Smartnet IBC LTD is a company with a portfolio filled with web sites specialized at helping communities of graphic artists, sculptors

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 and painters

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 from all over the world. The main idea of the project is to focus on the needs of artists for photographical references for creating and texturing 3D characters for motion pictures and video games. The company was founded in 2004 by Peter Levius, a holder of the original idea, with the help of Richard Polak who contributed with ideas and took care of managing the project.

www.3d.sk

The first web site of the company was www.3d.sk, which became a paid version and a successor to an older site www.fineart.sk, with higher quality and broader content. The site contains mostly basics of man and woman anatomy, free samples and links to other sites dealing with creating graphic art and tutorials. As of April 2010, the site contained more than 150,000 photographical human references, 65 3D models, 900 short films with various kinds of motion for creating animation, 750 head textures for creating 3D characters, 28,000 photos of clothing, armor, weaponry and historical costumes. Apart from human references, the site also contains photographical material on animals, and especially beetles, spiders and other small insect. Human, various animal, and saurian skulls can also be found at the site.

One of the first biggest customers for the site was Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...

, with which Smartnet has had a long lasting cooperation. Amongst other customers are Konami

Konami

is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

, Ubisoft

Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....

 (Assassin Creed), Midway

Midway Games

Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...

, Sega

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

, Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

, EA, Namco

Namco

is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

, Bioware

BioWare

BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...

, Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...

 and others.

While the majority of the single customers are regular graphic artists, animators and students, personages of the present day 3D scene, such as Paul Fedor

Paul Fedor

Paul Fedor is a former university all-star and Canadian Football League defensive end.Graduating from Queen's University, where he was an all-star in 1947, Fedor played for the Toronto Argonauts for 3 seasons, his best being 1960, when he caught 9 passes for 154 yards and 1 touchdown...

, Steven Stahlberg or Mark Snoswell, also both use and contribute to the site.

www.human-anatomy-for-artist.com

In 2005, a new web site led by Veronika Jaskova was created - www.human-anatomy-for-artist.com - which focuses more on man and woman anatomy and has become a basic source of photographical material for video game developers, graphic artists, animators, sculptors and various other artists. As of April 2010, the site contained more than 118,000 photos of human models ranging from 18 to 75 in age, various ethnicity, body and hair types. Premium members have access to a special software that allows them to walk around any model in 3D space as if the model was in their own studio. These models are shot from 16 different angles and 3 different vertical positions.

www.environment-textures.com

In the same year, a web site www.environment-textures.com dealing with interior and exterior texturing was created. Textures are divided into categories such as doors, walls, fur, grass, etc. Besides regular textures, the site contains 3D textured models ready to be used, panorama and HDRI images.

www.free3dtutorials.com

Another web site www.free3dtutorials.com focuses on collecting various tutorials from authors such as Mario Russo, Felix Joleanes, Rodny Mella, Massimo Righi, Serkan Celik and others. These tutorials are targeted at both beginners and advanced artists.

The company has also created and maintains a web site www.photo-reference-for-comic-artists.com with focus on creating comics art, magazine covers and such.