Introduction to Graphics and Visual Computing

Modelling (Part 1)
CSEL 301 Module 2
Meshes
 Modeling Mode
Object Mode
• Supports basic operations such as object creation, joining
objects, managing shape keys, UV/color layers.
Edit Mode
• Used for the majority of mesh editing operations.
Sculpt Mode
• Instead of dealing with individual mesh elements, supports
sculpting with brushes.
 Structures

With meshes, everything is built from three basic structures.

• Vertices
• Edges
• Face
 Vertices

• The most elementary part of a mesh is the vertex (vertices plural)

which is a single point or position in 3D space.
• Vertices are represented in the 3D Viewport in Edit Mode as
small dots.
• The vertices of an object are stored as an array of coordinates.
 Edges

• An edge always connects two vertices by a straight line.

• The edges are the “wires” you see when you look at a mesh in
wireframe view.
• They are usually invisible on the rendered image.
• They are used to construct faces.
 Faces

• Faces are crucial for creating the object's surface, visible in the
rendered mesh.
• They are defined as the area between three, four, or more
vertices, with an edge on every side.
• Triangles are flat, while quadrangles are preferred for animation
and subdivision modeling.
 Normals

• A normal in geometry is a perpendicular direction or line to a

triangle, surface, line, curve, or plane.
• In a figure, blue lines represent normal for faces on a torus,
activated in Edit Mode in the Mesh Display Viewport Overlays
panel.
 Properties

Auto Smooth
• Smoothing edges with smaller
angle between faces in the
Angle field allows for easier
combination of smooth and
sharp edges.
 Properties

Advance Smooth Shading and Sharp Edges

• Blender's default normal computing behavior defines sharp
edges as non-manifold or flat faces.
• Enabling Auto Smooth adds an additional parameter, the
Angle threshold between neighbor faces, defining a sharp
edge.
• Custom Split Normals handling, either defined as a mesh
data layer or generated by modifiers, supersede default ones.
Custom Split Normal

• Custom Split Normals is a technique used in game

development to adjust shading by pointing normals towards
different directions, addressing issues with low-poly objects
and rounded corners.
• Blender supports custom normals on a smooth fan base.
Enable Custom Split Normal

Custom split normals can be enabled using various editing tools,

which can affect all or selected normals, as a convenience.
• Make the element selection mode both Vertex and Face (use Shift-
LMB to enable the second one).
• Select one or more vertices, then select a face.
This can be repeated to select more vertices and a different face and so
on. It is easiest to see the effect of these tools if you turn on the Edit
Mode Overlays option Display vertex-per-face normals as lines.
Enable Custom Split Normal

• This can be repeated to select more vertices and a different face

and so on.
• It is easiest to see the effect of these tools if you turn on the Edit
Mode Overlays option Display vertex-per-face normals as lines.
Importing Custom Split Normal

• Some tools, particularly those used in CAD, tend to generate

irregular geometry when tessellating their objects into meshes
(very thin and long triangles, etc.).
• Auto-computed normals on such geometry often gives bad
artifacts, so it is important to be able to import and use the normals
as generated by the CAD tool itself.
 Topology

Loops
 Topology

Loops
• Edge and face loops are continuous sets of faces or edges that
divide a model into two partitions.
• They are cyclic and can be a powerful tool for working with
specific mesh regions and organic character animation.
 Topology

Edge Loops
• Edge loops are crucial in organic modeling and character
animation, connecting vertices with two neighbors on both sides.
• They allow for natural-looking models with few vertices and
excellent deformation in animation.
• Edge loops follow contours and deformation lines of skin and
muscles, with denser loops in areas that deform more when the
character moves.
 Topology

Face Loops
• Face loops are extensions of edge loops, consisting of faces
between two loops.
• Non-circular loops don't include pole-containing faces.
 Primitives

• Blender offers primitive mesh

shapes for 3D scene modeling,
which can be added in Edit
Mode at the 3D cursor.
 Common Options

Type
• You can change the type of some objects after their creation with
a selector.
Radius/Size
• Sets the starting size.
 Common Options
Align
Rotates the new object so that it is aligned in one of the following
manners:
• World: Aligns the object to the global space axes, i.e. the
object’s front faces the negative Y axis (default).
• View: Aligns the object to the view space axes, i.e. the object’s
front faces the viewport’s point of view.
• 3D Cursor Aligns the object to match the rotation of the 3D
Cursor.
 Common Options

Location
• Objects are placed, by default, at the position of the 3D Cursor.
• These values let you place the object in another position.
Rotation
• Values let you rotate the object so that default rotation is
overridden.
 Planes

• The standard plane is a single quad face, which is composed of

four vertices, four edges, and one face.
• It is like a piece of paper lying on a table; it is not a three-
dimensional object because it is flat and has no thickness.
• Objects that can be created with planes include floors, tabletops,
or mirrors.
 Cube

• A standard cube contains eight vertices, twelve edges, and six

faces, and is a three-dimensional object.
• Objects that can be created out of cubes include dice, boxes, or
crates.
 Circle

Vertices
• The number of vertices that define the circle or polygon.
Fill Type
• Set how the circle will be filled.
 Circle

Fill Type
• Triangle Fan: Fill with triangular faces which share a vertex in
the middle.
• N-gon: Fill with a single N-gon.
• Nothing: Do not fill. Creates only the outer ring of vertices.
 UV Sphere
A standard UV sphere is made out of quad faces and a triangle fan
at the top and bottom. It can be used for texturing.
Segments
• Number of vertical segments. Like the Earth’s meridians, going
pole to pole.
Rings
• Number of horizontal segments. These are like the Earth’s
parallels.
 Icosphere

• An icosphere is a polyhedral sphere made up of triangles.

• Icospheres are normally used to achieve a more isotropical
layout of vertices than a UV sphere, in other words, they are
uniform in every direction.
 Cylinder

Vertices
• The number of vertical edges between the circles used to define
the cylinder or prism.
Depth
• Sets the starting height of the cylinder.
Cap Fill Type
• Tubes, unlike cylinders, are formed from objects like pipes or
drinking glasses, but they have closed ends.
 Cone

Vertices
• The number of vertical edges between the circles or tip, used to
define the cone or pyramid.
Radius 1
• Sets the radius of the circular base of the cone.
Radius 2
• The radius of the cone tip is set to create a frustum, with a value
of 0 resulting in a standard cone shape.
 Cone

Depth
• Sets the starting height of the cone.
Base Fill Type
• Similar to circle.
 Tourus

Operator Presets
• Torus preset settings are available for reuse and are stored as
scripts in the appropriate preset's directory.
Major Segments
• The number of segments in the main ring of a torus, which is the
number of steps in a spin operation around an axis.
 Tourus

Minor Segments
• The minor ring of a torus is determined by the number of
vertices in each circular segment.
 Tourus

Dimensions Mode

Major Radius
• Radius from the origin to the center of the cross sections.
Minor Radius
• Radius of the torus’ cross section.
 Tourus

Dimensions Mode
Exterior Radius
• If viewed along the major axis, this is the radius from the center
to the outer edge.
Interior Radius
• If viewed along the major axis, this is the radius of the hole in
the center.
 Grid

X Subdivisions
• The number of spans in the X axis.
Y Subdivisions
• The number of spans in the Y axis.
 Monkey

• This adds a stylized monkey head to use as a test mesh,

use Subdivision Surface for a refined shape.
• This is intended as a test mesh, similar to:
Utah Teapot
Stanford Bunny.
Curves
 Structures

Splines
• Splines are substructures of curves, forming curve objects.
• They can be composed of multiple splines, similar to mesh
objects.
• Splines come in three types, each with a different algorithm for
representing bends.
• They can be altered by selecting them in Edit Mode.
 Structures

Splines Types
Poly
• Poly splines are simple spline types used to convert meshes to
curves, providing accurate representation of the original mesh
object.
• They are often used alongside Bézier or NURBS splines for
smoother results.
 Structures

Splines Types
Bézier
• Editing Bézier curves involves control points and handles, with
handles defining segment curvature.
• Control points are in the middle of the pink line, while handles
are extensions.
• Normals indicate direction and tilt.
 Structures

Bézier Handle Types

Automatic (yellow handles)
• Blender automatically adjusts the length and direction of handles
for smooth results, converting them into aligned handles when
moved.
 Structures

Bézier Handle Types

Vector (green handles)
• A handle's parts connect to previous or next handles, allowing
curves, straight lines, or sharp corners.
• Vector handles transform into free handles when moved.
 Structures

Bézier Handle Types

Aligned (purple handles)
• These handles always lie in a straight line and give a continuous
curve without sharp angles.
 Structures

Bézier Handle Types

Free (black handles)
• The handles are independent of each other.
 Structures

NURBS
• NURBS, or Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines, are exact circles
with weight property, controlling surface influence, adjustable in
the W number field of the Transform panel.
 Primitives

Bézier Curve
• Adds an open 2D Bézier curve with two control points.
Bézier Circle
• Adds a closed, circle-shaped 2D Bézier curve (made of four
control points).
NURBS Curve
• Adds an open 2D NURBS curve, with four control points,
with Uniform knots.
 Primitives

NURBS Circle
• Adds a closed, circle-shaped 2D NURBS curve.
Path
• Adds a NURBS open 3D curve made of five aligned control
points, with Endpoint knots and the Curve Path setting enabled.
 Primitives

Empty Hair
• Adds an empty high-performance curves object, assigns active
object as Surface, sets surface object as parent, and adds
Geometry Nodes modifier to deform curves on surface.
Fur
• The Fur setup in Blender enhances the appearance of selected
objects by utilizing Geometry Nodes and Hair Node Groups,
which are bundled assets.
Thank You!!!