### 2.5 The Mesh Object

A Mesh object represents a discrete model, a set of geometry which is self-contained and is typically fairly small on a world scale. Mesh objects are assumed to represent movable objects and are not used for the sprawling level geometry typically used to create backgrounds.

Mesh objects are a type of resource, and are managed by the MeshManager resource manager. They are typically loaded from OGRE’s custom object format, the ’.mesh’ format. Mesh files are typically created by exporting from a modelling tool See Exporters and can be manipulated through various Mesh Tools

You can also create Mesh objects manually by calling the MeshManager::createManual method. This way you can define the geometry yourself, but this is outside the scope of this manual.

Mesh objects are the basis for the individual movable objects in the world, which are called Entities.

Mesh objects can also be animated using See Skeletal Animation.