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Chapter 4 Perspective, Scene Design, and Basic Animation
All 3D objects are made from interconnected polygons stuck together to
form a shape. These polygons, or polys, stick together along their edges and
vertices in what is referred to as a
mesh.
Creating a mesh is like gluing all
of the pieces together to make one object. However, the computer does the
“gluing” based on the size you give the object.
The mesh provides the shape for an object, as illustrated in Figure 4-36A. After
the mesh is complete, textures, called materials, need to be applied, as is done in
Figure 4-36B. Often, a single 2D texture map contains more than one image, like
those shown in Figure 4-36C. Once the texture map is wrapped onto an object, the
images are aligned to create the finished object, illustrated in Figure 4-36D.
What Is a Mesh?
Figure 4-36.
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher; model courtesy of Autodesk, Inc.
A—This is a mesh for a cartoonish biplane. B—Some of the objects have materials assigned.
C—This is the 2D texture map that will be assigned to the remaining parts of the biplane.
D—The fully textured biplane. Notice how the 2D texture map has been applied to the mesh.