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Part V: Animation and Rendering Basics

FIGURE 23.13
The Print Size Wizard lets you set the image dimensions based on paper size and DPI (dots per inch) settings.

Creating an Environment

Whether it’s a beautiful landscape or just clouds drifting by, the environment behind the scene can do
much to make the scene more believable. In this section, you learn to define an environment using the
Rendering ➪ Environment (8) menu command.
Environment maps are used as background for the scene and can also be used as images reflected off shiny
objects. Environment maps are displayed only in the final rendering and not in the viewports, but you can add
a background to any viewport and even set the environment map to be displayed as the viewport backdrop.

Cross-Ref
Chapter 2, “Controlling and Configuring the Viewports,” covers adding a background image to a viewport. n
But there is more to an environment than just a background. It also involves altering the global lighting,
controlling exposure, and introducing atmosphere effects.
Defining the rendered environment
You create environments in the Environment and Effects dialog box, shown in Figure 23.14, which you can
open by choosing Rendering ➪ Environment (or by pressing the 8 key). Several settings make up an envi-
ronment, including a background color or image, global lighting, exposure control, and atmospheric effects.
Setting a background color
The first color swatch in the Environment panel lets you specify a background color. This color appears by
default if no environment map is specified or if the Use Map option is disabled (and is black by default). The
background color is animatable, so you can set the background color to start black and slowly fade to white.
Using a background image
To select a background image to be used as an environment map, click the Environment Map button in the
Environment panel to open the Material/Map browser. If you want to load a bitmap image as the back-
ground image, double-click the Bitmap selection to open the Select Bitmap Image dialog box. Locate the
bitmap to use, and click OK. The bitmap name appears on the Environment Map button.

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