Glossary

Look up the 3D terms used in Meshy, sorted from A to Z, with what each term means and how it applies in Meshy.

A

Albedo map: The base color texture of a 3D model, without lighting or shadow information. In Meshy, AI Texturing generates albedo maps as part of the PBR texture set.

F

FBX: A proprietary Autodesk file format, widely used to exchange 3D assets between game engines, such as Unity and Unreal, and DCC tools. Meshy exports FBX with embedded textures and optional rig data.

G

GLB and GLTF: Open standard 3D file formats. GLB is the binary version, a single file with embedded textures. GLTF is the JSON version, made of several files. Meshy recommends GLB for the web and AR.

L

Low poly: A 3D modeling style that uses few polygons, popular in games and stylized art. In Text to 3D and Image to 3D, Smart Topology generates optimized low-poly meshes.

M

Mesh: The geometric structure of a 3D model, made of vertices, edges, and faces. Meshy generates meshes from text, an image, or a chat.

Metallic map: A PBR texture map that defines which parts of a surface are metallic (white) and which aren't (black). AI Texturing generates it when you turn on Generate PBR Maps.

N

Normal map: A texture that simulates surface detail without adding geometry. It uses RGB values to encode the direction of the surface. Meshy generates normal maps as part of the PBR texture set.

P

PBR (physically based rendering): A rendering approach that simulates how light interacts with real surfaces. It uses albedo, normal, roughness, and metallic maps. Meshy's AI Texturing generates complete PBR texture sets.

Polygon count: The number of faces in a mesh. Lower counts give better performance. Meshy's Remesh tool lets you set a target polygon count.

R

Remesh: Regenerating a model's mesh topology. In Meshy, Remesh optimizes the polygon count and the topology.

Rigging: Adding a skeleton to a mesh so it can be animated. Meshy rigs humanoid and quadruped models automatically.

Roughness map: A PBR texture that defines how smooth a surface is. Black means smooth and glossy, and white means rough and matte. AI Texturing generates it.

S

Smart Topology: A model type that outputs clean, game-ready geometry with native part segmentation. In Image to 3D, Meshy T2 also lets you set the polygon count from 100 to 15,000. Smart Topology is available in Text to 3D and Image to 3D.

STL: A file format that stores only geometry, with no color or texture. It's the standard format for 3D printing. Meshy exports STL for FDM and SLA printing.

T

Topology: The arrangement and flow of polygons on a mesh surface. Clean topology, with even quads that follow the surface contours, is essential for animation and deformation.

U

USD and USDZ: Universal Scene Description, a format by Pixar. USDZ is the compressed version Apple uses for AR Quick Look. Meshy exports USDZ for Apple AR.

UV mapping: Projecting a 3D surface onto a 2D plane so textures can be applied. Meshy's Unwrap UV tool generates UV layouts automatically.

W

Watertight mesh: A closed mesh with no holes or open edges, which 3D printing requires. In Meshy, Make Printable in the viewer's Printability card makes a mesh watertight.

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