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Viewing and Modeling Transformations

Viewing and modeling transformations are inextricably related in OpenGL and are combined into a single modelview matrix.

There are alternative ways to think about transformations - do you want to move the camera in one direction, or move the object in the opposite direction?


Each way of thinking about transformations has advantages and disadvantages, but in some cases one way more naturally matches the effect of the intended transformation.

If there is no viewing transformation, the "camera" is left in the default position at the origin, pointed toward the negative z-axis; if there's no modeling transformation, the model isn't moved, and it retains its specified position, orientation, and size.