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Navigate the scene and scale, rotate and move 3D objects
Overview
Name of explainer: Navigate the scene and scale, rotate and move 3D objects
Creative theme: Beginning 3D Modelling using UModeler
Software used (for this explainer): Unity Hub. Unity LTS. uModeler.
User level: BEGINNER
This is explainer 4 of 7 in this series
This series includes:
- Install the Unity Hub and Unity LTS
- Create a Unity project and install the Umodeler asset
- Create a UModeler object and explore the UModeler interface
- Navigate the scene and scale, rotate and move 3D objects
- Adjust faces, edges and vertices to make unique 3d shapes
- Create a simple car model based on the Simpsons Canyonero
- Apply materials and textures to the Canyonero and export the model
The Software
This series of explainers uses the Unity platform and the ‘UModeler’ Unity asset .
UNITY is a real-time 2D and 3D development platform. It’s a versatile environment used to create animations, 2D, 3D and VR games, as their recent showreel demonstrates!
You’ll recognise these popular games, all developed in Unity. Expand to view:
Beat Saber
New Star GP
Cuphead
With its full 3D feature set, Unity can also be used to create full animated films and cinematic sequences:
Short Movie: ADAM
Animated film: SONDER
To introduce 3d modelling we’re using the Unity 3d modelling asset UModeler:
UModeler is a PAID asset with a standard price of around £120 / $120. Once you’ve learnt the basics you may like to graduate to UModeler X, the professional-level modelling tool for Unity:
The 3D car model created in this series
To demonstrate basic UModeler modelling tools we’ll create a simple car based on the Canyonero as made famous in the Simpsons! Notice it’s made from a small number of polygons, has a ‘cut out’ interior and a nice shiny coat of paint!
Here’s how our Canyonero looks at the end of the initial explainers:
…and here’s how it looks after additional tweaking and accessorising:
The pre-requisities
This is a BEGINNER explainer series, but you’ll need to have a basic knowledge of using Windows, downloading and installing software to follow along. Unity is a complex application and is not recommended for new computer users. For introductory Unity courses and videos, have a look at their own learning platform, Unity Learn
Why would I do this?
If you’re new to using 3D software, you’ll need to learn how to navigate a virtual 3D scene / workspace so you can zoom in and out, focus on a specific object and orbit around it.
Every 3D object can be moved in the virtual 3D environment, rotated as required and scaled to make it larger or smaller.
Let’s do it!
Click the play icon to watch this explainer video. Subtitles are available – Click the settings cog at the bottom right for options. You can watch this video full-screen by clicking the full-screen icon at the bottom right.
Video Transcript (Click to expand)
Here is the full transcript for explainer four above.
00:00:14 – 00:00:15
Welcome to you.
This is explainer number 4 in the series Beginning 3d Modeling with uModeler.
00:00:20 – 00:00:29
In this explainer, we’ll create additional uModeler objects, add shapes to them, and learn how to rotate, scale and move our objects.
00:00:30 – 00:00:32
I’ll start with a brand new Unity scene.
00:00:32 – 00:00:39
Go to File, New Scene, select Basic URP and click create.
00:00:39 – 00:00:48
Start by creating a new umodeler object and add a new box to it exactly as we did in the previous explainer.
00:00:49 – 00:00:55
Make sure to give every umodeler object in your project hierarchy a sensible name.
00:00:55 – 00:00:56
Right click.
00:00:56 – 00:00:57
Rename.
00:00:58 – 00:00:59
I’ll call this box 1.
00:01:0 – 00:01:6
To put the box front and center in the viewport press the f key on your keyboard.
00:01:6 – 00:01:7
F is for focus.
00:01:8 – 00:01:13
To zoom into and out of the scene, roll your mouse wheel forwards or backwards.
00:01:13 – 00:01:16
Next, hold down the alt key on your keyboard.
00:01:16 – 00:01:20
Hold down your left mouse button and notice the pointer changes to an I shape.
00:01:20 – 00:01:26
Hold down your left mouse button and move your mouse around to orbit around the selected object.
00:01:26 – 00:01:29
This method works in most 3d software.
00:01:29 – 00:01:33
You can see why it’s best to use a keyboard and mouse to work efficiently.
00:01:33 – 00:01:37
You may have noticed this orientation widget towards the top right.
00:01:37 – 00:01:48
You can click on it to view the currently selected object perfectly from above, from any side, or from below.
00:01:48 – 00:01:54
As we noted previously, I can add as many shapes as I want to a single umodeler object.
00:01:54 – 00:02:9
For example, I’ll add a cylinder to the current object using the usual drawing method To prove the box and the cylinder are grouped in one object, click the UModeler Object Selection Tool icon here.
00:02:10 – 00:02:12
Next click the Move Tool.
00:02:14 – 00:02:22
I can move the object in the X, Y and Z axes as needed, and of course both shapes move as one combined object.
00:02:22 – 00:02:24
This presents an obvious limitation.
00:02:24 – 00:02:29
I can’t resize, rotate or move the box without the same thing happening to the cylinder.
00:02:29 – 00:02:34
This is why you’ll likely need more than 1 uModeler object in a single scene.
00:02:34 – 00:02:39
To add a new separate uModeler object, make sure no existing objects are selected.
00:02:40 – 00:02:44
Click the New uModeler object icon as before.
00:02:45 – 00:02:47
I’ll call this Cylinder 1.
00:02:48 – 00:02:50
I’ll add a cylinder to this object.
00:02:51 – 00:02:58
Because it’s a separate object now I can select the cylinder on its own by clicking the object selection icon.
00:02:59 – 00:03:3
To rotate a selected object, select the rotate tool.
00:03:4 – 00:03:9
Use the handles like this to rotate around the x, y, and z axes.
00:03:9 – 00:03:22
To adjust the scale, select the Scale tool and again use the individual handles to stretch or squash the object or drag the central gray handle to scale all 3 dimensions at once.
00:03:23 – 00:03:29
Remember you can press the ‘f’ key on your keyboard to put any selected object front and center in the viewport.
00:03:30 – 00:03:39
Once you’re comfortable navigating the scene, moving, scaling and rotating objects, you already have the basics for a bright future in 3d modeling.
00:03:39 – 00:03:50
Before continuing to the next explainer, practice creating and naming new umodeler objects, adding shapes to them, and scaling, rotating, and moving these shapes.
00:03:50 – 00:03:59
In the next explainer, we’ll introduce vertices, edges, and faces, and learn how to manipulate them to create our own unique 3D forms.
The main steps in this video:
- Start with a new Unity scene using the “Basic URP” template.
- Create a new UModeler object and add a box to it.
- Rename the UModeler object for clarity (e.g., “Box One”).
- Use the “F” key to focus on the object in the viewport.
- Zoom in/out using the mouse wheel and orbit around the object using the ALT key and left mouse button.
- Use the orientation widget to view the object from different angles.
- Add multiple shapes (e.g., a cylinder) to a single UModeler object.
- Use the move tool to move the combined object in the X, Y, and Z axes.
- Highlight the limitation of manipulating shapes within a single combined object.
- Create a new separate UModeler object and add a cylinder to it.
- Rotate the selected object using the rotate tool and handles.
- Adjust the scale of the object using the scale tool and its handles.
Good to know
Navigating within a virtual 3D space isn’t difficult, though it will take time to become proficient. It’s a lot easier to use a keyboard and mouse rather than a laptop trackpad. It is possible to use a trackpad but you’ll find it inaccurate and less efficient. You can purchase a basic wired or wireless mouse for as little as £5 / $5.
Where to next?
In the next explainer we’ll learn about the components that make up every 3D object. We’ll learn to manipulate faces, vertices and edges to create unique forms.
Remember, this is part of a series of explainers – Join us again for the other explainers in the series 🙂
Notes and updates
There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in October 2023. This page was last updated in November 2024.
Disclaimer:
We are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Any links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the Team. Modern software offers users many ways to accomplish a single task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to refer to multiple options except where deemed helpful to do so. All computer users must run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise the risk of data loss.
This is number 4 of 7 explainer videos in this series. Make sure you join us for the others!
