Environment Cube Maps

Cube maps can add context to the scene by providing a background and basic lighting for your product. For example, environment Cube Maps can provide the distant ocean around your boat, or the yard around your modular building.

Environment cube maps are composed of 6 images which make the 6 sides of a cube, and preset global lighting. This cube is painted at a theoretically infinite distance away from the origin, so your product and the customer viewing it are within this cube, always seeing a part of the cube's interior as the background. The cube map does not have any geometry: it does not appear in the node tree as a mesh.

Learn more about basic environment settings found in the scene properties before continuing: background, environment, environment lighting intensity, rotation, blur color, and ambient color.

Using no environment

For most products, the 3D model of the product itself is enough. It can appear floating within a plain white background.

1. In the 3D scene designer, click the scene node itself to see the scene properties appear on the right.
2. Set the Background to either "transparent" or "color."

Using a standard environment

Experiment with one of our standard backgrounds. Your 3D model will appear floating within a science lab, a mountain view, or other pre-built location.

1. In the 3D scene designer, click the scene node itself to see the scene properties.
2. Set the Background to "environment".
3. Set the Environment by clicking the field, selecting the "library" tab in the dialog box that appears, and selecting an environment from the list.
4. To change or clear the selected environment, click the x which appears next to the selected environment name.
5. Adjust other environment-related fields, such as intensity, rotation, blur, and ambient color.

Creating a custom environment

The 3D scene arleady offers many built-in environments for your immediate use. But you can also create your own.

1. Create an HDRI environment cube map in .hdr format. There are many online resources to guide you in finding an existing one to purchase, or hiring a professional designer to create one for you. You should have a file with the extension ".hdr".
2. In the 3D scene designer, click the scene node itself to see the scene properties.
3. Set the Background to "environment".
4. Set the Environment by clicking that field. In the dialog box that appears,select the custom tab.
5. Click the gear at the top of the tab, and adjust the resolution of the cube map you're about to create.  By default this is set to Low, which generally works for using the cube map as a light source, but may provide a pixelated appearance if used as a background in the viewer.
6. The contents of the media folder appear. Browse to a location in that hierarchy where you would like to store the environment.  You can add folders as necessary.
7. Click Upload to upload the .hdr file. In a minute or so, a new .env file will be created from the .hdr file, and appear in the list. Click the Refresh icon, or scroll through the list, to see the new file.
8. Select the .env file, and click Save to close the dialog box.
9. Adjust other environment-related fields, such as intensity, rotation, blur, and ambient color.