Canvas tools

Canvas tools

Canvas

This is your infinite-sized 3D-canvas on which you interact with the objects.

The basic scene settings are in the panel on the right when you have not highlighted anything: Background, Environment, Ground Plane.

When you select an object, the scene settings disappear and the settings for the object appear. To return to the scene settings, press Esc or click on an empty area of the canvas.

You also see the Grid on canvas, and you'll learn about that in this article as well.

Various effects can be applied to the scene, you can read about them here:

Learn more about the scene workflow here:

Background

The background of your scene has all the parameters you need.

Watch the video to find out about different background options and how to customize them.

  • Transparent — if you need a transparent background on your .png or embed.

  • Environment — shows the HDRi map. Video 👈

    • Ground projection - by default, HDRI is projected spherically around the scene, creating a sense of object levitation. With Ground Projection mode enabled, the HDRi map is projected in such a way that allows objects to appear as if they are on the ground of the environment.

    Size - adjust the projection size (to adjust the projection size to the size of your scene)

    Blur - turn off this option to see the HDRi map. It can be made partially blurred in the Environment settings

    Environment settings - environment can be further adjusted with a variety of environment settings. You can also import your own HDRi.

  • Solid — a solid color. Note that there is also a dropper to select the color directly from the scene.

  • Linear — a linear gradient. Change the direction and add new colors by clicking on the line. To remove the color, simply connect one point to another.

  • Radial — a radial gradient. Same as a linear gradient, only in a radial.

  • Texture — upload your own image as a background. Upload from your computer or paste a link to an image from the Internet. In the Transform tab, change the Fit option as well as the resolution of the image.

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Note: Some background options have additional Adjust and Transform tabs. The Adjust tab allows you to change the color properties, and the Transform tab allows you to change the position, resolution, etc.

Environment

Environment = Global illumination

The image below is an example of an HDRi-map. Below you see just a png cover, But in order for such a map to work should be in .hdr or .exr format. The HDRi map is usually intended to be imported into 3D software to shape the Environment (global illumination).

In the image, there are areas with lights that will provide illumination of the scene. Such lighting can be adjusted in various ways or turned off altogether.

image

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Note that Environment and Background are not the same things. The Background is visible, and the Environment is a global illumination that works regardless of the selected background and its settings.

Vectary has its own Environment Library, which has two kinds of environments: studio and outdoor. You can also import your own image in .hdr or .exrformat.

image

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Check out https://polyhaven.com/hdris with a lot of free resources.

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Different environments can dramatically change the appearance of your objects and the scene as a whole. We encourage you to try different environments and change the settings. If you don't have enough environments in the Vectary library, you can find many other maps of them on the web.

Each Environment has the following adjustments for you to fine-tune as needed:

  • Intensity - By changing the intensity you can dim the light or make it barely noticeable. You can set an intensity value greater than 100, just enter the desired value. Or turn it off by setting it to 0.
  • Rotation - The angle at which the light falls on the object is quite important. Rotating the surroundings can reveal new results.
  • Hue - Change the shade of the light to create different moods.
  • Saturation - If the effect of the environment is too colorful or intense for your scene, a negative saturation value will correct this. Do the opposite if the color is not strong enough.
  • Shadow - Adjust the intensity of the shadows.
  • Blurriness - The HDRi map is visible in the reflective surfaces. With this setting you can blur that reflection.
  • Resolution - Change the resolution of the HDRi map. Reduce the size to make your scene load even faster. Or increase the size to improve the quality of the map in reflecting objects.

Ground Plane

To see a shadow in Vectary, you need some kind of surface on which you can see it.

The Ground Plane feature allows you to get a shadow under an object without having to add a floor.

The shadow for the Ground plane can be Dynamic or Baked.

Dynamic shadow is a shadow that is rendered in real-time and will change depending on the lighting in the scene.

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The intensity of the shadow for Dynamic mode can be increased in the Environment settings (if you use Environment light)

🔥 Baked shadow is of much better quality as it is rendered by a photorealistic engine. It takes some time to compute it, and in the end, you get the shadow texture. Changes in the scene's lighting will no longer affect the shadow. If it needs to be updated then the shadow would need to be baked again.

Black point — the black point refers to the darkest point in an image

White point — the white point refers to the brightest point in an image

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In High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI), the black point refers to the darkest point in an image and the white point refers to the brightest point in an image. The black point is the minimum brightness level that can be represented in an image and the white point is the maximum brightness level that can be represented in an image. These points are used to set the range of brightness levels in an image. The range of brightness levels between the black and white points is called the dynamic range. The dynamic range of an image determines how much detail can be seen in the shadows and highlights of an image.

The Adjust tab regulates both Dynamic and Baked shadows. In this tab, you can adjust the size of the shadow, its opacity, and color.

Grid

The grid allows you to navigate in space and understand how objects are positioned in relation to each other. If your scene does just fine without a grid, you can turn it off in two ways:

  • Right click on an empty space → Hide Grid
  • Menu → Settings → Grid

The grid units are those selected in the menu: mm or inch.

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Tip: By pressing the TAB key, the view will change to orthogonal with the grid in the background.

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