The Mesh Editor screen is where mesh, texture, and armature data can be created and modified. A [i]mesh[/i] is a collection of [link=select_mode_vertex]vertices[/link] and [link=select_mode_face]faces[/link], forming a graph of data that can be rendered as a 3-dimensional object. A [i]texture[/i] is an image that can be applied to a mesh to map colors (or other data) onto its surface. An [i]armature[/i] is a collection of rigid joints that can be used to deform a mesh's shape, as though posing bones in a skeleton.

By default, new documents start with a simple 2x2x2 cube at the center of the coordinate space. This cube can be subdivided and reshaped to serve as the basis of the model you wish to create, or it can be deleted and replaced with new geometry. If you would prefer new documents to start empty, uncheck [nobr]"New document starts with cube"[/nobr] in [link=preferences]Preferences[/link].

Mesh data can be manipulated in several ways. After choosing an appropriate select mode ([link=select_mode_vertex]vertex[/link], [link=select_mode_edge]edge[/link], [link=select_mode_face]face[/link], or [link=select_mode_face_corner]face corner[/link]), parts of the mesh can be selected and adjusted with the [link=manipulator]manipulator[/link]. Additional geometric detail can be added to the mesh using operations from the [nobr]Mesh → Geometry[/nobr] submenu, such as [link=operation_subdivide]Subdivide[/link] and [link=operation_extrude]Extrude[/link]. New unconnected geometry can be created with the items in the [nobr]Mesh → Insert[/nobr] submenu. You can numerically edit vertex positions and attributes in the [link=inspector_panel]Inspector Panel[/link].

Texture data is optional, and not present by default. A texture can be added to the mesh with the [nobr]Add Texture[/nobr] button in the [link=properties_panel]properties panel[/link]. In order to be displayed, a texture must have an associated image, which can be created with the Generate button, or loaded from an external file with the [nobr]Load File[/nobr] button. By default, the first texture in the model will be used for color data in the default [link=material]material[/link]; any additional textures will need to be manually assigned to materials as appropriate. The texture is mapped onto the mesh according to its [link=texture_map]texture map[/link].

Armature data is optional, and not present by default. An armature can be added to the mesh with the [nobr]Add Armature[/nobr] button in the [link=properties_panel]properties panel[/link], or the [nobr]Mesh → Add Armature[/nobr] menu item. Once an armature is present, bones can be added with the [nobr]Mesh → Insert → Bone[/nobr] menu item. An armature and its bones do nothing on their own; vertex data must be updated to associate vertices with specific bones, and bones must be posed on the [link=screen_pose_editor]Pose Editor screen[/link] in order to deform the mesh. See [link=armature_deformations]Armature Deformations[/link] for more information.

See also:
[list-]
[*][link=controlling_the_camera]Controlling the camera[/link]
[*][link=exporting_meshes]Exporting meshes[/link]
[*][link=exporting_renders]Exporting renders[/link]
[*][link=mirror_mode]Mirror mode[/link]
[*][link=pivot_anchor]Pivot/Anchor[/link]
[*][link=materials]Materials[/link]
[*][link=partitions]Partitions[/link]
[*][link=deformations]Deformations[/link]
[*][link=lighting]Lighting[/link]
[*][link=texture_drawing]Texture drawing[/link]
[/list-]