From BlenderWiki
Basic Mesh Objects
Mode: Object mode
Hotkey: ⇧ ShiftA
Menu: Add » Mesh
Description
A common object type used in a 3D scene is a mesh. Blender comes with a number of “primitive” mesh shapes that you can start modeling from.
Options included in more than one primitive are:
- Radius
- Sets the starting size for Circle, Cylinder, Cone, UVSphere and IcoSphere.
- Depth
- Sets the starting length for Cylinder and Cone.
Note about planar primitives
You can make a planar mesh three-dimensional by moving one or more of the vertices out of its plane (applies to Plane, Circle and Grid).
|
Options
- Plane
- A standard plane contains four vertices, four edges, and one face. It is like a piece of paper lying on a table; it is not a real three-dimensional object because it is flat and has no thickness. Objects that can be created with planes include floors, tabletops, or mirrors.
- Cube
- A standard cube contains eight vertices, twelve edges, and six faces, and is a real three-dimensional object. Objects that can be created out of cubes include dice, boxes, or crates.
Add Circle popup window.
- Circle
- A standard circle is comprised of n vertices. The number of vertices and radius can be specified in the popup window which appears when the circle is created, shown in (Add Circle popup window). When Fill button is active, the circle will be filled with triangular faces which share a vertex in the middle. However the circle is only a flat shape. If it is not filled and you want to render it, you must assign it a wireframe material (Shading context – F5 –, Material sub-context, Links and Pipeline panel and finally the Wire button). The Radius parameter adjusts the size of the circle.
- The more vertices the circle contains, the smoother its contour will be, see (“Circles” obtained with various settings).
 A circle with 64 vertices gives a smooth circle. |  Filled circle with 32 vertices. |  A circle with only 3 vertices is actually a triangle. |
Add UV Sphere popup window.
- UVSphere
- A standard UVsphere is made out of n segments and m rings. The level of detail and radius can be specified in the popup window which appears when the UVsphere is created. Increasing the number of segments and rings makes the surface of the UVsphere smoother. Segments are like Earth’s meridians, going pole to pole and Rings are like Earth’s parallels. Example objects that can be created out of UVspheres are balls, heads or pearls for a necklace.
Note
If you specify a six segment, six ring UVsphere you’ll get something which, in top view, is a hexagon (six segments), with five rings plus two points at the poles. Thus, one ring fewer than expected, or one more, if you count the poles as rings of radius 0.
|
Add Ico Sphere popup window.
- Icosphere
- An Icosphere is made up of triangles. The number of subdivisions and radius can be specified in the window that pops up when the Icosphere is created; increasing the number of subdivisions makes the surface of the Icosphere smoother. At level 1 the Icosphere is an icosahedron, a solid with 20 equilateral triangular faces. Any increasing level of subdivision splits each triangular face into four triangles, resulting in a more spherical appearance. Icospheres are normally used to achieve a more isotropical and economical layout of vertices than a UVsphere.
Note
It is possible to add an icosphere subdivided 500 times. Adding such a dense mesh is a sure way to cause a program crash. An icosphere subdivided 10 times would have 5,242,880 triangles, so be very careful about this!
|
Add Cylinder popup window.
- Cylinder
- A standard cylinder is made out of n vertices. The number of vertices in the circular cross-section can be specified in the popup window that appears when the object is created; the higher the number of vertices, the smoother the circular cross-section becomes. The Radius and Depth parameters controls dimensions of cylinder. Objects that can be created out of cylinders include handles or rods.
- If Cap Ends is inactive, the created object will be a tube. Objects that can be created out of tubes include pipes or drinking glasses (the basic difference between a cylinder and a tube is that the former has closed ends).
Add Cone popup window.
- Cone
- A standard cone is made out of n vertices. The number of vertices in the circular base, dimensions and option to close the base of cone can be specified in the popup window that appears when the object is created; the higher the number of vertices, the smoother the circular base becomes. Objects that can be created out of cones include spikes or pointed hats.
Add Torus popup window.
- Torus
- A doughnut-shaped primitive created by rotating a circle around an axis. The overall dimensions are defined by the Major and Minor Radius. The number of vertices (in segments) can be different for the circles and is specified in the popup window with both radii (Major Segments and Minor Segments).
- Grid
- A standard grid is made out of n by m vertices. The resolution of the x-axis and y-axis can be specified in the popup window which appears when the object is created; the higher the resolution, the more vertices are created. Example objects that can be created out of grids include landscapes (with the proportional editing tool or Displace modifier) and other organic surfaces. You can also obtain a grid when you create a plane and then use a subdivide modifier in Edit mode.
- Monkey
- This is a gift from old NaN to the community and is seen as a programmer’s joke or “Easter Egg”. It creates a monkey’s head once you press the Monkey button. The Monkey’s name is “Suzanne” and is Blender’s mascot. Suzanne is very useful as a standard test mesh, much like the Utah Tea Pot or the Stanford Bunny.
