Object Types

Reference

Mode

Object Mode

Menu

Add

Hotkey

Shift-A

New objects can be created with the Add menu in the 3D View's header.

Mesh

Meshes are objects composed of Polygonal Faces, Edges and/or Vertices, and can be edited extensively with Blender's mesh editing tools. See Mesh Primitives.

Curve

Curves are mathematically defined objects which can be manipulated with control handles or control points (instead of vertices), to manage their length and curvature. See Curves Primitives.

Surface

Surfaces are patches that are also manipulated with control points. These are useful for simple rounded forms and organic landscapes. See Surfaces Primitives.

Metaball

Meta Objects (or metaballs) are objects formed by a mathematical function (with no control points or vertices) 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

Text Objects create a two-dimensional representation of a string of characters.

Grease Pencil

Grease Pencil Objects are objects created by painting strokes.

Armature

Armatures are used for rigging 3D models in order to make them poseable and animateable.

Lattice

Lattices are non-renderable wireframes, commonly used for taking additional control over other objects with help of the Lattice Modifier.

Empty

Empties are 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

Images are empty objects that display images in the 3D Viewport. These images can be used to support modeling and animating.

Light

Lights for lighting the scene in renders.

Light Probe

Lights are used by the Eevee render engine and record lighting information for indirect lighting.

Camera

This is the virtual camera that is used to determine what appears in the render. See Cameras in Cycles.

Speaker

Speaker brings a source of sound to the scene.

Force Field

Force Fields are used in physical simulations. They 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). See Collection.

Common Options

You can change the options of the object in the Adjust Last Operation panel just after creating it:

Type

Some objects let you change their type after 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.