Typically, the fewer polys in your model the more angular your model will appear, so, more ploys mean a smoother surface. Polygons are three sided and when limited in number they can make your model look faceted. Technically, when we are working with a mesh, the vertex points dictate the location, relationship, and properties of that surface, so when you move a vertex point, you move one edge of a poly. The surface we customarily think of as the skin of our mesh is called a Polygon. At each point where one “wire” interacts with another wire is a dot/handle that can be manipulated, this is called a Vertex. You can think of your mesh like a wire cage. While there are many elements to the creation of a 3D mesh, for your work in IMVU you will work mostly with both vertices and polygons. Be sure to play with these settings to see what you can come up with. The Parameters window is especially useful when determining the number of sides to a Cylinder, the amount of facets on a Sphere, and the number of sections in something like a vertical post. This adds complexity to your basic shape, but it also gives you more Verts to work with as you continue. In the example below, the Box has been set to include multiple segments at its Length, Width, and Height. As you create your initial shape, you will be able to adjust the Parameters of the shape.

You can also create a variety of more complex shapes like a Torus, GeoSphere, Pyramid, and the Max signature… Teapot. Here you will be able to create a Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, Tube, and Plane. These are the initial building blocks that you can distort, extrude, bend, and manipulate into whatever object you desire. A sub Tab under the Create Tab is the Geometry Tab, which allows you to access primitive shapes that will become the foundation of your new model. “The Create Tab” All new projects begin somewhere, and in the case of 3D applications like 3DS Max you start at the Create Tab. This consists of three over sized “Handles” that always point along the three axis’… x, y & z. In Max this is called a “Gizmo” (please don’t ask my why that call it that). “The Gizmo” To make the act of manipulating your mesh in this 3D space easier, both Max and Maya give you a device to help you grab your object and move it along any of these three axis’. This is frequently represented by a graphic like the one depicted here, indicating each of these directions, depending on the view you are currently working within. Axis In the 2D world of programs like Photoshop, we are dealing with the two dimensions of Up and Down (Z), and Side-to-Side (X)… but in 3D we have a third dimension to work with, the “Y” axis, Back-to-Front. In the case of 3D Studio Max, this means you will see the front, top, left, and perspective views of your modeling environment as soon as you open the application. The Basics: Most 3D software gives you the default option of viewing your models from various viewpoints at the same time. Viewports – The Windows into the 3D World Still, in their defense, all good things take work to understand, and one of the realities of modeling in 3D is that you have to learn the obscure language used by the software engineers responsible for creating these applications. The only conclusion I can come to is that whoever decided to design a button with no label on it (to do something as important as importing a texture) must secretly hate me. Although I know that the designers of these programs are doing their best to create these deep applications, I have to wonder if they actually use them on a daily basis.Īs an example, to import a Bitmap image into 3D Max to use as a texture to apply to a mesh, I have to click a button that has no label or icon on it. If you have experience using Photoshop you know what it is like to have used the program for years and be introduced to a new trick that would have probably saved you weeks of your life if you had just known it years ago. These applications can do amazing things and even veteran users of these programs find themselves discovering new depths and shortcuts to getting their work done. These are complex tools that have been built on simpler, earlier incarnations and their evolution has added depth to appeal to a wide range of power users, from the gaming to the entertainment industries. It is my opinion that although 3D applications, like 3D Max and Maya are powerful tools, they have made no real attempt to make their applications intuitive or easy to use. Okay, before we start I would like to get out into the open a dirty little secret about 3D modeling. For those of you “meshers” out there that are already experienced 3D model builders, you will find this stuff pretty basic, but we would love your input if you see any areas I should elaborate on, or have missed entirely.Īn Introduction to 3D Modeling – Don’t Panic!

Mega male imvu mesh by ishtar