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Panning, Scaling, and Rotating a 3D Viewer
For the most part, navigation in the 3D Viewer is similar to the navigation in the 2D Viewer. Panning and zooming work with the same controls even though you’re moving within a 3D space. However, when viewing a 3D scene, panning changes the point of view and thus the center point for scaling and rotation, too. A combination of panning and rotation will allow you to move the point of view anywhere in the scene.
Another small change is that there’s a lower limit to the scale of a 3D scene. Continuing to zoom in past this limit will instead move (“dolly“) the point of view forward. The mouse wheel will move forward slowly, and the keyboard will move more quickly.
Critically, the 3D Viewer gives you additional control to rotate the viewer within the three dimensions of the scene to better see your scene from different angles as you work.
— Hold down the Option key and drag left or right using the middle mouse button.
— Hold down the middle and right mouse buttons while dragging.
TIP: These rotation controls can be used with the 3D Histogram subview as well.
TIP: These rotation controls can be used with the 3D Histogram subview as well.
TIP: These rotation controls can be used with the 3D Histogram subview as well.
The rotation is centered on the middle of the view.
Viewing Objects via Wireframe
3D composites not only work with 2D images on image planes but can also integrate true geometry, such as that generated by the Particle system, Text 3D node, imported FBX meshes, and basic primitives from the 3D toolset. Using a Wireframe view helps to see through a mesh or see the density of the geometry. It is much easier to see a change in the Subdivision level of an ImagePlane3D in wireframe than viewing the rendered image.
— Right-click the 3D Viewer and choose 3D Options > Wireframe from the contextual menu.
Changing the POV of a 3D Viewer
Compositing a 3D scene often requires that you view the scene from different angles to make sure the position and animation are what you want. While the 3D Viewer uses a perspective camera that allows you to look at the 3D scene from any angle, you can also switch the 3D Viewer to view from the front, top, left, or right side of the scene; these are collectively called Orthographic views.
Additionally, if you have a camera or spotlight in your scene, you can switch the viewer to face the scene from the point of view of those objects.
— Right-click the viewer and choose an option from the Camera submenu of the contextual menu. The choices include Perspective, Front, Top, Left, and Right.