Booleans let you combine polygon meshes to create a new shape. The following briefly describes what each of the Boolean submenus performs:

• Union: Combines the volume of the meshes.
• Difference: Subtracts the first mesh from the second.
• Intersection: Leaves only the shared volume of the meshes.

To use Polygon Booleans go to Mesh > Booleans

Maya 3D Video Tutorial: The video below is intended for beginner students that are attending my 3D Modeling Class and need a quick reminder on how to use Polygon Booleans in Maya 3D 2012.

The command Bevel creates beveled polygons along the currently selected edge, face or vertex.

To use the Bevel command go to Edit Mesh > Bevel

Maya 3D Video Tutorial: The video below is intended for beginner students that are attending my 3D Modeling Class and need a quick reminder on how to use the Bevel command in Maya 3D 2012.

1. What are Polygons?

• Polygons are straight-sided shapes (3 or more sides), defined by three-dimensional points (vertices) and the straight lines that connect them (edges).
• When a polygon mesh is rendered, its edges can be set to appear hard or smooth. As a result, polygons can easily represent both flat as well as curved 3D forms.
• Polygonal surfaces are preferred in interactive games and web development applications because they have the smallest amount of data of all the 3D surface types, and therefore, can be rendered quickly.

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