History
[8]
Three-dimensional model of a spectrograph
Rotating 3D video-game model
3D selfie models are generated from 2D pictures taken at the Fantasitron 3D photo booth at
Madurodam.
3D models are now widely used anywhere in 3D graphics and CAD but their history
[9]
predates the widespread use of 3D graphics on personal computers.
In the past, many computer games used pre-rendered images of 3D models as sprites
before computers could render them in real-time. The designer can then see the model
in various directions and views, this can help the designer see if the object is created as
intended to compared to their original vision. Seeing the design this way can help the
[10]
designer or company figure out changes or improvements needed to the product.
Representation
A modern render of the iconic Utah teapot model developed by Martin Newell (1975). The Utah
teapot is one of the most common models used in 3D graphics education.
Almost all 3D models can be divided into two categories:
● Solid – These models define the volume of the object they represent (like a
rock). Solid models are mostly used for engineering and medical simulations,
and are usually built with constructive solid geometry.
● Shell or boundary – These models represent the surface, i.e., the boundary
of the object, not its volume (like an infinitesimally thin eggshell). Almost all
visual models used in games and film are shell models.
Solid and shell modeling can create functionally identical objects. Differences between
them are mostly variations in the way they are created and edited and conventions of
use in various fields and differences in types of approximations between the model and
reality.
Shell models must be manifold (having no holes or cracks in the shell) to be meaningful
as a real object. For example, in a shell model of a cube, all six sides must be
connected with no gaps in the edges or the corners. Polygonal meshes (and to a lesser
extent, subdivision surfaces) are by far the most common representation. Level sets are
a useful representation for deforming surfaces that undergo many topological changes,
such as fluids.
The process of transforming representations of objects, such as the middle point
coordinate of a sphere and a point on its circumference, into a polygon representation of
a sphere is called tessellation. This step is used in polygon-based rendering, where
objects are broken down from abstract representations ("primitives") such as spheres,
cones etc., to so-called meshes, which are nets of interconnected triangles. Meshes of
triangles (instead of e.g., squares) are popular as they have proven to be easy to
rasterize (the surface described by each triangle is planar, so the projection is always
[11]
convex). Polygon representations are not used in all rendering techniques, and in
these cases the tessellation step is not included in the transition from abstract
representation to rendered scene.
