Terminology

CG_Lab

Terminology

There is a certain language used in the 3D arts and sciences. We will try to collect here some of the main terms that you will come across in online resources and in everyday use. Some are simple, some are more advanced. To create digital art, you will usually get by without fully understanding all of these concepts. However, we recommend that you look them up. In general it will help you to at least remember that you have heard of something when you come across it. If you are planning to make 3D your main artistic tool, we think you need to have a good understanding of them.

• SFX
  • Effects that are being done and work on a location or film set

• VFX
  • Effects post filming and editing

• CGI
  • Fully computer generated images

You can mix sfx,vfx and cgi and it's being done alot and it's often hard to tell what's what (“invisible” effects).

• More basic (3d) terminology:
  • Attributes: What are Attributes? - Speedy Houdini
  • Vectors: What are Vectors? - Speedy Houdini
  • Voxels: What are Voxels? - Speedy Houdini
  • Normals: 3D Basics - What are Normals?

• More advanced (code based) terminology:
  • Integer
    • An integer is a whole number, either positive, negative, or zero, without a fractional part, and can be represented as …, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, … in the set of integers (Z).
  • Float
    • Float in coding refers to a fundamental data type used to represent numeric values with decimal points, allowing for the storage and manipulation of fractional numbers, such as 1.23, 87.425, or 9039454.2, in programming languages like C, C++, C#, and others.
    • In 3D graphics, floats are often used to store coordinates, vectors, and other numerical values with decimal precision, enabling accurate calculations and transformations of 3D objects.
  • String
    • In coding, a string is a sequence of characters, such as letters, digits, or symbols, stored as a single data type, often used to represent human-readable text, and can be implemented as a fixed-length array or a dynamic buffer with varying lengths, depending on the programming language and its libraries.
    • In 3D, a string can refer to a sequence of connected vertices or control points that define a curve or surface, used to model complex shapes and geometries in computer-aided design (CAD) systems, computer-generated imagery (CGI), and 3D modeling software.
  • Dot Product
    • In coding, the dot product (also known as scalar product) is a mathematical operation that computes the sum of the products of corresponding elements (components) of two vectors, resulting in a scalar value representing the magnitude and direction of their alignment.
    • Essential TD Skills: Designing & Implementing Algorithms starting from 03:30