A question regarding the tagging of frequently recurring assets in 3D artwork

I have a question in regards to how one should tag certain 3D assets. Though I think the best way to communicate the complexity of this dilemma, is to explain how the social and creative ecosystem around this specific case has evolved over time.

1. It begins with a 2D-artist drawing a piece involving two similar characters (who are frequently seen paired together) from an established IP, while giving them altered proportions and new outfits not seen anywhere else in official media.

2. Then these redesigns inspires a 3D artist to make a 3D model of one of the characters in a similar-ish style to how they were drawn by the original 2D artist, altered proportions and new costume and all. Then the 3D artist releases the model publicly for the masses to make renders out of.
If the story had ended here, then the only question I'd be left with is how to tag this one model:

• "character-name_(2d-artist's-name)"?
• Or "character-name_(3d-modeller's-name)"?

3. But eventually a new, different 3D artist gets their hands on the asset and is bothered by how the other character from the original 2D artwork did not get a matching model as well, and so they begin to extensively modify the first model until it resembles the missing character while also matching the old asset stylistically. The second 3D modeller also chooses to include options for alternative outfits seen in the original IP, then they release this new asset to for public use as well.
Now we have another person to credit into the mix. How should this new model be tagged?

• "character-name_(2d-artist's-name)"?
• "character-name_(first-3d-modeller's-name)"?
• "character-name_(second-3d-modeller's-name)"?
• "character-name_(first-3d-modeller's-name-&-second-3d-modeller's-name)"?

4. But it doesn't end there. Since now more and more 3D artists are using these models as a base for making more and more outfits as well as more and more characters from the same IP in the same style. Some of these modellers are unaware of each other's projects and thus you have an occasional situation of two people having made slightly different versions of the same character using the same base model, so they both technically look the same but are still different in small ways. Some of the new modellers begin collaborating to create the best possible interpretation of some characters in that specific style and while some of them chose to continue the legacy of those that came before and release their new models as well, a few others chose to keep their custom modifications for themselves.
How do you even begin to define them tag-wise?

• "character-name_(original-2d-artist's-name)" doesn't work as well anymore because they never drew a lot of these additional characters in that style, while there's also the fact that there are now other 2D artists who have begun referencing the original 2D artwork and the custom designs stemming from it, so if there's a tag that should be used to representing those, this would be it.
• "character-name_(first-3d-modeller's-name)" doesn't work as well anymore either, since the newer models that were made after them may contain a few rookie mistakes (or even technical improvements) that the original 3D modeller are not responsible for.
• And "character-name_(second/third/fourth/fifth/sixth/etc-3d-modeller's-name)" has the added problem of separating a spinoff-IP's worth of models from each other, despite most of them being intrinsically made to match the others and act as pieces of a complete, yet ever expanding collectors set of models. Who's rise in popularity has admittedly ended up cannibalizing attention away from other 3D-model styles, just through the sheer quantity of renders being made from them (so having a unifying tag that can serve as a filter, to give the less popular models more attention would be more desirable).

But that brings in the question of which Tag type to even use for something like this, since it technically contains aspects commonly seen in almost all of them:

• It fits in Character since the character as a whole is usually the focus of the asset itself.
• It fits with Artist since the art-style of the model itself is heavily tied to how its original artist designed it.
• It fits with General since in some way it can act as a visual description of the character that the model is supposed to represent.
• It somewhat fits with how Copyright tends to unify a lot of character-tags under one banner, yet publicly available models are usually not officially licensed.
• And it somewhat fits with Meta since it is in some way making a reference to how a piece of art involving them was made.

(Note that I'm not the most experienced with the nitty-grittys of how tag-types are supposed to be used, these are just how I've observed them be used over time)

One could alternatively just add the artist-tag of the original modeller in the Artist section of every render that uses their models. However that runs the risk watering out the library of renders that were made by the original modeller themselves with artwork that they didn't really have any direct input in. (Like wold you include the credits of everyone who made Photoshop in the artists section just because a piece of art was made with Photoshop?)
Would it be worthwhile (or even possible) to make a new "Assets" tag-type for something like this?

I know this technically isn't the best Booru to be asking this question, since 3D-art is by default not that highly regarded here, but I've seen some 3D stuff bleed through here and these models are used in staggering amounts of artwork, so it may still be worth talking about for future reference. Either way, I've also just been personally bothered by the theory-crafting of this situation in general for a couple years now, so I still thought it was worth asking about it on a platform that tries to hold itself to a higher quality-standard.

my take assuming i'm understanding the post correctly: i believe tagging with the portrayed character's tag plus alternate costume is enough for points 1-3, since we don't tag bases in 2d art, i don't see much of a reason to start doing it in 3d art. any outfits that get more than a handful of posts on here should receive their own character tag, which i think is something we already do for recurring fan-made alternate designs.

as for point 4, the aforementioned approach should still work. if the base asset is modified to the extent that it becomes more of an original character, then it should be tagged accordingly.

The numbering aren't exactly there to serve as individual points to be addressed per se.
More like chapter numbering of how this specific situation has evolved over time for ease of reading (I understand it is a lot of text, that also needs to make a lot of specifications, so I've imagined it'd be easy to get lost in).

This is admittedly not as much of an issue that Danbooru specifically suffers from as of now, due to the low number of 3D art that's here in general, but it is something that has become more prevalent on other Boorus. The main point is that sometimes when a lewd 3D model of a pre-existing character, from a pre-existing series have been released to the public and it becomes so popular to use in 3D artwork that you start to see it everywhere.
In a lot of ways, that model kinda gains a characterization of its own in the mind of the audience.
For the people who like the model, it being really popular is all well and good, but for those who do not like it (perhaps because of the artistic liberties it may take), it can feel somewhat inescapable.
And so creating a tag that specifies what model it is or what base its using can be useful for those people. The main question is what tag-type makes the most sense for something that specifies such a thing and if any of the pre-existing tag-types can be used, or if it would become so prevalent that maybe another tag-type should be added for it.

I guess a decent, extreme example for this would be Funko Pops.
They are clearly based on already established characters from different series, yet they still have a distinct branding that defines their appearance.
Some people love them and others abhor them.
The benefit of tagging Funko Pops is that it has the official brand "Funko Pop" that can serve as a tag.

But how do you tag a series of dozens of 3D models that are all based on familiar characters.
That all share the same base "design-branding", different from the official designs.
But also that this new fanmade "design-brand" has no official name to it, other than "based on the art from this one guy"?
Maybe that example sells the spirit of this conundrum a bit more?

After thinking some more about it, I guess maybe a tag like "original-3d-modeller-name_(3D_model_style)" in the General tag category would be best, I suppose.

Splatoonsiast said:

And so creating a tag that specifies what model it is or what base its using can be useful for those people. The main question is what tag-type makes the most sense for something that specifies such a thing and if any of the pre-existing tag-types can be used, or if it would become so prevalent that maybe another tag-type should be added for it.

what you're describing sounds roughly analogous to a species tag, so general category with a naming scheme like "style-or-other-descriptor(s)_(original-modeller-name)" sounds correct to me.

(i also don't expect there to be a separate category for it here, considering 3d makes up a mere 18k posts out of nearly 9m)