More and more often we see 3D graphics among UI design trends. This means that more and more designers are using it in their work. They are understandable: often the development of a site with 3D elements does not cost much more than ordinary template sites, but the effect is much cooler.
3D model – is a three-dimensional image of an object in digital space. Any 3D-model consists of polygons – flat polygons. Most often they are quadrangles.
Polygons form a polygonal mesh, and it determines the shape of the object. It is also called the topology – how exactly the polygons form the 3D object.
If the topology is correct, the object will look realistic when animated. A simple example: we want to bend a human model at the elbow or knee. If the topology is not done correctly the bend will look unnatural.
Texture is an image that is applied to the surface of an object to give it color, coloration, or the appearance of relief. To display textures on an object correctly, you need a sweep, a transfer of the object to a plane.
Shaders do not require a sweep. Yes, another complicated word. Shaders are responsible for the physical properties of an object – its roughness, transparency, glare. For example, to make a table look like wood you need a texture, but to make it look rough, you need a shader.
Textures are responsible for material. Shaders are for physical properties. Here it’s the irregularities and roughness of the object.
Lighting is one of the factors why a 3D object looks realistic. If you choose the right lighting, it will create contrasts between objects, make materials brighter and more expressive, and allow you to adjust the shadows of objects.
How to use 3D in web design
3D is used in web and mobile interfaces, games, videos, animations and illustrations. Unlike flat 2D design, 3D models are three-dimensional and interesting. The user wants to interact with them: examine, zoom in on, rotate 360°.
In 3D, you can show something that does not exist yet. No builder can do without this technology. It creates demand for an object even before its implementation and demonstrates the space, appearance of the building, its territory (for example, like this). Sometimes designers create in 3D interactive interiors – so cool that you can open every door and even every drawer.
3D also helps to visualize things that simply can’t be seen – like how an object is arranged inside. No one is going to take a ship apart to show how an engine works. Or to show how lubricants work inside an engine, for example. 3D can do that just fine.