Rendering 3D Scenes

Aspose.3D for .NET can render a scene to a raster image. The render pipeline requires a Camera (point of view), one or more Light sources, and ImageRenderOptions (output resolution and format). The Renderer class drives the render pass.

Setting Up a Camera

Add a Camera entity to a scene node. Set the camera’s position through the node’s Transform, and point it at a target using LookAt:

using Aspose.ThreeD;
using Aspose.ThreeD.Entities;
using Aspose.ThreeD.Utilities;

var scene = new Scene();

// Create the camera entity
var camera = new Camera(ProjectionType.Perspective);
camera.NearPlane = 0.1;
camera.FarPlane = 1000.0;
camera.FieldOfViewY = 45.0;

// Attach to a node and position it
Node cameraNode = scene.RootNode.CreateChildNode("main_camera", camera);
cameraNode.Transform.Translation = new Vector3(0, 5, 10);
// Aim the camera toward the scene origin by rotating around the X axis
cameraNode.Transform.EulerAngles = new Vector3(-30, 0, 0);

For orthographic rendering, set ProjectionType.Orthographic and specify OrthoHeight.

Adding Lights

Scenes without lights render completely dark. Add at least one Light to illuminate the geometry:

using Aspose.ThreeD.Entities;

// Directional (sun-like) light
var sunLight = new Light("sun");
sunLight.LightType = LightType.Directional;
sunLight.Color = new Vector3(1.0, 1.0, 0.95); // slightly warm white
Node sunNode = scene.RootNode.CreateChildNode("sun", sunLight);
sunNode.Transform.EulerAngles = new Vector3(45, -30, 0); // direction in degrees

// Point light
var pointLight = new Light("fill");
pointLight.LightType = LightType.Point;
pointLight.Intensity = 150.0;
Node pointNode = scene.RootNode.CreateChildNode("fill_light", pointLight);
pointNode.Transform.Translation = new Vector3(-3, 4, 3);

Rendering to an Image File

Use Scene.Render with ImageRenderOptions to produce a PNG, JPEG, or BMP image:

using Aspose.ThreeD;
using Aspose.ThreeD.Utilities;

// Render to a PNG file at 1280x720 — size is Vector2, format is a string
scene.Render(camera, "output.png", new Vector2(1280, 720), "png");

Tip: For production use, ensure at least one directional or ambient light is present. An unlit scene renders as a silhouette or solid black surface depending on the material.

API Quick Reference

Member	Description
`new Camera(projectionType)`	Create a camera; use `ProjectionType.Perspective` or `Orthographic`
`camera.FieldOfViewY`	Vertical field of view in degrees (perspective only)
`camera.NearPlane`	Near clipping plane distance
`camera.FarPlane`	Far clipping plane distance
`new Light(name)`	Create a light source
`light.LightType`	`Directional`, `Point`, or `Spot`
`light.Intensity`	Light intensity (positive float)
`light.Color`	RGB colour as `Vector3`
`new ImageRenderOptions()`	Render output configuration (background colour, shadows)
`scene.Render(camera, path, size, format)`	Render scene from camera viewpoint; `size` is `Vector2`, `format` is `"png"`, `"jpg"`, etc.

Rendering 3D Scenes