Using the Ambience Panel

You can use a dedicated panel to customize ambience parameters.

Before you begin:
  • The ambience panel is available in the right docking area, and automatically displays when you start Ambience Studio.
  • You need the Visual Experience Content Collection (VCC) role to access and author the content that comes with the role.
  1. From the Ambience Studio section of the action bar, click Display Ambience Panel .

    Important: The first time you run the command, the panel opens directly. Then, if you dock the panel:
    • When the ambience panel is pinned ( is displayed on top of the panel) the Display Ambience Panel command directly opens the panel.
    • When the ambience panel is not pinned ( is displayed on top of the panel,) the Display Ambience Panel command displays on the right side of your session window. Move your mouse over to display the docking area and the ambience panel.

  2. In the General tab, use the Title box to replace the name of the default ambience with the name of your choice.
    The ambience name is automatically updated in the tree, and in the Title box of the Properties dialog box.
    Note: When you rename or edit a PLM Ambience in another authoring app, only the name of the reference ambience is changed. The feature name corresponding to the inserted ambience does not change.
  3. The preview area displays in real time the customization of the background and lights.

    You can maximize the preview and display it in a separate window. To do so, click:

    • to detach the preview from the General tab. You can move, resize, group, snap, stack, or dock the HDRi Lights Preview window to one of the four docking areas like any immersive panel.

      You can also zoom and pan the preview in the window using the standard mouse and keyboard interactions.

      If you resize the window, the new dimensions are stored in the local preferences and applied next time you detach the window.

    • to center and fit the preview in the HDRi Lights Preview window when the window is resized.

      If the window and the image have different width and height ratios, the image resizes to be entirely displayed in the window.

    • to attach the preview to the General tab.

  4. Use the following icons to manage your lights.

    Icon Description

    2D manipulator

    		 For each light, a 2D manipulator is available in the preview (whether maximized or minimized) to let you position the light.

    To do so, drag the manipulator to the location of your choice. The new position automatically integrates with the global lighting map on the fly. You can thus see at a glance the effect of the move in the preview and in the 3D.

    The Latitude and Longitude values in the Light Properties area automatically update accordingly.

    Important: When the light position is locked, displays next to the manipulator. To unlock the light position and move the light, click Lock/Unlock Position in the Light Properties area.

    Light painting

    		 Lets you position HDRI lights in your ambience.

    To do so, select a light, click the icon, and then drag the light handle in the preview:



    As the specular mark moves, the Longitude and Latitude values simultaneously update to reflect the new light position.
    Lets you add a new HDRi light to your ambience.

    Click the appropriate icon:

    • to give a disk shape to the HDRi light.
    • to give a rectangle shape to the HDRi light.
    • to add a texture to the HDRi light from a search, a file, or from the session.

    When you create a light, click the box on the right to activate or deactivate it.

    For each change, the preview instantly updates, and a new ambience iteration appears in the list on the right.

    In the example below, there are two lights, and a square symbol identifies the selected light:

    Displays or hides the properties for the current light.
    Duplicates the active ambience iteration.

    The copy is named Ambiencename Copy.

    Removes the selected iteration from the list.
    Unlocks the light position.

    Click to lock it back.

    Note: You can also use Lock/Unlock Position in the Light Properties.
    Displays the whole list at once.

    Relevant when you create at least two lights. You can also click the arrow next to the iteration name to display the list of iterations.

  5. Click to display additional commands.

    Command Description
    Change Ambience Type Lets you change the ambience type.

    In the Change Ambience Type dialog box, select the new type you want to apply.

    Choose a type different from the current one. For instance, if your current ambience is a Hdri ambience, you cannot switch to another Hdri ambience.

    Note: If you change to a Hdri ambience, an additional dialog box lets you choose among a list of presets.
    Display Helper Grid Lets you display a grid in the preview and in the 3D area.
    Display in Preview

    Display in 3D area

    This grid is made of three vertical lines and one horizontal line:

    • The three vertical lines highlight the three key longitude angles: -90°, 0°, and +90°.
    • The horizontal line highlights the horizon, at 0° latitude.

    To hide the grid, click Hide Helper Grid.
    Export HDR Lets you save the current ambience in .hdr format.

  6. Choose a light in the list, and then click to expand the Light Properties area.

    This area lets you customize the lights of the current ambience.

    By default, only color, texture (for texture lights), and brightness properties are visible. To display the exhaustive list of properties, click at the bottom of the area.

    You can also modify some lighting properties through the Lighting area.

  7. In the Background area, modify the appropriate parameters to customize the background of the current ambience.
  8. Click the Ground tab to define ground parameters.
  9. Click the Viewpoint tab to create a viewpoint for your ambience and use a backplate.