earliest attempts was at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) where I used my cell phone to photograph a Protoceratops andrewsi<\/em> exhibit. I couldn\u2019t believe how well it turned out, despite the exhibit being behind glass and I couldn\u2019t get all the way around it. I was hooked on 3D!<\/p>\n