Work in 3D
Add 3D objects, orbit the camera, and keyframe a camera move.
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:
| Field | Moves |
|---|---|
phi | polar tilt — 0 is top-down, 90 is a side view |
theta | azimuth — spins around the scene |
zoom | frame scale |
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).
The preview is an approximation
ApplyMatrix/rotation math. The flat 2D canvas preview can only approximate what a 3D scene will look like. For the definitive look, render the video. See Preview vs. render for what specifically differs.