Edit Mode: Vertices, Edges, and Faces

Chapter 3's own tip box pointed here directly: Object Mode treats an object as one unbroken unit, while Edit Mode goes inside it to actually rework its shape. This chapter covers the building blocks that make up every mesh in Blender — vertices, edges, and faces — the same underlying idea as Vector Graphics' own anchor points and paths, one dimension higher.

Entering Edit Mode: Working Inside an Object's Own Mesh

Pressing Tab switches the currently selected object from Object Mode into Edit Mode, revealing its actual underlying geometry as a set of selectable points, connections, and surfaces rather than one solid, unbroken shape. Every technique in this chapter and the next operates entirely inside this mode.

Vertices: The 3D Equivalent of Anchor Points

A vertex is a single point in 3D space, defined by an X, Y, and Z position — directly analogous to an anchor point in Vector Graphics, except positioned in three dimensions rather than two. Every mesh, however complex, is ultimately built from a collection of vertices.

Edges: Connecting Vertices, the 3D Equivalent of Paths

An edge is a straight line connecting exactly two vertices — the 3D equivalent of a path segment connecting two anchor points in Vector Graphics. Unlike a 2D path, which can curve smoothly between points, a basic edge in a mesh is always straight; the appearance of a smooth 3D curve actually comes from many short, straight edges connected in sequence, an important distinction covered further once Chapter 5 introduces subdivision-style modeling.

Faces: The Filled Surface Between Edges

A face is a flat, filled surface bounded by a closed loop of edges — commonly a triangle (three edges) or a quad (four edges) — and it's faces, not edges or vertices, that actually render as the visible, solid surface of an object. This closed-loop requirement is the same underlying concept as a closed path needing to hold a fill in Vector Graphics, applied here to a 3D surface instead of a 2D one.

Selection Modes: Vertex, Edge, and Face Select

Edit Mode offers three distinct selection modes — Vertex Select, Edge Select, and Face Select — switching which of the three building blocks actually gets selected and manipulated by a click. Choosing the right selection mode for a given edit (moving one specific point vs. an entire flat surface) makes mesh editing considerably more precise and predictable.

Basic Mesh Editing: Moving, Merging, and Deleting Geometry

The same Move, Rotate, and Scale transforms from Chapter 3 apply here too, but now acting on individual vertices, edges, or faces rather than a whole object. Merging combines two or more selected vertices into one, closing a gap or simplifying overly dense geometry; deleting removes selected geometry entirely, though what exactly gets removed depends on a choice covered directly in this chapter's own warning box.

Hands-On Exercises