Blender For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Using Blender's Non-mesh Primitives

In This Chapter

• Working with curve objects and NURBS surfaces
• Understanding the benefits of metaball objects
• Using text in Blender

Although polygon-based meshes tend to be the bread and butter of modelers in Blender, they aren't the only types of objects that are available to you for creating things in 3D space. Blender also has curves, surfaces, metaball objects, and text objects. These objects tend to have somewhat more specialized purposes than meshes, but when you need what they provide, they're extremely useful.

Curves and surfaces are nearly as general purpose as meshes; they're particularly handy for anything that needs to have a smooth, non-faceted look. They're also important for models that require mathematical precision and accuracy in their appearance. Metaball objects are great at creating organic shapes that merge into one another, such as simple fluids. You can also use them to make a roughly sculpted model from basic elements that you can detail further in Sculpt mode. Text objects are exactly what they sound like: You use them to add text to a scene and manipulate that text in all three dimensions. This chapter tells you more about working with all these types of objects.

Using Curves and Surfaces

So, what's the biggest difference between curves and surfaces when compared to meshes? Math! Okay, I'm sorry. That was mean of me; I know that math can be a four-letter word for many artists, but don't worry; you won't ...