Object Types#
Reference
- Mode:
Object Mode
- Menu:
- Shortcut:
Shift-A
New objects can be created with the Add menu in the 3D Viewport’s header.
- Mesh
Objects composed of vertices, edges and polygonal faces and can be edited extensively with Blender’s mesh editing tools. See Mesh Primitives.
- Curve
Mathematically defined objects which can be manipulated with control handles or control points (instead of vertices), to edit their length and curvature. See Curves Primitives.
- Surface
Mathematically defined patches that are manipulated with control points. These are useful for simple rounded forms and organic landscapes. See Surfaces Primitives.
- Metaball
Objects formed by a mathematical function (with no vertices or control points) defining the 3D volume in which the object exists. Meta objects have a liquid-like quality where when two or more metaballs are brought together, they merge by smoothly rounding out the connection, appearing as one unified object. See Meta Primitives.
- Text
Create a two-dimensional representation of a text.
- Volume
Container for OpenVDB files that is generated by other software or Blender’s Fluid Simulator.
- Grease Pencil
Objects created by drawing strokes. See Grease Pencil Primitives
- Armature
Used for rigging 3D models to make them pose-able and animatable.
- Lattice
Non-renderable wireframes commonly used for the deformation of other objects with help of the Lattice Modifier.
- Empty
Null objects that are simple visual transform nodes that do not render. They are useful for controlling the position or movement of other objects.
- Image
Empty objects that display images in the 3D Viewport. These images can be used to aid artists in modeling or animating.
- Image Plane
Adds a mesh plane with materials and texture from an image file. The dimensions of the plane are calculated to match the aspect of the image file.
- Light
Empty objects that emit light and are used for lighting the scene in renders.
- Light Probe
Used by the EEVEE render engine to record lighting information for indirect lighting.
- Camera
This is the virtual camera that is used to determine what appears in the render.
- Speaker
Empty objects that bring a source of sound to the scene.
- Force Field
Empty objects that give simulations external forces, creating movement, and are represented in the 3D Viewport as small control objects.
- Collection Instance
Lets you select from a list of existing collections. Once selected, an empty object will be created, with an instance of the selected collection (collection instancing active).
Common Options#
You can change the options of the object in the Adjust Last Operation panel just after creating it:
- Type
You can change the type of some objects after their creation with a selector.
- Radius/Size
Sets the starting size.
- Align
Rotates the new object so that it is aligned in one of the following manners:
- World:
Aligns the object to the global space axes, i.e. the object’s front faces the negative Y axis (default).
- View:
Aligns the object to the view space axes, i.e. the object’s front faces the viewport’s point of view.
- 3D Cursor:
Aligns the object to match the rotation of the 3D Cursor.
- Location
Objects are placed, by default, at the position of the 3D Cursor. These values let you place the object in an other position.
- Rotation
Values let you rotate the object so that default rotation is overridden.