3D Modeling of Objects!

3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical, wireframe representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living) via specialized software. The prod ct is called a 3D model. !t can be displayed as a two-dimensional image thro gh a process called 3D rendering or sed in a comp ter sim lation of physical phenomena. The model can also be physically created sing 3D "rinting devices. #odels may be created a tomatically or man ally. The man al modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D comp ter graphics is similar to plastic arts s ch as sc lpting. 3D models represent a 3D object sing a collection of points in 3D space, connected by vario s geometric entities s ch as triangles, lines, c rved s rfaces, etc. $eing a collection of data (points and other information), 3D models can be created by hand, algorithmically (proced ral modeling), or scanned. 3D models are widely sed anywhere in 3D graphics. %ct ally, their se predates the widespread se of 3D graphics on personal comp ters. #any comp ter games sed prerendered images of 3D models as sprites before comp ters co ld render them in realtime. Today, 3D models are sed in a wide variety of fields. The medical ind stry ses detailed models of organs. The movie ind stry ses them as characters and objects for animated and real-life motion pict res. The video game ind stry ses them as assets for comp ter and video games. The science sector ses them as highly detailed models of chemical compo nds. The architect re ind stry ses them to demonstrate proposed b ildings and landscapes thro gh &oftware %rchitect ral #odels. The engineering comm nity ses them as designs of new devices, vehicles and str ct res as well as a host of other ses. !n recent decades the earth science comm nity has started to constr ct 3D geological models as a standard practice. 'epresentation %lmost all 3D models can be divided into two categories. &olid - These models define the vol me of the object they represent (li(e a roc(). These are more realistic, b t more diffic lt to b ild. &olid models are mostly sed for nonvis al sim lations s ch as medical and engineering sim lations, for )%D and specialized vis al applications s ch as ray tracing and constr ctive solid geometry. &hell*bo ndary - these models represent the s rface, e.g. the bo ndary of the object, not its vol me (li(e an infinitesimally thin eggshell). These are easier to wor( with than solid models. %lmost all vis al models sed in games and film are shell models. #odeling processes

There are fo r pop lar ways to represent a model+ "olygonal modeling - "oints in 3D space, called vertices, are connected by line segments to form a polygonal mesh. ,sed for e-ample by 3D& #a-. The vast majority of 3D models today are b ilt as te-t red polygonal models, beca se they are fle-ible and beca se comp ters can render them so . ic(ly. /owever, polygons are planar and can only appro-imate c rved s rfaces sing many polygons. 0,'$& modeling - 0,'$& & rfaces are defined by spline c rves, which are infl enced by weighted control points. The c rve follows (b t does not necessarily interpolate) the points. !ncreasing the weight for a point will p ll the c rve closer to that point. 0,'$& are tr ly smooth s rfaces, not appro-imations sing small flat s rfaces, and so are partic larly s itable for organic modeling. #aya and 'hino 3d are the most well-(nown commercial software that ses 0,'$& natively. &plines 1 "atches modeling - 2i(e 0,'$&, &plines and "atches depend on c rved lines to define the visible s rface. "atches fall somewhere between 0,'$& and polygons in terms of fle-ibility and ease of se. "rimitives modeling - This proced re ta(es geometric primitives li(e balls, cylinders, cones or c bes as b ilding bloc(s for more comple- models. $enefits are . ic( and easy constr ction and that the forms are mathematically defined and th s absol tely precise, also the definition lang age can be m ch simpler. "rimitives modeling is well s ited for technical applications and less for organic shapes. &ome 3D software can directly render from primitives (li(e "34-'ay), others se primitives only for modeling and convert them to meshes for f rther operations and rendering.