---
name: 3d-asset-marketplace-research
description: Research downloadable 3D assets across free and commercial marketplaces, verify licenses/formats/polycounts, filter false positives, and rank candidates for a target use such as Three.js wireframe rendering.
---

# 3D Asset Marketplace Research

Use this skill when the user asks to find, compare, or source downloadable 3D models from marketplaces/repositories such as Sketchfab, MyMiniFactory, CGTrader, TurboSquid, Free3D, Cults3D, Printables, Thingiverse, Thangs, Etsy, or museum/heritage repositories.

The deliverable should be a grounded acquisition shortlist: free vs paid, license/use restrictions, download formats, mesh complexity, source URLs, and a fit ranking for the user's intended workflow.

## Workflow

1. **Clarify the asset class through search terms, not questions unless necessary.**
   - Search all likely synonyms and disambiguations: subject names, historical names, alternate spellings, and adjacent object types (`head`, `bust`, `statue`, `herm`, `scan`, `STL`, `OBJ`, `glTF`).
   - Include negative filters mentally and in queries for common false positives (e.g. `Mercury` can mean the singer, planet, Sailor Mercury, car brand, or element).

2. **Search multiple marketplace classes in parallel.**
   - Free/community: Sketchfab downloadable, MyMiniFactory/Scan the World, Printables, Thingiverse, Thangs.
   - Commercial: CGTrader, TurboSquid, Free3D, Cults3D, 3DExport, Etsy, Fab.
   - Heritage/museum mirrors: Scan the World, institutional pages, Sketchfab museum accounts.

3. **Verify structured metadata wherever possible.**
   - Sketchfab: use the public API for reliable `isDownloadable`, `license`, `faceCount`, `vertexCount`, `viewerUrl`, tags, and description:
     ```python
     import requests
     uid = "MODEL_UID"
     data = requests.get(f"https://api.sketchfab.com/v3/models/{uid}", timeout=20).json()
     ```
   - For Sketchfab downloads, public metadata can prove downloadability and license, but exact archive URLs/formats usually require authenticated download. State this clearly; do not invent exact formats.
   - MyMiniFactory pages often expose the license and `Object Parts` in clean page text. Use those lines to verify STL filenames.
   - CGTrader pages often expose price, license label, file formats, poly/vertex counts, printable status, verification checks, and no-AI/custom restrictions.
   - TurboSquid/Free3D/Cults/Etsy can be anti-bot or extraction-hostile; if blocked, use official search snippets as leads but label details as lower confidence and recommend checkout verification.

4. **Separate free from paid and license-fit from visual-fit.**
   - Free is not automatically usable: CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, and especially CC BY-NC-ND can block commercial use, redistribution, conversions, or derivative GLB exports.
   - Paid marketplace “royalty free” is not uniform. Check for custom/personal-only terms, no-AI terms, and commercial add-ons.
   - If the user needs a web viewer, prefer permissive licenses and native/common runtime formats (`glTF/GLB`, `OBJ`, `FBX`) over print-only STL unless conversion is acceptable.

5. **Rank for the actual target workflow.**
   - For Three.js wireframe rendering, prioritize:
     - clear silhouette from many angles
     - visible/clean topology or quad-like retopology
     - moderate polycount that will not overload the browser
     - formats that convert cleanly to GLB
     - strong subject identity/iconography
   - Very high-poly museum scans can look good but may need decimation; note this as a workflow cost.
   - STL print models often have dense triangulated sculpt topology; good for dramatic detail, less ideal for clean wireframe unless retopologized or decimated.

6. **Use thumbnail/preview vision to assess aesthetics.**
   - Pull marketplace preview images and inspect silhouette, facial/head detail, iconic attributes, base/pedestal distractions, and whether wireframe lines will read as intentional structure or noisy scan triangles.
   - Do not rank by render beauty alone; rank by the target render style.

7. **Write a persistent report when the search is non-trivial.**
   - Save findings to a local markdown file if many candidates were compared.
   - Include confidence levels for blocked pages or snippet-derived details.

## Output template

- **Best recommendation:** [asset + why]
- **Free candidates**
  - Name / URL
  - Marketplace / author
  - License and restrictions
  - Verified formats or format caveat
  - Poly/vertex count when known
  - Fit ranking and notes
- **Paid candidates**
  - Price
  - License label and restrictions
  - Formats
  - Poly/vertex count / verification status
  - Fit ranking and notes
- **Excluded / false positives:** [brief list]
- **Caveats:** [blocked pages, checkout verification, authenticated download requirements]

## Pitfalls

- Do not treat search snippets as fully verified when the marketplace page is blocked; label them as snippet-derived.
- Do not claim Sketchfab exact download formats from metadata alone; use authenticated download or state that the format requires login/download check.
- Do not ignore no-derivatives licenses when the workflow involves converting, decimating, or redistributing a GLB.
- Do not conflate visual quality with wireframe quality: high-poly sculpts and scans can become noisy wireframes.
- Watch out for same-name false positives: celebrities, brands, planets, anime/game characters, and unrelated products.

## References

- `references/hermes-mercury-head-bust-marketplace-search.md` — worked example: sourcing Hermes/Mercury deity head/bust assets, using Sketchfab API, MyMiniFactory object-part/license extraction, marketplace caveats, and wireframe ranking.