Roblox 101: How to Create Custom Meshes

Contemporary video games have grown increasingly complex in terms of graphics and mechanical designs, with their realistic textures and immersive environments. Unfortunately, Roblox’s default, blocky environments prevent developers from matching those robust worlds. Well, developers can now cast those limitations aside. Roblox now has the ability to import custom mesh objects, so game makers no longer need to endure blocky parts and basic worlds. If you want to try your hand at building beautiful Roblox games, follow these steps to create custom meshes. But first, some background.

What Is a BasePart?

As you probably know, Roblox lets you build games. The BaseParts (simply known as “parts”) are what you use to make objects inside your game, such as a car, backpack, or bird. The Roblox Studio creation tool includes basic parts. They are:

You can change their sizes, colors, textures, and other properties, but not their shape. If you get creative, you can make other shapes by welding existing parts together. 

Also, you can cut shapes into other shapes by leveraging their negative properties. Still, no matter how you slice it, these shapes remain basic, and they make your game look basic, too. Fortunately, custom mesh parts improve matters.

What Is a Mesh?

Like other 3D games, Roblox’s meshes represent an in-game object. That means they can be anything. Simply put, meshes are the same as BaseParts, but they have a MeshID and TextureID that lets you upload your own shapes and textures. This Roblox Studio feature has literally changed the game for all Roblox developers, as it opens up infinite graphics possibilities. You can’t create meshes inside Roblox Studio, but you can create them inside Blender 3D (and export them into your project).

Introducing Blender 3D

Blender 3D is a free program under the GNU Public License. In other words, it’s free to download, install, and use for personal or commercial use. The app comes with numerous tools, but its main purpose is 3D art (modeling, texturing, movie-clip editing, and animation). Blender 3D even has its own game engine, and built-in scripting tools. Now, mastering Blender 3D is way outside the scope of this article; the program is a beast. Still, we’ll walk you through how to create a custom mesh in basic fashion.

How to Create a Mesh

Importing the Mesh

Now that you have your mesh file, its time to bring it into Roblox Studio. Here’s how:

Congratulations! You’ve built a custom Roblox mesh!

Taking Custom Meshes to the Next Level

Now, don’t be discouraged by the simple shape we made; you can make anything that pops into your head. You just need a little practice with Blender 3D. If you wish to add textures to your meshes, check out the Roblox Corporation’s tips.

In addition, there are many free, prebuilt models out there if you don’t feel like putting in so much work. I recommend visiting the Unity 3D Asset store, the Unreal Engine Marketplace, and Sketchfab to find cool items. Make sure you read the license for each asset, to see if they have use restrictions. For example, you can import a sports car into Roblox Studio without spending a cent.

For more Roblox tips, check out Roblox’s own walkthroughs and my books on how to script games.