The Basics of 3D Modelling
There are many different industries that utilize 3D models. Of course the first that springs to most people’s minds is the Computer Games Industry that has been relying on three dimensional polygons to create elaborate settings and characters for people to explore and revel in for many years. However the demand for more realism is becoming greater and greater mainly due to increasingly more advanced GPU processing and the fact that most development teams can now pack greater detail into a lower polygonal model. Of course you also have the Film and TV industry which with advancing 3D Modelling and Computer Generated Images has been able to create more exciting effects as well as adding a sense of realism to even the most fantastical situations, which overall makes films more visually appealing and exciting to watch. It is an exciting prospect that the digital age is now enhancing education for this generation, getting them enthusiastic to learn. For example this video shows how a powerful 3D anatomical model can help instruct students about the human anatomy.
The use of 3D Models has become essential in Product Design especially with mechanical products because not only can the product designer visualize how their product will look but can also test how it would work using animation techniques. This is extremely cost effective as it means product designers and engineers no longer have to create each part of their product, test it and revise it if needed, which can be very expensive. For such an expensive and iterative process 3D Modelling is the perfect platform for architecture as they can visualize the look and structure of their build as well as how it would fit into its surroundings.
A 3D model is a mathematical representation of any three dimensional object in a 3D software environment. There are two primary types of 3D models that are used in the film and games industry. Polygonal modelling is the more common of the two and consists of creating a mesh construction which comprised of faces, edges and vertices. The geometric theory of this is similar to basic geometric shapes that you learn in school, when two vertices connect together they form a straight line whereas three define a triangle. Some of the most complex models start as simple shapes like a cube or a sphere. These primitive forms can then be manipulated into whatever object desired by the modeller.
Some of the defining components of polygonal modelling are things like when the mesh is faceted. This means that the surface of the 3D model is comprised of hundreds or thousands of geometric faces. Without textures or shading a 3D model would struggle to represent a life-like presence in a physical world. Shading can affect how a model interacts with light, including opacity, reflectivity etc. Textures are added using a thing called texture mapping and can change the complexity from simple flat colour to a very realistic texture like glass.
NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-spline) is a smooth surface model created through the use of Bezier curves (Like a 3D version of Adobe Illustrators pen tool). The artist draws several curves in a 3D space which they then can manipulate by moving handles called vertices. This kind of model has the highest technical and mathematical precision and is most commonly used for more engineering and automotive purposes.
There are several different software used for 3-D modelling some used in specialized media fields and more accessible for commercial purposes while others offering to the wider more general public. They typically offer similar tools and services but with different formats and layouts and they can often export their files to different programs as long as the Metadata is compatible. 3DS Max and Maya are particular favourites in the Film, T.V and Video Game industries, while Blender provides a free and open source for aspiring artists. Some go even further into specialised fields like Vue which is used especially for creating, animating and rendering natural 3D environments and Poser which is used to animate and render optimized models that depict the human figure. A notable free modelling program is Google Sketch-up which was at first primarily favoured for architectural structures but recently has evolved to fir the creative media. The developers of the Uncharted games used this program to develop their concept art.
There are a few constraints that should be kept in mind when modelling. One of the most common and frustrating for new users is the polygon count which can be regularly checked using most 3D modelling software. For example a character in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had a restriction of two thousand polygons while the main character in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the PS3 in 2007 had a polygon restriction of thirty thousand. The main reason for a polygon count is really down to how smoothly the model will run in a game engine or layout software and depending on these the restriction can alter.
Another long but unfortunately unavoidable constraint is rendering time. Rendering is the final process for creating the actual image or animation from the prepared scene. The more detailed the model the longer it will take as it has to deal with light, shadow, texture mapping, reflection etc. which gives your 2D image its 3D identity. File size is another if not minor constraint that doesn’t affect artists as much today. To lower the file size tidying up a model can be the most worthwhile way of combating it like merging any un-needed points and so on.
In this modern day and age 3D modelling software is becoming more and more accessible out of the commercial field and people who are eager to get into the creative media industry should be encouraged to start modelling as early as possible. I know from experience that the modelling becomes easier and easier with practice.
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