Hundreds of graphics files have been included with Chief Architect. They are categorized into three groups: Images, Materials, and Backdrops. By using them, you can create more realistic render views.
Images are very important for the appearance of rendered views and VRML file export. Images are picture files that represent individual objects, such as trees, flowers, cars, people, etc. They are marked in floor plan view with a 2D Block and are visible in vector views.
Backdrops are images that display in the background of 3D views. Only one backdrop can be used at a time. If a backdrop is not applied, Chief Architect applies a default background color. Backdrops are selected and removed on the Backdrop tab of the 3D Settings dialog. The background color for render views is also defined there. See "Creating Backdrops".
You can drag and drop a backdrop directly into a render view from the Library Browser. Select a backdrop from the upper pane of the Library Browser, notice that the pointer changes in render view (
) to indicate that a backdrop is loaded for placement, and then click in a render view to apply the selected backdrop.
The render view allows a special type of backdrop called a Spherical Panoramic Backdrop. These options are used to have the backdrop rotate as you move the render view Camera.
To enable Spherical Panoramic Backdrops, you can turn them on from the Backdrop tab of the 3D Settings dialog. You can then adjust how much the backdrop wraps around the scene.
Adjusting the Horizontal Angle determines how many times the backdrop should appear as you rotate in a full circle from side-to-side. A value of 360 makes the backdrop wrap around the scene once. A value of 720 makes it wrap around the scene twice. 180 makes only half the backdrop wrap around the scene.
The Vertical Angle determines how much the backdrop stretches up-and-down. To have the backdrop stretch from the highest point in the sky to the lowest point in the ground, use a value of 180. To have the backdrop stretch from just below a horizontal render to just above, use a smaller value such as 100.
It takes a special camera or an image processing program to generate spherical panoramic backdrops. Some experimenting with the images and the Angle values may be necessary to achieve the desired results.
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