View source for Tutorials:3D Meshing Part I

==3D Meshing Part I: Terms and Concepts-Orientation==

[[Image:RotChartTrimmed.jpg|300x300px|right]] 3D computer graphics is a broad subject. Some parts are old and little used, other parts relate more to illustrations and art. We are going to focus on the parts that are used in the making of The Sims 2 game. Once someone understands all that, then moving further into other areas is much easier.

We will start with the concept of '''space'''. When we mesh, we build our mesh in something we call '''object space'''. In simple terms, we have a spot on the ground underneath our object and we measure from there up, forward or to the side to the parts we will make. The "spot on the ground" is called the '''origin'''.

So we start at the origin, and we want to be able to determine any location above or below, in front or in back of, or on one side or another of our origin. We do this by creating an '''axis''', actually three of them (axes), labeled by convention as '''X''', '''Y''' and '''Z'''. This is our '''coordinate system'''.

Which letter assigned to what direction is pretty important, and is the first point of confusion, because MilkShape and TS2 use different coordinate systems. The difference can be seen in the diagram to the right.

<br clear="all">