| [ Overview ] | [ Topics In Depth ] | [ Reference ] | [ Tutorial ] | [ Import/Export ] |
Meshwork may have other applications as well. It can import and export several common 3D formats. One could, for example, model an object in Meshwork, then add it to a scene to be ray-traced with POV-Ray.
Meshwork provides a standard set of 3D editing commands, including creation primitives, transformations, lathing, and extrusion. It also allows vertex-by-vertex manipulation with the mouse or keyboard. Models can be viewed from any of the six orthogonal camera views, or from several angles at once in a "blueprint" view. If you have red/green or red/blue 3D glasses, Meshwork can display the model in stereo for true depth. Meshwork also has a powerful "hide" feature that allows you to mask off one part of the model while working on another part. It provides a variety of options for up to eight different materials, including seamless or point-by-point texture mapping.
The PowerPC version of Meshwork includes a 3D Preview feature that lets you view your
model with full texture mapping, and spin it around to examine it from any angle. The preview can also be copied for posting to a scrapbook, to the web, etc.
Meshwork includes facilities for assigning bone information to the model, for use with bone-based character animation. The bones file format exported by Meshwork is publicly documented, and is used by the
Magdef game framework. The 3DMF files generated by Meshwork use the proper "TriMesh" structure and are already optimized for maximum performance in games.
I believe that Meshwork is the best 3D modeler for game development available in the Mac world. Other modeler apps generate inefficient 3DMF, or produce too many triangles, or lack desirable editing features. I hope you find Meshwork useful to your project, and I am planning to continue developing and supporting it -- so let me know how I can improve it for you.
3D models can be created in several ways -- or more often, a combination of ways. You can
create them from scratch, building up your model point by point (and to make this easier, you may paste a picture into the document background for use as a template). Or you can start with the geometric primitives available in the Create Menu, and edit and connect these to produce your model. Finally, you can begin by loading a previously saved model, or importing geometric data from some other file format.
Meshwork models are made up of several types of parts:
In Meshwork, operations are all done on the vertices. For example, to select a face, you select (by shift-clicking, or surrounding with the Because many operations apply to the current set of selected vertices, you should note that command-D deselects all. There are also keyboard shortcuts for several of the tool modes, including selection; turn on balloon help and point at the tools to discover these.
Hiding and unhiding points (using the Display Menu) is very important to successful modeling. When two or more points appear to overlap, given the angle of the camera, it is difficult to know which one you're selecting. The solution is to switch to a different view, hide the section of the model you're not working on, then switch back and continue editing.
Meshwork is shareware -- you're welcome to try it for free, but if you use it for any
reasonable amount of time, please pay the registration fee. That is currently only $30, and
it entitles you to free upgrades to all future versions of the software. To register,
visit the Meshwork home page or
use the "About Meshwork..." menu command and click the Register button.
The next section of this manual provides some specific advice
on editing complex 3D models, texture mapping, and using bonens.
Section 3: Reference provides information on all the Meshwork tools and menu commands, as well as the file format. If you don't understand something in Meshwork and balloon help isn't sufficient, that's the place to look.
The final section presents a tutorial, taking you step by step through the process of creating a simple model. If you've never used Meshwork before, I recommend you follow this, or at least read it, as it will be the fastest way to learn Meshwork's capabilities and how to use them effectively.
(Other reading suggestions? Let me know!)
1.2. General Approach
Meshwork uses the standard Mac document paradigm: one window corresponds to one file and one 3D model. When launched without a document, Meshwork will start with a blank "Untitled" window. By default, you're looking at the model from the front; you can change the view in a variety of ways using the Camera Menu. It will behoove you to learn the keyboard shortcuts in the display menu, as it is often very handy to flip through the various views to see your model from all sides.
Meshwork has balloon help for all toolbar widgets, dialogs, and menu commands. You can turn balloons on or off at (almost) any time by pressing the Help key, or by using the Help menu. Moreover, if you turn on help balloons in a modal dialog, Meshwork figures you just needed help on that dialog, and turns them off again when the dialog closes. So give it a try!
1.3. Finding More Information
In This Manual
On the Internet
Here are some web sites which may be of interest to users of Meshwork:
Suggested Reading
Rogers, D., and J. Adams: Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics. This is a great reference for coding 3D graphics yourself. Granted, with all the libraries and tools available these days, few people need to do that anymore -- but if you're curious, this book explains how it's done.
Contact Information
E-Mail: joe@strout.net Web: http://codenautics.com/meshwork/
[Back to Index]