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HDRI Panel

Render 360-degree HDRI maps from your TrueSKY scene with a dedicated panoramic camera and HDR-safe output settings.

Where to Find It

  • Open the 3D Viewport N-panel.
  • Go to True-VFX -> TrueSKY 3.
  • Expand Miscellaneous and choose HDRI.

When to Use This Panel

  • Capture your sky as lighting for other scenes or DCCs.
  • Make quick look-dev domes before committing to a final render.
  • Save calibrated HDRIs that match your AgX/Filmic exposure pipeline.

Panel Layout

  • Setup HDRI Camera button to create or reset the panoramic camera.
  • Resolution block with presets and custom controls.
  • Output block for folder, file name, format, and depth.
  • Render Controls for background rendering and post-render actions.
  • HDRI Camera Settings dropdown for transform and framing guides.

Quick Start vs Advanced

  1. Click Setup HDRI Camera to add the panoramic camera at the origin.
  2. Pick a resolution preset (start with 8K for balance).
  3. Choose OpenEXR with 32-bit depth and ZIP compression.
  4. Enable Background Render if you want Blender to keep responding.
  5. Press Render HDRI and wait for the progress readout to finish.
  • Switch to Custom resolution to enter width/height; keep a 2:1 ratio.
  • Adjust Resolution % to scale up or down without retyping values.
  • Choose DWAA/DWAB compression for lighter EXR sequences; ZIP for single frames.
  • Use Open Directory After Render to review files immediately.
  • Open HDRI Camera Settings to tweak position or crop latitude/longitude if you only need part of the dome.

Key Sections

Setup HDRI Camera

  • Creates or resets a panoramic equirectangular camera at the world origin and sets it active.
  • Re-running recenters and reconfigures the camera if you changed it.
  • Save your blend file before starting long renders, especially when Background Render is on.

Resolution

  • Presets keep the 2:1 equirectangular ratio: 4K (4000x2000), 8K (8000x4000), 12K (12000x6000), 16K (16000x8000), 24K (24000x12000).
  • Choose Custom to unlock Resolution X/Y and Resolution % sliders.
  • For 12K/16K/24K or custom sizes above 10K x 5K, TrueSKY automatically falls back to the CPU compositor and shows a warning to avoid GPU stalls.

Stay within 2:1

HDRI maps rely on a 2:1 aspect ratio. Deviating from it causes stretching and seams in IBL tools. Step up to higher presets gradually; 12K and above can be very memory intensive.

Output and File Naming

  • Folder picker sets where EXRs are saved. If nothing is set, the blend file location is used; unsaved files fall back to your Documents folder.
  • File Name is a base label; duplicates get numbered automatically.
  • File Format options:
  • OpenEXR (recommended): choose 16-bit Half for lighter previews or 32-bit Float for maximum headroom.
  • Radiance HDR / TIFF / PNG / JPEG for quick previews only.
  • EXR Codec: start with ZIP; try PIZ for noisy detail or DWAA/DWAB for small file sizes.

HDR needs OpenEXR

For true lighting data, use OpenEXR. PNG or JPEG clip highlights and make the HDRI unusable for illumination beyond previews.

Render Controls and Progress

  • Background Render keeps the UI responsive by running a separate Blender instance (requires a saved file).
  • Open Directory After Render jumps straight to the output folder when done.
  • The Render HDRI button shows status messages and progress while rendering; it also reports when the compositor switches to CPU for oversized HDRIs so you know why the GPU is not used.

HDRI Camera Settings

  • Opens transform sliders so you can nudge the camera location or rotation if the dome needs to align with scene elements.
  • Camera Format limits latitude and longitude if you need only part of the panorama.
  • Safe Areas overlay guides for framing UI or title elements in previews.

Pre-render Checklist

Quick checks

  • Blend file saved, especially for background renders.
  • Exposure/AgX settings match the rest of your project.
  • Output folder and OpenEXR selected with the right bit depth.
  • Resolution kept at 2:1 and within your hardware limits.
  • Camera recentred with Setup HDRI Camera after major scene changes.

Tips and Pitfalls

  • Test at 4K or 8K before committing to 12K or higher; volumetric clouds scale render time quickly.
  • If banding appears, switch to 32-bit EXR and disable heavy compression.
  • Keep the camera at the origin to avoid seams when re-projecting the map.
  • For Eevee previews, still render HDRIs in Cycles to capture the full dynamic range.