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AXEL Basics > About 3D space

About 3D space


Virtual 3D space simulates real life. Just as a contractor's plans contain the spatial information needed to build a new house, an AXEL 3D World contains the information needed to correctly display your objects in 3D space.

3D software is based on a cartesian coordinate system, named after the French mathematician and philosopher, Descartes. He devised a numerical system to quantify the position of things in 3D space, using the X, Y, and Z axes.


Whereas a 2D image uses width (X) and height (Y), 3D adds a third axis, depth (Z). So any location can be described by a series of three numbers (X, Y, Z). If you instruct movers to put your couch on the west side of your house, on the second floor and in the back, you have described 3D coordinates.

At the World origin, the coordinates are (0,0,0). As you move away from the center, the X, Y, and Z values vary as follows:


Global and Local Coordinates

Red, green, and blue axes appear on each object you create in AXEL. The axes originate at the center of the object. The direction of the axes indicates the orientation of the object.


Global coordinates refer to the AXEL World view. That is, the X Y Z axes are always identical references for all objects in the World.

Local coordinates refer to an object's center. They are identical when you create an object, but if you rotate it, the local axes will change to reflect the new orientation.

In the following illustrations, the global axes appear in the lower left of each image. The axes on the Eiffel tower are its own local axes.

The top images show the Eiffel tower being scaled in Y, vertically. In the lower images, the Eiffel tower is rotated clockwise 90 degrees. Notice how its local Y axis is now pointing to the right. This time, when scaled in Y, it is stretching to the right.


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