ShareTextures: An interview with Ozgen Karagol Arslan 🔗
Ozgen Karagol Arslan is an architect and an Archviz artist. She is the co-founder of the wonderful database ShareTextures. In the interview, she discusses her projects, aspirations and business philosophy. Check out her work on this website and you can also support Ozgen on her Patreon account.
Check her gallery
Hi Ozgen, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, I'm from Turkey and currently living in İzmir with my husband and baby girl. I'm 36 years old and hold a bachelor's degree in architecture.
Your journey into the 3D world started on construction sites. Why did you decide to focus on 3D modeling and architectural visualizations?
During my time in university, I had the opportunity to work as an intern in various architecture offices, where I gained experience in different areas such as planning, designing, and modeling. It was during this time that I discovered my passion for 3D modeling, and it quickly became my favorite subject.
After completing my studies, I continued working on construction sites for several years. However, even after a long day at work, my focus would shift to architectural visualization when I returned home. I found immense enjoyment in delving into the world of architectural visualization, exploring different techniques and bringing designs to life.
In collaboration with your husband you have founded an incredible online database of PBR textures and 3D models called ShareTextures. What was your motivation for creating it and what was the process like?
Around 5-6 years ago, we started doing architectural visualizations as a side gig. It was tough to create complex scenes because we didn't have a large collection of textures. We bought some texture sets, but we realized we needed our own textures due to licensing restrictions. We learned a basic method called B2M (bitmap to material), which involves using a grayscale photo to create texture maps based on the black and white areas.
As our texture collection grew, we decided to share it with other designers. Finding good, free, and copyright-free resources was challenging back then. Websites like Texture Haven (Poly Haven) and CC0 Textures (ambientCG) were great examples for us.
In 2018, we launched our website sharetextures.com with 150 textures. We chose to make our textures CC0 (copyright-free) so that everyone can use them without any restrictions.
We have aspirations to transform ShareTextures into a 3D scanning company with a team of 5 or more skilled professionals.
How would you describe your philosophy and business model?
While we believe in sharing all of our assets for free, we also recognize the importance of maintaining high-quality textures and models. We strive to ensure that every creation meets our standards.
As a result, we have caught the attention of many people who appreciate our commitment to quality. Their support on Patreon has been instrumental in keeping our platform alive. We utilize these funds to invest in new equipment and cover the costs of our servers, ensuring a seamless experience for our users.
You have uploaded many materials and 3D models from ShareTextures to BlenderKit. How did BlenderKit impact the development of ShareTextures?
Blender wasn't popular in our country initially. However, after discovering Blender and realizing its potential in architectural visualization projects, I found the need for Material/Model Library add-ons to enhance my workflow. That's when I came across BlenderKit. After incorporating it into a few projects, I decided to contribute by uploading our assets to BlenderKit, which would further support ShareTextures.
Currently, we have over 450 assets available on BlenderKit, and we are actively working on expanding our collection of texture and model sets. BlenderKit has become an integral part of our main pipeline, and we strive to publish every new asset on our BlenderKit profile as well. Our goal is to reach a count of 1000 assets by the end of 2024.
Where do you find inspiration for new models and materials?
My husband M.Tolga and I are architects and our artistic signatures stem from our architectural experiences. While I like working on architectural assets, my husband prefers creating more organic and abstract assets.
We have been working on changing our texture/model creation methods for a while now. We aim to create assets exclusively using photogrammetry (scanning). As a result, every scannable object or area becomes a new texture or model for us.
What do you enjoy modeling the most?
Even though we don't share them on ShareTextures, I thoroughly enjoy working on interior design projects. Witnessing the scene becoming alive brings me immense satisfaction.
How does it feel to work so closely with your husband?
Frankly, it's both reassuring and annoying because our styles are very different, but we are using it to our advantage. Each of our creations goes through several stages, including modeling or scanning, checking, and rendering. It's a lot of work for one person, which is why we share the workload. If both of us are satisfied with the result, then it's deemed okay to proceed.
The 3D field is still, unfortunately, very male-dominated. Do you find it challenging as a woman and a mother?
Thanks to ShareTextures' work model, I don't have to compete with anyone. Having worked on construction sites for years, I can empathize with the challenges women face in the 3D industry. Being a mother and assuming the responsibility of raising a child is truly monumental work. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to every working mother out there; they deserve praise and recognition.
Do you have suggestions for starting 3D artists?
First, I would like to say- welcome ;) It's a vast world with dozens of things you can do. Pursue whatever interests you and never stop learning new things.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I would like to express my gratitude to you and the BlenderKit family for providing this wonderful opportunity
