Stage 3D scenes

Last updated on Jul 20, 2021

Learn how to build a 3D scene, render it and export it once you are done.

Adobe Substance 3D Stager is an intuitive and powerful design tool for building 3D scenes. Building a 3D scene encompasses a few steps, also known as staging. These steps are layout, texturing, lighting, and framing.

This staging workflow can create a wide variety of projects. Stage virtual photography for products and goods. Visualize interiors or spaces. Create illustrations and brand graphics.

Layout Positioning 3D objects to create the scene composition. Layout features are: Universal transform tool Collision transformation Align and Distribute tool Snapping For more details, see layout in Stager.	Object arrangement creates the foundation for 3D design.
Texturing Applying materials and textures to the objects. Texturing features Rich physically based shaders Substance material support Place images as material layers UV generation and export For more details, see texturing in Stager.	Materials and textures customize the appearance of the objects and create realistic effects like matte and reflective surfaces.
Lighting Setting up virtual lights to set the mood, contrast, and focus. Lighting features Physical point, spot, area lights Environment light layer editor Substance environment light support Automatic background compositing For more details, see lighting in Stager.	Lighting changes the mood, focus, and drama of a scene.
Framing Using virtual cameras to set the viewing angle, depth of field, and output ratio. Framing features Multi camera system Size and backplate per camera Depth of field for simulated blur For more details, see framing in Stager.	Framing creates focus and finalizes the composition for creating images.

Render and export

Render images

The most common export type is to render the 3D scene data into images. Stager combines real time, interactive, and offline rendering capabilities. Customization of the render engines allows for flexible control over speed and quality. The Adobe Substance apps share physically based rendering engines to ensure consistent results.

Learn more about the render engines and workflow in Stager.

How to render images — Use render mode to select multiple cameras and create final quality rendered images.

Export to 3D

Use Publish to Web to convert your Stager scene into a GLB file.

The published scene will upload to Creative Cloud Files and display in a web 3D viewer.

Share the web link for commenting or embed the viewer into other sites.

Publish scenes — Publish your 3D scenes to Creative Cloud. Share a link to the web viewer for review and commenting or embed into other sites.

For more details, see publishing Stager scenes to web.

Use Send to Aero to export your scene data for use in Adobe Aero. Build interactive experiences in augmented reality, then share them.

Sent to Aero — Send scenes to Aero to create augmented reality experiences.

Learn more about Adobe Aero.

What's Next?

We've got you covered on how to build your 3D scenes and export it to the format of your choice. Next, you can try to make sure you know about all the specific vocabulary used in the app.

Have a question or an idea?

If you have a question to ask, come and participate in the Substance 3D Stager community. We would love to hear from you.

You can also share your ideas of new features with us!

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Stage 3D scenes

Layout

Texturing

Lighting

Framing