Building 3D Worlds

Reading this entry I found a lot of information to be new to me. Behavioral modeling is one of the aspects of 3D modeling which describes the behavior of an object in 3D space. The author states that “behaviors are also used to animate articulated characters, determining facial expressions and realistic skin folds” (pg. 216). Within the creating building blocks section it defines the building blocks of a computer graphics program. This includes the description of numerous ways programs create 3D shapes and these are made up of primitives, sweeps, extrusion, revolves, and lofting. Although I am familiar with a few of these through different modeling programs, it was interesting to know the different types of primary techniques that make up the fundamentals of 3D modeling. Digital clay or 3D sculpting was another approach to modeling that I am not familiar with. This form of modeling is used through the “pushing and pulling on the vertices and connecting line of the object’s polygonal mesh” (pg. 228), which then creates new shapes.

This information is beneficial when you are new to 3D modeling programs. By having an idea of the primary structures of a modeling program you have a basis to build on further knowledge of that program. There is also the fact that most modeling programs are built upon these same primary features. This can also benefit the user by having the ability to have basic knowledge of any program they encounter. I believe that in the now and in the future most modeling interfaces will be the same with very little difference other than layout, which is not far from the case today. With most modeling programs having the capability to produce the same work, most of the difference can only be seen in renderings.


"Building 3D Worlds – 3D Geometric Graphics I". The Computer in The Visual Arts by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 212-253.