3-D Objects

• A 3-D scene is made up of many different elements. The objects in the image are the features of the scene. The basis of the image is the scene, which is the background. Objects are overlain on the scene and are held in separate files, each with the OBJ file extension. Different files may contribute to the creation of the object file. These include rendering samples that contain examples of textures such as hair, fur or fabric. Effects files also contribute to the creation of a 3-D object. These files include lighting factors such as shadow, glare and water-ripple effects. Each different type of image can be bought in. Image libraries offer a wide range of textures, effects and objects.
  
  

Graphics Packages

• Almost all 3-D image editing packages can read OBJ files. The list includes Blender, LightWave, Smith Micro Poser Pro, Cheetah 3D, Mesh Lab, MAXON Cinema 4D, IMSI TurboCAD Deluxe and Autodesk Maya and AutoCAD. The object files can also be included in animation created with an editor such as Vue 8.5 Infinite.
  
  

Lightwave

• The LWS format has only one type, created for LightWave, a 3-D graphics package. The LWS file is a background to a 3-D image. Objects are placed on top of the contents of the LWS scene file to create a full 3-D image. Although those objects can be imported from OBJ files, the native object file extension in LightWave is LWO.
  
  

Other OBJ Files

• Programmers know “object files” as a different type of phenomenon. A compiler transforms the written instructions of a program into an executable file. The executable file contains binary machine code, which is not human readable. Program files can be compiled without generating an executable file. In this case, an intermediate file called an object file, carrying the OBJ file extension, is created. OBJ is one option in the naming of object files, sometimes the file may have a fie extension of just “O.” The intermediate files then need to be “linked” to create a finished executable file. The purpose of creating object files during the compilation process is to enable an executable file to be composed of a number of source program files.