What makes a 3D model? What are Polygons, Splines, Vertices, Meshes and Materials?

A 3D model is a digital representation of a real world object. Representing a 3D object requires you to get to know some parts that makes up the 3D object.

Polygonal modeling is an approach for modeling objects by representing or approximating their surfaces using polygon meshes.

Example of triangle mesh.

Objects created with polygon meshes must store different types of elements. These include vertices, edges, faces, polygons and surfaces.

Why are polygons important?

The more edges and faces a model has, detail if the model improves. On the other hand, having a high polygon count model will reduce the performance of your app. The calculation that needs to be done to render the model is expensive.