In this video, we'll look at one of the fundamentals of 3D: Navigating around the scene to look at it from any angle.
In 3D, you control your view into the world through the use of a virtual camera.
The camera is controlled through three basic camera movements, each tied to a tool on the Toolbar.
Click on a tool to activate it.
Then click and drag in the canvas to use the tool.
The Orbit Tool lets you arc your camera around rotating your viewing angle.
The Pan Tool lets you move your camera along the view plane - up, down, left and right.
The Dolly Tool lets you move your camera forward and backward.
The default shortcuts for these tools are the number keys for 1 for Orbit, 2 for Pan and 3 for Dolly.
For a mouse, use the right button to orbit, middle mouse button to pan and scroll wheel to dolly.
You can also frame the camera automatically moving it, so that any selected object is in view.
Select an object you want to view, press the Frame Action button to frame your camera.
The default keyboard shortcut for framing is the F key.
Camera edits are stored in a separate camera history than scene edits.
Select Camera Undo to move back through camera changes.
Select Camera Redo to move forward through camera changes.
You can save camera views and easily return to them later.
Open the Camera Bookmarks panel, click the + button to save the current view.
Click on any saved view to return to that bookmark.
In addition to these navigation controls, there are some additional properties on the camera that can be used for compositional changes.
First, go to the Scene panel, select the Camera object.
Here you'll see the Cameras Transformation properties.
You can use these to input precise viewing angles.
These properties are also controlled directly by the camera tools.
You can adjust the Field of View to get different perspective effects.
For example, reducing the Field of View to be very low, and then framing an object will give you an isometric effect.
Another useful composition property is Focus, which creates a depth of field effect.
Once enabled Dimension will auto focus the closest item to the camera.
You can update the focus area by selecting the Set Focus action.
Once the action is enabled, click on any other surface in the scene to set it as the focus point.
Adjust the Blur property to change the strength of the focus effect.
We hope this video has been helpful in understanding how the camera can help you explore 3D.
We can't wait to see what you make.
