WTF is DPC?
A Crash Course in Digital Product Creation for 3D Artists coming from VFX, Animation, & Gaming
WTF is DPC? (Digital Product Creation)
Digital Product Creation (DPC) is an acronym you’ll bump into the moment you cross from the world of 3D for entertainment into almost any other industry. And the term is so embedded in those companies that they’ll assume you know exactly what they’re talking about.
And you won’t… but you know what that means…
It’s time for another WTF article! (This week’s theme song is Lindsey Buckingham’s Holiday Road from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies. Also, please check out that music video. It’s a reminder that 80s music videos were often fever dreams of low-budget insanity.)
So What Is Digital Product Creation?
In plain speak, DPC is the process of creating detailed, accurate digital twins of real-world products before they physically exist. Instead of sketching a pattern, sewing a sample, shipping it overseas, and waiting weeks for feedback, you design everything digitally first. Materials get scanned or built in a 3D tool to match real fabrics. Patterns are drafted and simulated on virtual avatars in programs like CLO or Browzwear. The result? A virtual prototype (aka digital twin) that drapes, fits, and moves like the real thing.
Industries like automotive and consumer goods have been using digital twins and digital prototyping for years; they just didn’t always call it “DPC.” Fashion and footwear picked it up more recently, around the late 2010s, when they realized they could skip endless rounds of physical samples and approve the digital twin instead.
And when COVID hit — factories shut down, travel stopped — DPC workflows kept product development alive.
Why Do Companies Care?
Companies obsess over DPC because it saves time, money, and resources — and it’s a huge step toward more sustainable production.
Faster cycles: With a digital twin, design tweaks happen instantly. No more waiting weeks for a prototype to ship overseas. Teams can review, approve, and keep moving.
Lower costs: Fewer physical samples mean less material waste, lower shipping costs, and less money sunk into prototypes that never get made.
Less waste: By refining the digital twin until it’s exactly right, brands avoid piles of rejected samples that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Better collaboration: A digital twin is easy to share with teams, suppliers, and retailers. Everyone works from the same source of truth.
Ready for marketing: That digital twin isn’t just for the design team. It can be used for high-end renders on the website, virtual try-ons, and AR previews.
Some brands even sell products before a physical version exists, using hyper-realistic images of the digital twin. Not every company is Apple with its own flagship stores — most need to convince retailers to stock different versions of their products. It’s far smarter to do that with a digital twin created by a DPC team than risk overproducing something stores don’t want to carry.
How DPC Happens: The Tool Stack
Here’s what makes it work:
CLO 3D and Browzwear: The gold standard for virtual garment creation. These simulate patterns and drape on digital avatars, turning flat patterns into realistic 3D garments.
CAD Software: In footwear, furniture, or consumer products, tools like Rhino, SolidWorks, or Fusion 360 handle the precision modeling and engineering needed to build an accurate digital twin.
Maya, Blender, C4D: Some companies use the same 3D tools you already know, but they’re definitely in the minority.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK1b78MWXvYJyOOYdRYszZC8kOp6pmiby Adobe Substance: Huge for material realism. High-quality digital twins rely on accurate digital fabrics, leathers, and plastics. Tools like Substance Painter or Designer bring real-world texture and detail into your 3D models.
3D Scanning and PLM: Scanners capture real-world materials and bodies to create a faithful digital twin. Product Lifecycle Management systems keep all that data flowing smoothly from design through manufacturing.
Why You Should Care as a 3D Artist
If you’re a 3D artist from entertainment, the good news is you already know how to make beautiful, accurate digital assets. DPC channels that skill into a world where your digital twin becomes a real, tangible product. Better yet, the industry desperately needs more talent fluent in 3D tools. Fashion schools don’t teach students how to run CLO or Browzwear at a pro level — but you’ve been building and texturing digital worlds for years. That’s a massive advantage.
You can jump into a sector that’s growing fast, do work with real-world impact, and help companies bridge the gap between virtual and physical products. Your 3D models won’t just live on a screen — they’ll walk down the street, sit in someone’s living room, or show up on store shelves.
Wrapping It Up
Digital Product Creation means building digital twins that make product development smarter, faster, cheaper, and more sustainable. It started in fashion and footwear but is expanding into every sector that makes physical goods. It’s not quite magic yet, but it’s getting there — and for 3D artists, it’s an exciting new playground to put your craft to work.
See? I knew you’d know what DPC means by the end of this article.
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Hello! Michael Tanzillo here. I am the Head of Technical Artists with the Substance 3D team at Adobe. Previously, I was a Senior Artist on animated films at Blue Sky Studios/Disney with credits including three Ice Age movies, two Rios, Peanuts, Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise, and Epic.
In addition to his work as an artist, I am the Co-Author of the book Lighting for Animation: The Visual Art of Storytelling and the Co-Founder of The Academy of Animated Art, an online school that has helped hundreds of artists around the world begin careers in Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging. I also created The 3D Artist Community on Skool and this newsletter.
www.michaeltanzillo.com
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