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Workflow: Creating Atmospheric Worlds

Combine the Primary, Clouds, and Space tabs with your Luminous setup to build a believable atmospheric world.

This guide assumes you have already run Setup Scene (see the Setting Up a Scene workflow).

1. Configure the Primary Body

  1. Open the Primary tab.
  2. Set the radius/scale so that the planet curvature feels appropriate for your shot (larger for wide views, smaller for close-ups where you want more noticeable curvature).
  3. Adjust the surface appearance to match your target world (Earth-like, icy, desert, alien, etc.).
  4. Enable the atmosphere if it is not already on.
  5. Tune key atmospheric properties such as height/thickness, density, and scattering until the horizon and sky color look plausible.

Take a moment to orbit around the planet with the camera to check that the atmosphere holds up from multiple angles.

2. Set Up Lighting in Luminous

  1. Switch to the Luminous tab.
  2. Confirm that a primary sun exists; adjust its intensity and color to reflect your desired time of day (cooler and dimmer for dawn/dusk, warmer and brighter for midday, etc.).
  3. Position the sun so that it creates interesting highlights and a readable day/night terminator on the planet.
  4. Optionally add a secondary luminous body for fill or stylised lighting.

Atmospheric scattering is highly dependent on sun angle; revisit this step whenever you adjust the planet or clouds significantly.

3. Add and Shape Clouds

  1. Open the Clouds tab.
  2. Create or enable at least one cloud layer.
  3. Set base height and top height so clouds sit above the planet surface without intersecting the camera for your main shots.
  4. Adjust coverage and density to achieve the desired cloudiness (from clear skies to heavy overcast).
  5. Use detail and lighting response controls to refine the look in your chosen lighting conditions.
  6. For more complex skies, add additional layers (e.g. low cumulus plus high cirrus or haze) with different heights and densities.

Regularly toggle between the Clouds and Luminous tabs while you tweak to keep cloud shading consistent.

4. Match the Space Background

  1. Switch to the Space tab.
  2. Choose an appropriate background mode: simple dark starfield for realistic shots, or more dramatic nebulae for stylised scenes.
  3. Adjust background brightness/exposure so the planet and clouds remain clearly readable against the backdrop.
  4. Tweak color/tint to complement your atmosphere; for example, cooler nebula colors with warmer sunsets or vice versa.

The goal is to have a background that supports the planet and clouds instead of competing with them.

5. Iterate, Preview, and Refine

  1. Move the camera to the viewpoints you care about (orbiting above, near the horizon, distant space view, etc.).
  2. In each view, check the balance between:
    • Primary body surface and atmosphere.
    • Cloud layers and their shading.
    • Luminous bodies and their contribution.
    • Space background brightness and color.
  3. Make small iterative changes across Primary, Luminous, Clouds, and Space until the whole composition feels cohesive.

For heavy scenes, consider temporarily lowering volumetric quality in the Performance panel (Presets tab) while you iterate.

6. Optional: Add Effects and Prepare for HDRI

  • In the Effects tab, add subtle global haze or post-like tweaks to polish the look if needed.
  • Once you are satisfied with the world, you can follow the Rendering HDRI Maps workflow to bake out environment maps for use in other scenes or applications.