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Wings3d

Wings3d - Basic tutorial

Chapter 1 - The website wings3d.com

On the website of Wings3d.com you will find this information :

1. Home Wings3d is written iin Erlang, this is an open source program and is free for use
2. Features Wings3d is simple to use , but it has a lot of modeling tools
3. Community For Wings3d you will find lots of tutorials : there are also forums and wiki pages
4. Documentation Here you find some basic commands
5. Gallery Here you have screenshots with examples

6. Downloads Here you can dowload the lastest version : version 1.4.1 (febr 2011). Only 8.67MB in size.

7. Development There is the possibility to report bugs . Wings3d is also offered in other languages.
8. User manual

Chapter 2 - Wings3d the menu overview

2.1- starting Wings3d

After having downloaded Wings3d, you can install the program at once , and to be easy, we choose "create a desktop icon". When starting Wing3d you will always see 2 screens : Erlang en Wings3d. Both screen need to stay active : if you close the Erlang screen, then you also close the Wings3d screen (and vice versa) . For the modeling we only use the Wings3d screen.

2.2 - Preferences

Now we determine the preferences of Wings3d. You can do this with Edit - Preferences.You can do the same by selecting the first icon at the right above. Now you will see a window with 6 tabsheets.

We will determine these settings :
tabsheet 1 - general
Draw Anti-Aliased Edges : activate this
Background : we choose a rose color
tabsheet 2 - Camera
Camera mode : Maya
tabsheet 3 - Advanced
Default commands : activate this
tabsheet 4 - Constraints
tabsheet 5 - Advanced
tabsheet 6 - Misc
Save automatically every 20 minutes
Undo levels : 40

2.3 - Import- and export- settings

Now we determine how we will import and export the files in Wings3d .
Determine the export settings (to renderware .rwx) :


File > Export selected > Renderware (.rwx) >

As you can see, Wings3d can export into a lot of 3d formats, such as DirectX (.x) , this format can also be used in Activeworlds.But now we choose for Renderware and click upon the rectangle besides the name and then you will have a new window.


Faceted lightsampling : select this ; Ambient 0.7 ; Diffuse 0.8 ; Specular 0.15 ; Export scale 0.1
Click upon ok. The computer will show now a window to save this, but you can simply close this screen.

Determine the import settings (from wavefront .obj) :
File > Import > Wavefront (.obj) > and klik upon the rectangele beside :
Import scale 10, Export scale 1 and click ok., and we close here also the screen that the computerprogram proposes

2.4 - use of primitives

All models are made or changed in this work space. A model that already exists can be imported in wings3d with : File > Import > and then choose the file extension of the model
If you want to make yourself an object, then you need to start with primitives : the cube, the sphere , they cylinder , the cone , the torus (kind of donut), etc....
Place the cursor on our screen (so, on the middle of the screen) and then right-click , and you will see a new window , and there your choose and click upon "cube" in order to make a cube.

If you select the rectangle beside the "cube" , then you can also modify the standard size of the cube and make a rectangular cube.

2.5 - the icones toolbar

This is a description of the icons on the toolbar :

The map is used to open a previously saved file. If you go with the cursor above the icon, then you will see below the screen the explanation in english for this icon.
The diskette icon is used to save the current object
Het 3rd and 4th icon are used to undo or redo the things you have done.

The cube-icons are related to selections on the object that you are making (concerning all primitives)


The 1st cube selects/deselects the vertices of an object ( vertex - vertices selection)
The 2nd cube selects/deselects the edges of an object ( edge selection - lines )
The 3rd cube selects/deselects the faces of an object (faces selection)
The 4th cube selects/deselects the entire object (body selection mode) : if you select an object this way,then everything that is inside the object, is also selected. You can also obtain the same by pressing the characters "v" "e" "f" and "b".


If you go and right-click in these cases, then you will also see a differen submenu, depending on each selection.

The icons at the right side are extra tools which can be used for a better (over)view :
The 1st icon is to modify the preferences
The 2nd icon shows a smooth presentation of the object, it shows how the model looks like, once you have modelled it. If you click again, then you see the model again the normal presentation: flat shading or smooth shading.

The 3nd icon shows another camera position, click again and you will be again in the normal position.

The 4th icon makes appear or disappear the grid lines.
Het 5th icon makes appear or disappear the X Y and Z-axis lines.

2.6 - objectinformation lines

Below the icons you will find the object information lines. The info is different , each time you put the cursor on another position on the screen.

When you finally got a model (eg. a cube), then you will also find here textline about this cube : object info about the number of polygones, edges, vertices, positions, sizes and distances and materials about the selected object. The info is different , every time that you select something else with your mouse.