3D Modeling Essentials

Introduction To 3D Modeling
George Georgiev
http://academy.telerik.com
Technical Trainer
George Atanasov
Front-End Developer
What is 3D Modeling?
3D Modeling process
Representing any 3 dimensional surface
Automatic or Manual






2
What is 3D Model?
The product is called 3D model
3D model can be:
Rendered to 2D image
Printed to realistic object with 3D printer
Used in 3D games with real-time rendering



3
Splines & NURBS

Vector design is better for industrial goals
Hands of the Craftsman vs. CPU Lathe







4
Polygon Mesh Objects

Polyhedral object
Best for games and physical simulations



5
Polygon Mesh Objects
Polygon mesh sub-object level
Vertex
Edge
Face
Polygon

6
Mesh vs. Spline
Why Mesh is better for game development?
More calculations == less FPS
Nowadays GPUs are designed to perform faster
with VBOs (Vertex Buffer Objects)
Mesh objects can be easily represented in VBO
The absolute accuracy of the objects is not basic
goal in the Games
In game developing the basic goal is to create
the best possible representation of an object
with the least possible resources

7
The 3D Scene
Three dimensional coordinate system
Represents uniquely all the points in it by three
parameters values for each axis
Contain sub-coordinate systems
Each object has his own
local coordinate system



8
High Poly Modeling
Explaining High-Poly Design
High Poly Modeling
We can understand the idea of high-poly
modeling just by its name
The more triangles in the mesh, the more
detailed the object is
Final renders are appropriate for
Commercials
Magazines
3D Movies
10
Low Poly Modeling
Explaining Low-Poly Design
Low Poly Meshes
Low poly mesh is a mesh which has small
amount of polygons
Commonly used in real-time applications
In theory polygons can have infinite number of
sides, but in 3D graphics they are broken down
into triangles


12
Why Low Poly?
Why we need to create low-poly models when
there is so many smooth modifiers?
In general the more triangles in a mesh the
more
detailed the object is
computationally intensive it is to display
To decrease render time it is better to use low
poly models



13
The Polygon Budget
A combination of game engine and the
computer being used defines the polygon
budget
It is equal to the number of polygons which
can appear in a scene and still be rendered
with acceptable frame rate
It varies depending on the
speed of the render engine
the amount of polygons
The speed of the hardware
14
Low Poly As a Relative Term
There is no defined threshold for a mesh to be
low poly
This term is relative and its definition depends
on other factors:
The time in when the meshes were designed
and for what
The detail required in the final mesh
The shape and properties of the object
15
Low Poly Future vs. Past
Super Mario 2 1996
In 1996 rendering an objects created by 240
polygons was a huge success
All the environment is created by textured
extremely low polygon objects
Crysis 2 2011
At 2011 rendering objects created by 24 000
polygons is not a big deal
The environment is created by averagely
resolute objects
16
Appearance
Low poly objects do not always have to look
bad
You can lie the viewer that the object has
better resolution with techniques such as
Normal mapping
Bump mapping
Etc.
17
Smoothing
Smoothing techniques
Smoothing
There are many methods to create a smooth
objects
Normal smoothing
Mesh smoothing
Etc.
It is important to understand how to use each
one of them
You have to pick the best for your goals
19
Normal Smoothing
Normal smoothing affects only the way that
the light is reflected by the objects surface
That is better for games, because the triangle
count stays the same

20
Ends of the object
remain edgy
Performs better on
dark colors

Mesh Smoothing
Mesh smoothing affects directly the geometry
of the object
Can be used many times on the same objects
Iteration value
With each iteration increase, the resolution of
the object increases by square

21
Lights
Understanding Lightning in 3D
Why We Need Lightning?
Modeling the 3D object is just a little part of
the whole design process
The light makes the object to look as 3D object

23
How the Light Works?
For full realistic light simulation you would
need a NASA computer
The lighting in 3D graphics is not exact
representation of the real light
In most 3D engines the light appearance is
decayed to separate effects independent of each
other



24
Abstract Types Of Lights
The light is composed by several abstract
components
Diffuse, Ambient, Specular, Emissive,
Reflection, Refraction
Each light component can have its own color
It is important to understand how to deal with
each type of them
And it is more than important to understand
how the real light affects the objects
25
Ambient Light
When sun ray hits an object it reflects from it
The ambient light is the emission of all light
sources
The result is averagely brightening whole
object
3D object with only ambient light channel
applied to it looks 2D


26
Diffuse Light
Diffuse light represents a directional light
casted by a light source
It can be explained as a light from light bulb
placed on specific location in the space
A diffuse light of red color, coming from the left
of a black object defining its 3D shape
27
Diffuse light
For more realistic result we can apply both
diffuse and ambient light channels
The diffuse light represents a light from a light
bulb and flashes the front side of the object
The ambient light brightens the entire object

28
Specular Light
The specular light channel represents the
brightest area of the object (the highlight area)
The position and the amount of specular
highlight is depends on
The viewers position
The angle between the viewer and the source
29
Emissive Light
Emissive light works a little different than the
previously explained before types of lights
It is responsible for the object material ability
to absorb or reflect light
Below is the result of object emitting green
light with red light source applied

30
Reflections
The use of reflections helps to create more
realistic objects
Remember... You would not see the reflection
effect if you dont have another objects to
reflect
Reflection looks better on round objects
Do not overdo with the
reflection effect
Reflection mapping saves time
31
Refractions
The refraction property defines how much
light goes through the object
In simple language it controls the opacity of
the object
Refraction color #000000 == full opacity
Refraction color #FFFFFF == full transparency
32
Textures
Texturing Essentials
Textures?
Textures are just simple raster pictures
JPEG
PNG
TGA
GIF
TIFF
Widely used in 3D game modeling


34
Why To Use Them?
If you are developing a car racing game you do
not need to model all the details on the
buildings behind
By texturing your object you can add a lot of
details on the model without adding any more
resolution to it
For example you can use a texture of window
instead of modeling it

35
Texturing Methods
There are several ways to texturize an object
Which one is better depends on the object
which is going to be texturized
In game developing process the basic
texturing methods are
UVW Mapping
Tiling
UVW Unwrapping

36
What is Tiled Texture
Tiling is another trick which saves a lot of
resources
To understand it, imagine that you have to
represent the facade of a huge building by
texturing
The idiotic way is to draw a huge texture with a
lot and the same windows in it
The right way is to draw a texture with only one
window on it and multiply it

37
Texture Optimization Tricks
Creating details with textures instead of
polygons saves render time
Do not flood your 3D scene with huge amount
of textures
Do not use bigger textures than you need
Manage balance between quality and size
When it is possible use texture modulation

38
Texture Modulation
Useful for level editing (creating environment)
You want to model brown roof tile and the
same ones, but in different colors
Use white (or bright) roof tile texture and
modulate it with the color of its object
You can create many different looking models
with the use of one and the same resource
39
Use Transparency
OK We have to create a metal fence
But how many polygons we need?
First way is to create it as a polygon mesh
100 000 polygons for 1 meter wide fence ?!?
The trick to do that is to use a texture of metal
fence with transparency at the empty spaces
2 polygons and the result looks the same
40
UV(W) Mapping
Projects a texture map to 3D object
Assigns pixels of the image on the polygons
Allows you to texturize more complex shapes
41
Unwarp UVW
A very useful technique for texturing game
characters and other complex objects
42
Tools & Software
What Software To Use
Define Your Goals
Your goals are ?
Making super cool 3D game models
Making very detailed models for commercials,
magazine covers, movies, etc.
Making 3D models for an industrial goals
Level editing for games
You are learning

44
Comers & Games
Appropriate software
3D Studio Max, Maya
Blender, Google SkatchUp
Cinema 4D
Inappropriate software
SolidWorks
AutoCAD, ArchiCAD

45
Industrial
Appropriate software
SolidWorks
AutoCAD, Civil 3D
ArchiCAD
Inappropriate software
3Ds Max, Maya
46
Level Editing
Appropriate software
Civil 3D
3Ds Max
Blender
Inappropriate
SolidWorks, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD
3Ds Max
Blender
47
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