Boy, have you got a problem! If you can find the original mesh(es), she's toast. But if you can't, there's no way to prove she didn't do it. It's very low poly in a lot of ways, but the feet, lower face and eyes are pretty high. Looks almost like a cut and paste job with enough mods to make it really tough to be sure. Is each eyeball a seperate object? Is there definition on the inside of the mouth? Are there teeth or tongue? Is there a place so that the mouth could be posed open if it were boned? All of these would point to a steal and rework of a Poser figure. Good luck.

Those are incredible hands for a novice. I'd look around for this figure online if I were you. And to be sure, have her model the hand in front of you and see if she can reproduce anything close (after all of the work she put into it, it should be a snap :).

Not enough polygons for it to be. She probably DID make it herself in MAX, maybe using plugins. Was this an assignment and did you make yourself clear that the figure needed to be made "from scratch"? Otherwise, it is not all too difficult to make such a model, many programs have incorporated ways of making modeling easier. This may all come down to a matter of interpretation. If this a shady area, give credit for what she HAS accomplished.

This is a figure which came with one of the earlier releases (1.2, I think) of Character Studio for 3D Studio Max. I think it was a Zygote model, which is why it might look familiar to you. It's not a Poser figure, but your student definitely didn't model it from scratch. I can send you a render from the CS tutorial that uses this figure, if you like.

Fauve is correct. That model comes with Character Studio. The file name is DEMI_MESH.MAX. See the attached screenshot.

That's terrible! Exact, down to the colors? Pathetic, truly pathetic.

Yep, his student didn't change much, that's for sure (squished the hair a little and that's it, from what it looks like.) That's why I recognized the model right away. One of the first university animation classes I took was CS for Max 1.2. I spent more frustrated hours staring at this little lady than I care to remember. :)

I see an 'F' in her future. :)

Take a look at the knees. The student model has polys that appear to be vertacle and the character studio mesh around the knees has some sort of angled lines in them. If the mesh is different, then that could be an indication of at least some sculpting. The sleeve and chest mesh also appears to be different, most noticably around the shoulders. There's angular mesh on her model and strait mesh on the character studio one. The hair mesh is more refined on the character studio image than it is on the student model. The face does bear a striking resemblance. I don't know if your student made that by looking closely at the original and doing the same thing (such as someone projecting a slide on paper and drawing a portrait that way) or if she took the model and hacked it a lot. While I'm not a mesh expert, it appear to me that these are not identical cut and paste meshes. If you were to overlay the two wire images, you could see the differences better. Also, the idea about the programmer notes is a good one. Might want to open the mesh file in a text editor and do some reading.

Busted. It does look modified (hair and legs), but it ain't from scratch. Counting the number of polygons in the breast from top to bottom, and in the legs in the large squares and they're an exact count. A couple of polygons in the legs have been reduced. Identical color matching on the clothing. Shoulder poly organization and count. Either this is one very big coincidence, or she didn't do her assignment. It's even a very sloppy steal. The only other possibility is if she used the same steps and plug-ins as the original author. There should be a copyright somewhere in the mesh if it's part of a professional package. If you still have some doubt, contact the Character Studio people and ask them to compare it to their mesh. If they same it's the same... Do they still throw students out for plagerism?

Ah, that clarified the situation.

yeah ...she changed the hair and the fit of the jeans. But it looks like the same model. sigh and she's taking your class why?

Moroten, The reason that you have to give such students an "F" and a severe lecture is simple. If they think that you, the instructor, are that stupid, they'll also believe that their clients won't notice, either. Whether such a person ever learns courtesy, honesty, and ethics is perhaps beyond the confines of the class syllabus. I'm currently taking a PhotoShop7 where we are expected to pull images from various sources and manipulate them >>>as part of the learning experience<<< and the very first lecture concerned plagiarism and what we could not do and why and how to get permissions and copyrights... but a single lecture wouldn't teach honesty to a thief. Hmmm... if your school allows a person with an F grade to repeat a class and remove the earlier failing mark, you might want to give her a D so that it remains as part of her permanent record? In any case, she can't be allowed to claim the work of others as her own. Carolly

Many schools have an "Honor Code" which poses severe penalties on such plagarism. Copying another artist's work has brought severe condemnation here (as it should), but if any part of society is even more harsh, I would think that would be the academic world. I know it's done, but it's not usually tolerated at all! At many schools, I wouldn't be surprised at expulsion over something so flagrant.

Thanks for your help, folks. I feel terrible realizing that this student pulled my leg for several weeks. Actually, the student is a 40+ year old woman who's eager to get into 3d - and I have given her special attention and hours of spare time assistance, just because the demography of our industry has very few 40+ y/o women. I'd love to see more females get into 3D and I do my best to help them out. Getting fooled over like this really ruins my enthusiasm as a teacher. Instead of 100% concentrating on teaching and inspiring, I now also have to be on the lookout for frauds.

Strangely enough, I can understand her apparent desperation, being an unemployed immigrant with a bleak work opportunity forecast, perhaps with children to support and an absolute necessity to graduate. It's no excuse, but its an explanation and I try not to be judgmental. After all, we're all human, and I cannot say that in some equally desperate situation I wouldn't try something equally stupid.

I teach 3D modeling to High School students. Correct Attribution and Plagerism are 2 of the most difficult concepts to get accross to kids. The problem is made greater by the fact the Artists are constantly borrowing each others work. When I use Poser I am using the work of both the people at DAZ and Curious Labs (and who knows how many others) I teach my students that when one is doing work for educational purposes, it is usually sufficient to provide attribution only and not obtain permission. As soon as they attempt to publish the work (say to the web) they must also obtain permission from the original Authors. In all cases they must provide me with a list of objects models etc that they have borrowed from others. (Including each other) I am right now having a very serious discussion with a student who has created a beautiful short Star Wars based animation in 3D Studio that uses Lego men he created from scratch. He has made all the meshes created some of the textures and done hin own animation. He wants to use a sound Track from the Matrix so that he can submit it for his portfolio. Fair use says that he can use 30 sec or 10% (which ever is less) of a music work without obtaining permission. His animation will be 60 seconds long. He thinks that I am being overly Anal to worry about this. I am telling him that if anyone is concerned about correct attribution it is going to be an Art school and it is critical that he do everything by the book. I wonder if anyone has ever been denied admission to a school because of incorrect or inadequate attribution???????

Since you work at a graphics school maybe you can help me. In portfolios that students submit to you, what sort of documentation do you require. Are you satisfied with attribution or do you expect documentation of permission for copywritten works.

I feel for her possible extenuating circumstances, but she enrolled to learn this skill, hopefully towards a career, and the burden is on her shoulders to remain honest, actually understand what she is learning, and put it to use. Because, in the end, she will not get very far in "the real world" by using this approach. Cutting corners, dishonesty, plagarism, and so forth can get you pretty far if you're cunning, careful, and artful at hiding the connections. But for most, this usually ends in shameful disaster.

Musleguy - I tell them to do everything themselves, but to properly attribute any copyrighted works if they DO use some external media. This semester, they are all focusing their efforts on some other Maya project (I'm their 3dsmax teacher), so what they do in my class isn't really portfolio class work, more of an exercise. Thats fine with me - I want them to do a good job in my class, but if they choose to do their Piece de Resistance in Maya, that's their choice. BeatYourSoul - I totally agree, her basic attitude towards her learning and career development seems corrupted. I would have wished her to express her desperation and maybe I could have helped. I'm sure she understands that her education is for her own sake, not the teachers'... but this whole desperate, mindless conduct must be the result of some alarming private situation that I cannot fathom from the cosy confines of my own comfortable life...

Time to have a serious talk, then. It's good to see that you care not only for what you teach but also for what she is. You must be a great teacher. Chapeau bas. Compiler

Moreten, I am 52 years old. 15 years in the computer games industry, and many more years before that in MALE-DOMINATED fields. I have encountered brutality (like being forced to the ground the 4th time I denied my supervisor sex), harrassment, discrimination, denial of jobs, positions, projects, job title, and fair pay. (OK, folks, now you know why I hate the term "girl" and why I resent any suggestion that we females are second class objects... it has been a long battle for equality and it is not over.) As an artist I have had years of zero income and years when it was close to $100K... and years where I've had to wait months to get paid... and years where my client didn't even have the grace to declare bankruptcy. I know what financial and personal problems are like. I've also known some amazing people and been part of some truly worthwhile projects. My decision to work in this field was the right one. In all this I never felt the need to take somebody else's work and claim it as my own. Too much bottom-level pride? A strong dose of ethics? Or maybe the belief that what I do matters? If the work of my hands is good enough for my signature, it is good enough. This includes the commercial work or art done to another's specs. Work done under deadline simply has to be the best possible under that condition, but even a deadline doesn't excuse theft. That is my name on the product, even if the only signatures are in-house. If a student doesn't earn her grade, no matter age, gender, whatever... giving her a grade out of pity teaches the wrong lesson. This may be harsh... but it is a harsh world out there. Without an ethical core, she will not survive. Carolly

She won't get a grade out of pity. I'm saying that I realize that there may be desperate situations for anyone, no matter the gender or age, to make foolish decisions. If this student had come forth and told me about it instead of trying to cheat her way to a grade, I might have given her even more of my miniscule spare time.

It seems to me that any school would have an established set of rules concerning such problems. You just follow the proper procedure.

a one-man standing ovation If there's one thing I've noticed from the art around here... Creative vision knows no gender.

Oops, pushed send too soon. I was going to add: Ethics have moved from practice to study these days, it seems. more people study and ponder ethics than put them into practice. And I must note that it seems that since people are constantly looking for faster and easier ways to do things, they are more and more putting their own morals and convictions aside in the name of a fast buck or an easy grade. People like you, hauksdottir, are my heroes, taking the bad along with the good in the name of personal integrity.

I am a 40+ year old woman getting into 3d. (poser,Bryce) and now I am taking a class in Lightwave. I don't understand why she felt she had to do this. I plan on using this to change my carreer and can't see how plagerism would help in the least. This is such a shame. Boni