360° Panorama Projection

Rendered 360° images will have little resemblance to the wireframe working window behind it; this makes flipping back and forth between wireframe and bitmap modes during composition fairly difficult. For this reason, it is recommended that you work in standard Perspective Render mode as you compose your image.

For a good 360° panoramic image, you need a natural distribution of objects on all sides of the camera.

To prepare a 360° panoramic render:

1. While in Perspective Render mode, switch to the Top view using the View Controls and position objects around the camera.
   
   
2. Display the Document Setup dialog using File > Document Setup and either select the Panorama preset aspect ratio or type in the dimensions that you want.
   
   
   
   The image below shows the dimensions for the default Panorama render:
   
   
3. Do a quick test render in Perspective Render mode to check composition.
   
   
4. The horizon should be level at the vertical midpoint of your window. If it is not, double-click the Trackball, enter "0" in the Rotate X field and exit the dialog.
   
   
5. Adjust your camera position and Y/Z rotation as needed.
6. When you are ready to render, click on the triangle next to the Render Controls and choose 360 Panoramic Projection from the menu.
   
   
   
   OR
7. You can also select the panoramic render by clicking the triangle beside the Render Controls and selecting Render Options.
   
   
8. In the Render Options dialog, click on the button next to 360 Panorama Projection. Note that when this option is selected, the mask options are not available.
   
   
9. Click on the OK icon to close the dialog.
10. Render the scene and when the render is complete, save the image.
    
    

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