What is 3D modeling?
3D modeling is the process of creating 3D models by manipulating Meshes in 3D software.
A mesh (also called a polygon mesh) is a three-dimensional virtual object that is represented in a three-dimensional space in the 3D software.
A mesh is made up of components. These components are faces, edges, and vertices:
- A face is best described as a filled-in plane with at least three or more straight edges. Faces are made of two sub-component parts – edges and vertices.
- An edge is a connection between two vertices.
- A vertex (plural: vertices) is a point in a 3D space. Vertices are the smallest components of a mesh.
These can be seen in the following diagram:
Figure 1.1 – The parts of a mesh
In this section, you learned about the basics of 3D modeling. This knowledge is an essential building block to learning more about 3D graphics.
In the next section, we will explore the fundamentals of 3D sculpting as a different approach to creating 3D assets.
