Drawing 3D Objects - Flash 3D: Animation, Interactivity, and Games - page 307

9
Drawing 3D Objects
In Chapter 6, we learned how to place objects anywhere in three-dimensional space,
then move and rotate them in any direction. The objects we used were basically 2D
objects whose plane was perpendicular to the center of vision and viewed in one-point
perspective. In Chapter 8, we discussed object movies that enabled us to see multiple
views of an object through a series of still images. With panoramas, we were also able
to see an actual scene from multiple points of view.
In this chapter, we are going to create objects completely in true 3D. We'll begin with
planar objects no longer constrained to being viewed in one-point perspective. We'll
move into more complex 3D shapes defined by corner points and the lines connecting
them. This yields a greater sense of dimensionality, but since even lines that should
be hidden from view are still showing, the results can be visually ambiguous. Defining
objects in terms of planes leads to more satisfying results. This chapter will focus on
• Creating planar shapes with lines and fills
• Extending planar shapes to extruded objects
• Creating 3D solids defined by lines
• Developing 3D solids defined by planes
Object Transformations
In the examples and exercises that follow, we want to go beyond just creating objects.
We would like to transform them in various ways, such as moving them, rotating them,
and changing their scale. Before we get into the creation of specific 3D objects, let's
look at the kinds of transformations that we would like to apply to the objects. Figure
9.1 shows button options that we will use to manipulate our objects in 3D space. We
Figure 9.1 Object manipulation buttons