Vertex (computer graphics)
A vertex (plural vertices) in computer graphics is a data structure that describes certain attributes, like the position of a point in 2D or 3D space, or multiple points on a surface.
Application to 3D models
[edit]3D models are most often represented as triangulated polyhedra forming a triangle mesh. Non-triangular surfaces can be converted to an array of triangles through tessellation. Attributes from the vertices are typically interpolated across mesh surfaces.
Vertex attributes
[edit]The vertices of triangles are associated not only with spatial position but also with other values used to render the object correctly. Most attributes of a vertex represent vectors in the space to be rendered. These vectors are typically 1 (x), 2 (x, y), or 3 (x, y, z) dimensional and can include a fourth homogeneous coordinate (w). These values are given meaning by a material description. In realtime rendering these properties are used by a vertex shader or vertex pipeline.
Such attributes can include:
See also
[edit]For how vertices are processed on 3D graphics cards, see shader.