Eyeon:Manual/Fusion 6/3D/Combining Scenes

Merge 3D

Each 3D tool outputs a complete 3D scene. This is unlike most traditional 3D modeling and animation programs, where all objects reside within a global scene environment. So the scenes created by a Camera tool and an Image Plane tool are separate until they are somehow combined into the same scene.

The Merge 3D tool takes the output of 3D tools and combines them into a single scene. Unlike the 2D Merge tool the ordering of the elements in the scene is not restricted to just two inputs for background and foreground. Instead the Merge 3D allows for an unlimited number of inputs, and combines them according to their absolute positions in 3D space.

The Merge 3D tool presents very few options in the control panel. The main control panel shows just a single checkbox that the artist can use to determine whether light present in the scene is passed downstream to the output. This mechanism is used to restrict light to a portion of the scene. By default this checkbox is disabled.

This allows the artist to light elements in the scene without worrying about how the light might affect geometry introduced further downstream. For example, the artist may wish to apply a spotlight to brighten the a wall of a building without having that spotlight spill over onto the grass or pavement at the foot of the wall.

Additionally, the Merge 3D tool control panel shows the common 3D transformation tab. These transformation controls can be used to adjust the position, scale and rotation of ALL the elements combined by the merge. This applies not just to geometry but also to lighting and particles. All transformations take place around a common pivot point.

As a result of the two features described above, the Merge 3D tool forms the basis of parenting for the Fusion 3D environment.

As of Fusion 6 most 3D primitives also provide a 3D scene input which can be used as an alternative to the Merge 3D tool.