Polygonal Modeling

Polygons consist of geometry based on vertices, edges, and faces that you can use to create
three-dimensional models.

Polygons are useful for constructing many types of 3D models and are widely used in the
development of 3D content for animated effects in film, interactive video games, and the internet.

Polygon terminology

Polygons are straight-sided shapes (3 or more sides), defined by three-dimensional points (vertices)
and the straight lines that connect them (edges). The interior region of the polygon is​ called the ​face.
Vertices, edges, and faces are the basic components of polygons. You select and modify polygons
using these basic components.

​ called ​triangles or four-sided

When you model with polygons you usually use three-sided polygons
​
polygons called ​quadrilaterals (quads).

​
An individual polygon is commonly called a ​face, and is defined as the area bounded by three or
more vertices and their associated edges. When many faces are connected together they create a
​
network of faces called ​
a ​polygon mesh (also referred to as a ​polyset​ or a ​polygonal object). You
create your 3D polygonal models using polygon meshes. Polygon meshes can be created using a
variety of techniques.

There are a variety of techniques you can use to create 3D polygonal models in Maya:

​ ● Primitives are three-dimensional geometric shapes you can create in Maya. The primitive
shapes available include spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, planes, and many others. You
can modify the attributes of basic primitives to make them more or less complex. You can
also split, extrude, merge, or delete the various components on the primitive’s polygon mesh
using the various tools in the ​Modeling Toolkit​ in order to modify the primitive’s shape. Many
3D modelers begin with polygon primitives as a starting point for their models. This technique
​
is referred to as ​primitive-up modeling.
● Individual polygons can be created using the ​Create Polygon Tool​ or the ​Quad Draw Tool​.
Both these tools let you place individual vertices in the scene view to define the shape of
individual polygon faces. You can then further split or extrude those faces to build out your
polygon mesh. This polygon creation technique can be useful when you need to closely
match a particular shape or outline. For example, if you needed to model a particular 3D
logotype for an animated logo sequence or trace the outline of a 2D image using a bitmap
image imported onto an image plane as a reference.
 ● Polygons can also be created by converting an existing NURBS or subdivision surface
models using the Convert features found under the Modify menu.

Polygon meshes normally share the vertices and edges that are common between the individual
​
faces. These are referred to as ​shared vertices or ​shared edges.

A polygon mesh can also be composed of several disjointed sets of connected polygons called
shells. The ​ outside edges of a mesh or shell are referred to as ​border edges.

Texture mapping polygonal models

Polygon models are texture mapped using UV texture coordinates.