You can use the Visualization tool to customize the look of your models. With over 100 materials and a wide range of appearance customization possibilities, you can give your 3D model a realistic look and finish that allows you to share stunning designs with anyone.
Access Visualization
To use the Visualization tool:
- Make sure that you have a 3D model in your design space.
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From the main menu, select Visualization.
💡Tip: You can access this tool by selecting Tools > Visualize or by making selections and using the adaptive menu. For more information and additional techniques, see Accessing tools. - Choose between the Material, Environment, and Camera tabs to start modifying your model.
Note: If you use Visualization with an empty design space, you can find an option to import a design or a sample model.
Material
You can assign and change the material of your model from the Material tab. Depending on the material, you can also adjust the color, transparency settings, and material scaling.
Follow the instructions below to learn how.
Add a material
To add a material to your whole model:
- Scroll through the Materials tab to choose a material to add, or use the drop-down for All Materials to choose a category.
- Drag and drop your chosen material on the whole body of your model.
To add material to parts of your model:
- Select a face or body to open Properties.
- Under Material, select Change.
- Drag and drop your chosen material to your selected face or body.
- Select Done to finish.
At the top part of the Material tab, you can find the Used Materials section to view the materials you chose for your model.
Change a material
You can change the material of your body from Properties in the Material tab.
To change a material:
- In the Used Materials section, select the material you want to change.
- In Properties, select the material under the Material section.
- Scroll to choose a new material to add, or use the drop-down for All Materials to find your desired material.
- Drag and drop your chosen material on your model.
- Select an empty space to exit.
Customize your material
You can customize a material color and adjust other settings from Properties in the Material tab.
To access Properties, select a material under Used Materials. Learn about the different fields available in Properties below.
- Scale - Drag the slider to change the scale of your material.
- Color Field - You can adjust the brightness and saturation level of the selected color.
- Hue Slider - You can pick the color you want to apply to faces and bodies.
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Opacity- If applicable, you can change the opacity or transparency of a body or face. When you move the handle down on the slider, your material will become more transparent. This allows you to show the interior of bodies.
Note: To make a material transparent in the modeling space, you should apply the Default or Transparent material from the Utility category. - Hexadecimal - If you know the exact hex value of a color you want to apply, type in the number and press the Return or Enter key to choose that color.
- Color Swatches - You can store colors that you frequently use. Choose a color in the Slider or sample a color in your design space with the Pick Face Color button, and then select an empty slot in the Color Swatches. The chosen or sampled color will be saved. To remove a color, just right-click it and select Delete.
Environment
You can change the environment of your model from the Environment tab.
Follow the instructions below to learn how.
Select an environment
To add an environment, go to the Environment tab and select an environment.
Customize an environment
To customize an environment:
- Select the settings icon at the bottom-right corner of the environment to open Properties.
- You can adjust the following properties:
- Light Rotation - Drag the slider to change the orientation of the shadow.
- Light Intensity - Drag the slider to adjust the light intensity of your environment.
- Ground Plane - This adds an infinite plane to the scene that receives shadows from your models. When enabled, you can choose between Snap to Model or XY Plane.
Camera and Depth of Field
You can select a surface point on a body to add a realistic depth of field effect to your visualizations.
Add Depth of Field
Depth of Field works the same way as in real-life cameras. When you apply this setting, parts of the screen at a similar distance from the camera will remain sharp, while areas closer or further away will become increasingly blurred.
To add a depth of field effect to your model:
- Touch or pen - Tap on a part of a body to bring it into focus. Use the visual indicator that pops up to help you bring a part into focus. To switch off Depth of Field, select a focus point anywhere outside a body.
- Keyboard and mouse/trackpad - Secondary click (right-click) on a part of a body to bring up the context menu. Use Set as Focus Point to bring it into focus. Use the visual indicator that pops up to help you bring a part into focus. Use Remove Focus Point to switch off depth of field.
Adjust Camera and Depth of Field properties
You can adjust the following depth of field properties in the Camera tab:
- Field of View - Adjust the field of view angle of the camera.
- Aperture - Define the depth range where the image remains sharp in the depth of field effect.
- Blur Intensity - Adjust the overall intensity of the depth of field effect.
Sharing your designs
Share your visualizations in the following ways:
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Capture your designs using the Capture tool
- You can capture screenshots in Visualization to share with anyone. To learn how, visit: Capture your designs via Visualization.
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Export your designs
- iPadOS and macOS users: you can export your workspace contents to a textured USDZ file via the export menu. To learn how, visit: Export files.
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Augmented Reality
- iPadOS users: If you want to see your model represented in a physical environment via augmented reality, select AR at the top left corner of the screen to export your model in USDZ format. For more details on using augmented reality with Shapr3D, visit: Augmented Reality.