As you go about your fun activities, such as watching a movie or playing video games, the elements of 3D are not given a second thought, as to the technology developed in producing a 3D image or the movie. The most basic part of a 3D object is called a polygon. Each polygon is made up of three pieces called the Vertex, Edge, and Face. 

The best way to describe a polygon is to think of a piece of paper. First lay a piece of paper on a table, the paper itself can be called a Face. The edges of the paper are edges but in the 3D world, these are called Edges as well. The last piece of a polygon is called a Vertex which is located on the very corners of the sheet of paper. The Vertex is the absolute smallest point that can be created in a 3D world. When all three elements are assembled you have created a polygon to be used as part of a 3D object. 

Early 3D 

The world of 3D, on a computer, is composed of anything an artist can envision to create a still image or game. There are numerous software background processes within a 3D program used to create 3D objects. Math plays an important part in 3D creation but an artist does not need to rely completely on his math skills to create a workable 3D object. With automation, 3D graphics no longer need to be created manually by moving Vertex points to change how a 3D object appears. Earlier, manual graphics needed to rely on funding to enable the use of a modified CNC machine, to assist in creating a crude 3D model by generating Vertex points for the artist. Otherwise, a 3D modeler would have to plot an entire 3D model on graph paper. The artist would then enter the Vertex manually one by one, also creating the Edges one at a time. The Vertex and Edges are converted into a wireframe. Finally, the artist can take the wireframe and create Faces manually to create a full 3D model. 

Coloring in 3D

Creating models is great but people also want 3D models to be colored making them more interesting. Without the addition of color, the models will just look like a default shade of grey. Coloring allows rendering engines to produce a more convincing image. Over the years rendering engines have become complex. All render engines involve massive amounts of highly complex math to help create an image, but we are going to stick to the absolute basics. 

Within a 3D world just like in the real world everything is considered an object. There are other classifications of objects called subtypes such as Particles, Nurbs, and Bezier Curves. The basic default color of most 3D objects is a blank grey but the default color can be changed to match a certain effect an artist is looking for. The artist may also give an object an opacity to make it more translucent like glass. If the artist wants to create a matt type surface or perhaps a shiny reflective surface this can be accomplished by simply changing the color settings within the 3D program. Anything to do with coloring changes is handled by the rendering engine of the 3D program. The rendering engine may also be used to create still images or models for video games. 

Textures in 3D

Sometimes a 3D artist wants to map an image texture to a 3D object. What is done in this case is a 3D object must be unwrapped. To visualize unwrapping a 3D object I want you to think of a cube. A cube has six sides all of which must be laid flat like a piece of paper so an image texture can be placed upon. The cube must be cut apart. The computer or the artist will cut along the vertexes of the object so it can lay flat. Next, an image is created to correspond to the flattened 3D model. The image used can range from a very low-resolution image, which is used mainly in video games, to a very high-resolution image used in still image renders and movies. The computer takes the image and puts coordinates on the image file to match the unwrapped 3D model. The computer will take each polygon and the image and place the pieces of the image on each polygon, stretching and resizing it as needed. In doing this it is possible to have an entire 3D object completely covered in an image. 

Bump Mapping in 3D

Adding an image to a 3D object did not produce enough realism so eventually Bump Mapping was created. Bump Mapping is a texture similar to an image texture but is used to tell the computer depth information for how light is reacting upon the object. This type of texture allows for super high detail to be added into a 3D model such as the roughness of tree bark. Without  Bump Mapping, it would be difficult to create enough polygons to simulate the same result. The use of bump map texture allows for a much lower amount of polygons per object in developing video games. A combination form of image texture and bump mapping gives the artist the ability to make a model that is transparent on one spot and colored in still another spot. For example, the look of a dusty dirty window is accomplished with an image that supports transparency. To accomplish transparency there are several image formats used depending on the 3D program. Usually, the most common ones are. PNG files or.TARGA files. Both files support transparency. Combined with Bump Mapping, overlaid upon a 3D model, and application of the right settings, you can create a transparent image effect. This becomes a great tool for creating a wide range of effects.

Animation in 3D

Using combinations of 3D objects and textures is great for still imagery. However, people want to see animated objects simply because moving images are much more interesting than still life. Over the years there have been many versions of how to move a collection of 3D objects around in a 3D world. One of the ways is simply using software to command the computer to move a motionless 3D object from Point “A” to Point “B”. The second way is the use of software that creates Bone Rigging within the 3D programming. The Bone Rigging enables the 3D object to be controlled somewhat like a puppet. Bone Rigging permits 3D models to have a life of their own. In many ways, the use of Bone Rigging is very similar to the method called claymation in the film industry. The 3D models, with the rigging system, are no more than complex puppets for animators to animate one frame of film at a time. Bone Rigging 3D animation is taking century-old forms of art and bringing them to a higher level.