3D is not only used in the Games Industry however, another example of 3D being used is in the Films Industry, 3D CGI is used all the time to make mind blowing effects and to create characters that are near impossible to create using real props, an example of a 3D CGI film is Toy Story. Toy Story was created with only 3D graphics.
3D technology is also used in the Medical Industry, 3D CT scans are popular now as it gives a 3d image of somebodies inside that the doctors can use to examine and get ideas on how to help them.
3D Technology is also used in product design to create the product in software so they buyers have a basic idea on how the product looks before its built, this saves money and it helps as it can be edited with ease as its in software.
API
API stands for Application Programming Interface, API can be seen as a set of building blocks that programmers can put together the way they like to create software. Most Operating Systems provide an API for programmers to create things with. Since that programmers would use that API to create software, the "building blocks" are the same so that people who use those OS's would have an easier time learning that software.
Graphics Pipeline
The graphics pipeline refers to the steps taken to create 2D raster representation from a 3D Scene. This pipeline turns the mathematical 3D model into what we see that is displayed. The stages of the Graphics Pipeline consists of this.
3D Geometric Primitives: This is the first step, this step consists of making the scene out of triangles as its the most primitive geometric shape.
Modeling and Transformation: This step consists of transforming the local coordinate system to the 3D World coordinate system.
Camera Transformation: This step transforms the 3D world coordinate system to the 3D camera worl coordinate system with the camera as the origin.
Lighting: This is the step when the scene is illuminated and it calculates the various surfaces reflective properties.
Project Transformation: This step transforms the 3D world coordinates to the 2D view of the camera.
Clipping: Primitive Geometry not visible from the camera are discarded at this stage.
Scan conversion or Rasterization: This step is complex as each step from this point is used on every pixel on screen. This step consists of turning the 2D image space into a raster format.
Texturing, Fragment Shading: This step gives the various pixels colour based on values from rasterization.
Geometric theory is used in games to model characters and environment. An initial mesh is used to give a basic shape to an object that is later built upon with textures. the mesh consists of various 2D polygonal shapes, each polygon has Verticies, Edges and a face. In the creation of a polygon 2 verticies are connected together by a line creating the first edge. When another vertice is added a face is formed. This is a triangle but another vertice could be added to turn it into a quad. When creating character meshes tri's are used to create free flowing movement that looks smooth. Also when creating a mesh for a character all of the edges have to be connected do that the model can be composed entirely of 2D polygons.
When modelling there are various ways you can start, different modeling types are available such as Box, Edge and Extrusion.
Box modeling is a type of modeling in which you use extrusions and subdivisions to create various shapes with only using few shapes. The shapes split up into more faces and edges using a sub divide tool or edge loops, this gives much more freedom to the user by giving more faces, edges and vertices to move and extrude. Extrusions allow for the user to manipulate the shapes to their liking to create more complex shapes.
Extrusion modeling is also a way of modeling, this way of modelling is taking a single vert or using and edge and extruding it around an object. when the base object is traces using extrusions its the extruded along the Z axis to create a 3D object. This would be popular for symetrical things as it would be easy to create one half of it then mirror it.
Models can also be created from drawing/plans, an example of this is floor plans for houses, 3d models can be created to so how the house would look in a 3D environment, These would be created by created shapes over the walls to create the house. This can be used for other buildings as well, this type of modelling would save money as you would not need to create real life models which could cost a lot of money.
There are a lot of 3D Development software available. Different software is available for different uses, for example for 3D Modelling software is Blender, ZBrush and 3D-Coat.
These examples of software allow the user to create 3D models with various different modelling types, also they all offer a broad selection of tool that would be used in the modelling process. I have used blender to create assets, i have used a lot of the basic techniques and tools although there is still most of the software that i have yet to use, the base tools were enough for me to create basic assets and even experiment with more complex models.
Unity is another example of 3D Software that i have used, i have used this software to create various levels using plugins. I created the base levels using this software by creating blocks/cubes and extruding them to create walls and doors. I used the plugin Pro Builder to help extrude object to create more complex objects without importing assets as this would increase the file size immensely. Pro Builder gives you access to some primitive shapes such as cubes, stairs, spheres and more. this allows you to create more complex shapes using this software. Unity also allows you to explore your levels with the use of scripts. Characters are also available to allow you to move around your level to see it from that perspective.
Within 3D software there are some constraints that can set behind a project badly. An example of this is the Polygon count, each model consists of many polygons which makes up each model. when the computer is calculating the position of each individual polygon the more there are to calculate the harder it is on the processor and the longer it would take to calculate each polygon, when models are created it would be for the best that there are as little polygons as possible to reduce the time it takes for the processor to complete that task. This constraint would be aimed at video games as the processor would have to render the games graphics each time it is player, in movies each polygon is pre-rendered so this does not affect movies.
File Size limits have always been a constriction in video games, some games have been top big to fit on their game cartridges/disks, for example Final Fantasy 7 was put on 4 disks for the Playstation 1 as it was a massive game. Graphic wise, console games don't look as good as games on PC due to the fact that PC's can be built to be much more powerful then a console so that allows better graphics to be rendered/displayed at once.
Render time is an issue/constraint due to how varied the process is, if the model that is created is small the render time would be very short. Although when large levels/models are created the render time can range from minutes to days depending on the polygon count. Companies that create games sometimes have computers dedicated to rendering to cut down the time considerably. Not only does rendering apply to 3D in modelling or animations or larger animated films, but it contributes to mobile phones, virtual worlds and a wide range of multimedia. It is known to be present in video games as the console and game itself would need to be allowed time to load certain scenes, thus rendering out the scenes to make them available to the players in “real time” to enhance the game play, making it all the more important.
Geometric theory is used in games to model characters and environment. An initial mesh is used to give a basic shape to an object that is later built upon with textures. the mesh consists of various 2D polygonal shapes, each polygon has Verticies, Edges and a face. In the creation of a polygon 2 verticies are connected together by a line creating the first edge. When another vertice is added a face is formed. This is a triangle but another vertice could be added to turn it into a quad. When creating character meshes tri's are used to create free flowing movement that looks smooth. Also when creating a mesh for a character all of the edges have to be connected do that the model can be composed entirely of 2D polygons.
When modelling there are various ways you can start, different modeling types are available such as Box, Edge and Extrusion.
Box modeling is a type of modeling in which you use extrusions and subdivisions to create various shapes with only using few shapes. The shapes split up into more faces and edges using a sub divide tool or edge loops, this gives much more freedom to the user by giving more faces, edges and vertices to move and extrude. Extrusions allow for the user to manipulate the shapes to their liking to create more complex shapes.
Extrusion modeling is also a way of modeling, this way of modelling is taking a single vert or using and edge and extruding it around an object. when the base object is traces using extrusions its the extruded along the Z axis to create a 3D object. This would be popular for symetrical things as it would be easy to create one half of it then mirror it.
Models can also be created from drawing/plans, an example of this is floor plans for houses, 3d models can be created to so how the house would look in a 3D environment, These would be created by created shapes over the walls to create the house. This can be used for other buildings as well, this type of modelling would save money as you would not need to create real life models which could cost a lot of money.
There are a lot of 3D Development software available. Different software is available for different uses, for example for 3D Modelling software is Blender, ZBrush and 3D-Coat.
These examples of software allow the user to create 3D models with various different modelling types, also they all offer a broad selection of tool that would be used in the modelling process. I have used blender to create assets, i have used a lot of the basic techniques and tools although there is still most of the software that i have yet to use, the base tools were enough for me to create basic assets and even experiment with more complex models.
Unity is another example of 3D Software that i have used, i have used this software to create various levels using plugins. I created the base levels using this software by creating blocks/cubes and extruding them to create walls and doors. I used the plugin Pro Builder to help extrude object to create more complex objects without importing assets as this would increase the file size immensely. Pro Builder gives you access to some primitive shapes such as cubes, stairs, spheres and more. this allows you to create more complex shapes using this software. Unity also allows you to explore your levels with the use of scripts. Characters are also available to allow you to move around your level to see it from that perspective.
ZBrush
"ZBrush is a digital sculpting and painting program that has revolutionized the 3D industry with its powerful features and intuitive workflows. Built within an elegant interface, ZBrush offers the world’s most advanced tools for today’s digital artists. With an arsenal of features that have been developed with usability in mind, ZBrush creates a user experience that feels incredibly natural while simultaneously inspiring the artist within. With the ability to sculpt up to a billion polygons, ZBrush allows you to create limited only by your imagination."
Cinema 4D
"MAXON Computer is a leading developer of 3D software for the creative industries, best known for Its flagship 3D modeling, painting, rendering, and animation software, Cinema 4D. Today, thousands of users across the world rely on Cinema 4D to create cutting-edge 3D motion graphics, architectural and product visualizations, video game graphics, illustrations, and much more. MAXON's client list includes ABC, Blizzard Entertainment, BMW, BSkyB, CNN, Fox, ITV Creative, MPC (Moving Picture Company), NBC, NFL Network, Rhythm & Hues, Siemens VDO, Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Walt Disney Company, Turner Broadcasting, Vitra, and many more."
File Size limits have always been a constriction in video games, some games have been top big to fit on their game cartridges/disks, for example Final Fantasy 7 was put on 4 disks for the Playstation 1 as it was a massive game. Graphic wise, console games don't look as good as games on PC due to the fact that PC's can be built to be much more powerful then a console so that allows better graphics to be rendered/displayed at once.
Render time is an issue/constraint due to how varied the process is, if the model that is created is small the render time would be very short. Although when large levels/models are created the render time can range from minutes to days depending on the polygon count. Companies that create games sometimes have computers dedicated to rendering to cut down the time considerably. Not only does rendering apply to 3D in modelling or animations or larger animated films, but it contributes to mobile phones, virtual worlds and a wide range of multimedia. It is known to be present in video games as the console and game itself would need to be allowed time to load certain scenes, thus rendering out the scenes to make them available to the players in “real time” to enhance the game play, making it all the more important.
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