2-D Animation Unit 9 Vocab
Low Poly
a graphics term for a polygon mesh with a low number of polygons
Back-Face Culling
a tool that makes the back side of your 3D object transparent
Perspective Mode
adds the distortion of a vanishing point, where things that are farther away appear smaller than things closer up
Orthographic Mode
allows seeing exact proportions because we are looking at the 3D objects flattened out
Mirroring
allows to create one side of the character, and the opposite side is automatically generated to match it; a symmetry technique
Weight Paint
allows to paint vertex weights for the various bones in a character rig. The vertex weights are what determine which bones have more of a pull on a vertex when the bones are moving around
Polygons
also called faces, are the flat faces that make up the shape of a 3D model. If you look closely enough at any 3D model, even a very smooth, detailed one, you will see that it is actually made up of lots of small, flat faces
Edges
also called lines, are the straight lines that run between the vertices of a 3D model to form flat faces
Vertices
also called points, are the individual points in space that define the shape of an object
Box Modeling
an approach where you generally start off with a standard, six-sided box, and then begin extruding new geometry to create more complex forms
Axis
an imaginary line about which a body rotates
Topology
building the polygonal structure of your model; the geographic surface of a model
Extrusion
in 3D graphics terms, this is the process of pulling new geometry out of existing geometry in order to add new elements, parts, or areas to an existing object
Sculpt Mode
provides a selection of brushes for sculpting high-resolution models and can serve as a more organic, artistic alternative for shaping 3D models. This is especially true when dealing with very high-resolution models with many thousands of polygons
Texture Paint
provides a suite of paintbrush tools, presets and options which allow to paint textures directly onto the surface of your 3D models. This is an alternative to the traditional approach of painting textures for models in a separate image editing application
Vertex Paint
provides the option of simply painting color onto the model by coloring the vertices. This method is usually only effective if you have a very high-density mesh — that is, a 3D mesh with a lot of vertices in it — or if your character is highly cartoonish, not requiring very detailed coloring. Otherwise, things tend to look blotchy
Edit Mode
the main mode used to edit the sub-object data — the polygons, edges, and vertices — of 3D models
Object Mode
this mode is for laying out a scene — you can create new objects, delete them, move, rotate and scale them, group them, create parent-child relationships, etc