Editing Polygon mesh (section)

{{Short description|Set of polygons to define the surface of a 3D model}}
{{Refimprove|article|date=June 2009|talk=y}}
[[File:Dolphin triangle mesh.png|thumb|250px|Example of a [[low poly]] [[triangle mesh]] representing a [[dolphin]]|alt=]]
In [[3D computer graphics]] and [[solid modeling]], a '''polygon mesh''' is a collection of '''{{visible anchor|vertices}}''', '''{{visible anchor|edge}}s''' and '''{{visible anchor|face}}s''' that defines the shape of a [[polyhedron|polyhedral]] object's [[surface]]. It simplifies [[Rendering (computer graphics)|rendering]], as in a [[wire-frame model]]. The [[face (geometry)|faces]] usually consist of [[triangles]] ([[triangle mesh]]), [[quadrilaterals]] (quads), or other simple [[convex polygon|convex polygons]] ([[n-gons]]). A polygonal mesh may also be more generally composed of [[concave polygon|concave polygons]], or even [[Polygon with holes|polygons with holes]].

The study of [[Polygon (computer graphics)|polygon]] meshes is a large sub-field of [[computer graphics]] (specifically 3D computer graphics) and [[geometric modeling]]. Different representations of polygon meshes are used for different applications and goals. The variety of operations performed on meshes includes [[Boolean logic]] ([[Constructive solid geometry]]), [[Subdivision surfaces|smoothing]], and [[Level of detail (computer graphics)|simplification]]. Algorithms also exist for [[Ray tracing (graphics)|ray tracing]], [[collision detection]], and [[rigid-body dynamics]] with polygon meshes. If the mesh's edges are rendered instead of the faces, then the model becomes a [[Wire-frame model|wireframe model]].

Several methods exist for [[mesh generation]], including the [[marching cubes]] algorithm.<ref name = "journalarticle">{{cite journal |last1=Lorensen |first1=William E. |last2=Cline |first2=Harvey E. |title=Marching cubes: A high resolution 3D surface construction algorithm |journal=ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics |date=1 August 1987 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=163–169 |doi=10.1145/37402.37422|citeseerx=10.1.1.545.613 }}</ref>

[[Volume mesh|Volumetric meshes]] are distinct from polygon meshes in that they explicitly represent both the surface and interior region of a structure, while polygon meshes only explicitly represent the surface (the volume is implicit).