Work in 3D

Build and shoot a scene in 3D.

Getting into 3D

Adding any 3D object (sphere, ellipsoid, cube, cone, cylinder, torus, polyhedron (including pyramid), threed_axes, surface3d, parametric_surface, line3d, arrow3d) automatically switches the scene to a 3D view — you don't need to flip a switch yourself. The command palette also has a manual Toggle 2D / 3D view if you need it.

A couple of 2D-looking object types force 3D too: layered_matrix, and any path object with a nonzero positionZ, rotationX, or rotationY — giving a flat drawing depth or a 3D tilt (the "3D pencil" workflow from the Canvas studio) is enough to promote the whole scene to a ThreeDScene.

Orbiting the camera in the editor

• Drag inside the 3D view to orbit freely.
• Or press O to arm the orbit tool, then drag (press O again, or switch tools, to leave orbit mode). Pressing O while in 2D view switches you to 3D first, since orbiting only means something there.

This editor-side orbit is a viewport convenience for looking around your scene as you build it — it doesn't itself create any animation.

Keyframing a cinematic camera move

To animate the camera for the actual render, add a camera animation event and keyframe:

Only the fields you set on a given event animate; an event that only sets zoom leaves phi/theta exactly where the previous camera event left them. Chain several camera events with different start times for a multi-beat move (orbit in, hold, pull back).

Transforming 2D shapes to 3D in video animations

There are three ways to transform flat 2D objects into 3D during a video animation:

1. Camera Tilt & Orbit Transition (Camera Animation)

Keep your 2D shapes flat, then add a Camera animation event on the timeline at the exact moment you want the 3D transition:

• Set phi (polar tilt) from 0° (flat 2D top-down view) to 65° (3D perspective tilt).
• Set theta (azimuth) to 45° or 135° (3D side angle).
• During video playback, the camera smoothly rotates from flat 2D to a cinematic 3D perspective.

2. Animating 3D Rotations & Z-Depth (rotationX, rotationY, positionZ)

Select any 2D object (Square, Circle, Text, Path) and keyframe its 3D properties:

• In the Inspector panel under Animate a value, pick rotationX or rotationY.
• Set From = 0° and To = 360° (or set positionZ to move outward along the Z-axis).
• The flat 2D shape smoothly flips, spins, or floats in 3D space during the video.

3. Morphing 2D to 3D with Transform

Create a 2D shape (e.g., a flat 2D Square) and a 3D target shape (e.g., a 3D Cube):

• Add a transform or replacement_transform animation event on the timeline from the 2D shape to the 3D target object.
• The flat 2D geometry smoothly morphs directly into the 3D solid geometry in the video.

The preview is an approximation