Uses of 3D

How is 3D used by the interactive media and computer games industries?

When considering 3D modelling, the fist things that might spring to mind are films and games. Although the largest uses of 3Dmodelling is in the creative media industry, it is also used in:

• Medicine

3D modelling is used to recreate parts of the human anatomy to help doctors see and plan out an operation.

• Engineering

Engineers use 3D models to show what they have designed so it can be constructed easily.

• Product design

3D modelling is used to show what the final product will look like before it is put in to production.

• Architecture

Architects used 3D models of Structures to show builders what they are building and how to built it.

Basic PrinciplesAll 3D modelling programs use polygons to display models. A polygon is created by 3 or more

points and given a skin/texture. These 3 points create a triangle, Witch is the simplest polygon. By adding more points, the polygon becomes bigger and more complex.

Models can be created with ether many triangles together, or adding more points to the polygon itself. A 3 point polygon is spread across 1 plane, this means the polygon is always flat, This is not always the case for a polygon with 4 or more points. A polygon with 4 or more points can exist on both a single plane, or multiple plane in 3D space.

Mesh Construction is using Simple shapes such as triangles(3 point polygon) or a square(4 point polygon) to create a object.This method is more commonly used in character modelling, because it is usually easier to uses polygon manipulation on polygons with less points.

3D development software

Examine the software tools used in the production of 3D models.

Autodesk 3DS

Autodesk 3ds Max is one of most powerful 3D design software developed by Autodesk Inc. 3ds Max is so powerful especially in modeling for low polygon for video game industry. The software has many features for 3D graphic design such as modeling, rendering, animation, dynamic, shading, cloth, particles, and texturing.3ds Max one of leading 3D design software in the game development, television, film as well as digital publishing industries. It is a product of same company as Maya and SoftImage. Some people feel that they enjoy working with 3ds Max than other two editions.The program runs under Windows platform. There is 30 day trial version available to download and try. Before, you can proceed downloading; you are required to fill product trial form.

Autodesk Maya

Autodesk Maya is a completed 3D Design software packages which provide 3D artist and 3D professional to do 3D modeling, shading, lighting, animating, 3D paint, adding paint effects and rendering. Maya is very popular package as 3D graphic design software and widely use in film as well as video game industry worldwide. The software developed by Autodesk Inc.There are two versions available Maya Unlimited and Maya Complete. Maya Unlimited version is larger package which contains more features such as Maya Fluid Effects, Maya nCloth, Maya nParticles, Maya Hair, Maya Fur, and Maya Live.The program is multiple platforms support including Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating system. There is trial version available to download and try. You can download 30 day trial after completing a request form at its official website. Just fill out name, company, address and so on. Comparing to other 3D design products such as Autodesk 3Ds Max and SoftImage, Maya is my favorite one.

LightWave 3D

LightWave 3D also is another completed 3D design software package as Maya and 3ds Max for modeling, animation, rendering, particle FX and dynamics. This 3D graphic design software package is available both for Windows 32 or 64-bit and Mac platform. The software is product of NewTek, Inc.The program has been used in films, game, visualization industries as well as commercial television. Feature films such as Dark Knight, Iron Man,Jumper, Serenity Pan’s Labyrinth, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And features games including Quake IV, The Chronicles of Riddick, Doom III, Halo, Age of Mythology.LightWave 3D 30 day trial version is available to download and try. After downloading and installing, you need to register and set up an account at its official website in order to receive unlock code for the trial version.

Among free 3D design software packages, Blender is fully functional one. With Blender user can do 3D modeling, character rigging, shading, animation, rendering, physics and particles, imaging and compositing. Blender is free open source 3D content creation under the GNU General Public License. Blender is available for several operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, IRIX, Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD.As Blender is open source, which anyone can download and use for free, donation is one source of fund to keep the project alive and further development.

Constraints3D modelling software is very effective for creating models, although it ‘s not without its constraints. The first

of these being hardware, the more complex and detailed a model becomes, the harder it is for lesser spec computers to handle, even if the computer could handle it and the model was extremely detailed, it would mean for that model to be used effectively on another machine, it would have to have the same specs or maybe even better, this can be very expensive, especially for the consumer.