More Playground questions

Short answers to common Playground questions about import, materials, diamonds, scene settings, cameras and export.

Which file formats can I import?

Playground opens these model files: 3DM, FBX, GLTF, GLB, OBJ, STL and ZIP.

• JewelCAD .jcd files do not open. Export the design from your CAD program to one of the formats above, for example STL or 3DM.
• A phone 3D scan opens when the scan app exports one of the formats above, for example OBJ or GLB.
• An STL file has no layers and no material names. Playground cannot assign metal and gems separately to an STL file. Use 3DM, GLB or FBX to keep the layers. See Layers and names.

How do I export a video or PNG sequence with a transparent background?

An MP4 video cannot keep transparency. Transparent areas become black. To get transparent frames, export a PNG sequence:

Step 1 of 5

1. Make the background transparent. Do the steps in How do I export an image with a transparent background?.
2. Open Export in the right panel.
3. Set Mime type to PNG sequence.
4. Start the recording. Select a folder when the browser asks for one.
5. Playground writes one PNG image for each frame into that folder. Each PNG keeps the transparency.

Do not use JPEG sequence for this. JPEG images have no transparency. Use a video editor to put the PNG frames on your own background or to make a video from them.

How do I set the turntable speed, direction and angle?

Open Export in the right panel, then Video Export:

• Turntable animation time (sec): the length of one turn. A larger value gives a slower rotation.
• Turntable animation angle: the angle of the turn. Set 360 for a full turn.
• Turntable animation CCW: set it to turn counterclockwise. Clear it to turn clockwise.
• Turntable animation ease: set linear to get a constant speed with no slow start or slow stop.

Then click Record turntable animation. The camera turns around its target point in a horizontal circle. The model does not move.

Can I export TIF images or separate render layers?

No. Playground exports images as PNG, JPEG or WEBP. TIF export and separate layers (for example, metal and diamonds) are not available.

If you need a TIF file, export a PNG and convert it in an image editor. PNG has no quality loss, so the conversion keeps all the detail.

Does Playground have a grid overlay for framing?

No. Playground has no grid overlay on the canvas. To frame a set of images the same way:

1. Save the camera angle as a camera view or a pose. See FAQ: Cameras & Animation.
2. Use the same saved view and the same export width and height for each model.

Why does my model move by itself every few seconds?

This is the Interaction Prompt. It shows a hand that turns the model a little to show the visitor that the model can rotate. It starts a short time after a model loads and plays again when nobody touches the model. It stops when you click or drag on the canvas.

The Interaction Prompt is on by default. To stop it, open the Plugins tab in the right panel, expand Interaction Prompt and clear Enabled. The Auto rotate button in the canvas toolbar is a different feature: it turns the model continuously until you click the button again.

How do I set an exact camera angle (front, top, 45 degrees)?

Type the camera values in Viewer → Camera:

• Target is the point that the camera looks at. Set it to the center of the model, for example 0, 0, 0.
• Position is the location of the camera. The second value is the height (Y is up).

Examples for a camera at a distance of 10 from a target at 0, 0, 0:

View	Position
Front	0, 0, 10
Side	10, 0, 0
Top	0, 10, 0
45 degrees from above	0, 7.07, 7.07

Save the angle as a camera view to use it again. See Camera Views.

To reduce perspective distortion, decrease Field Of View and move the camera farther away. Set Field Of View before you save camera views, because a change makes the saved views inaccurate.

How do I make the camera turn around the pendant and not the chain?

The camera turns around its Target point. To move this point to the pendant:

Step 1 of 3

1. Open Viewer → Camera.
2. Change the Target values until the pendant is at the center of the view.
3. Save the angle as a camera view.

The turntable video also turns around this Target point.

Can Playground load my scene preset by default?

No. Playground does not load a saved preset by itself. Each new model opens with the standard scene. To use your settings again:

1. Drop the model onto the canvas.
2. Drop your .vjson file onto the canvas. Or click your preset in the Scene Presets tab of the left panel.

On the iJewel platform, a folder can have default settings:

Step 1 of 3

1. Right-click the folder and select Edit default settings.
2. Set the scene in the editor that opens, then save.
3. Models in this folder use these settings when they have no saved settings of their own. A model that you already saved in the editor keeps its own settings.

See Import Scene Settings.

Can I render pearl, mother-of-pearl, opal or moonstone?

Pearl: yes. The Pearls tab of the material library has pearl materials, for example pearl-white-2 and the mother-of-pearl material pearl-perlmutt-06. Some materials are available only on paid plans.

Opal and moonstone: the material library has no opal or moonstone material. You can make your own material in the PBR Materials editor. Then save it as a .pmat file to use it again.

How do I match the diamond look of a reference image?

Select the stone. Then change these settings in the Diamond Material:

Goal	Setting
A brighter or darker stone	Env Intensity
More or less rainbow fire	Dispersion
A different position of the sparkle	Env Rotation Offset
A gem color that is not a preset (grey, vivid yellow, dark onyx)	Color, then Absorption for a deeper color
A stronger tint in one color channel	RGB Boost
More contrast inside the stone	Gamma
More depth for some cuts	Ray Bounces, Refractive Index

The gem environment map also changes the look. Try a different map in the Gem Environments tab of the left panel. See Diamond Materials.

Watch:

• How to create custom diamond materials in Playground: the material settings in the table above.
• iJewel3D Inclusions: the look inside the stone.
• Gem stones HDR map light setup: the shine and the reflections from the gem environment map.
• Fixing diamond rendering issues in iJewel Playground: dark, flat or wrong stones.

Why do my diamonds look dark, black inside or cloudy?

The usual causes are the gem environment map and the model.

Step 1 of 5

1. Make sure that a gem environment map is set. Do the steps in Diamonds look dull.
2. Select the stone and increase Ray Bounces. More bounces remove dark areas in some cuts.
3. Move Env Rotation Offset until the dark area goes away.
4. If a colored stone has a white cast, increase Absorption.
5. In your CAD file, unweld the gems and put each cut on its own layer. See Gems and diamonds.

Why do my diamonds look wrong after import?

Most errors come from the model file:

• Smooth normals: the stone looks soft, like glass or metal. Unweld the gem meshes with an angle of 0.
• Joined stones: two stones, or a stone and metal, are one mesh. Keep each stone as a separate mesh.
• Different cuts on one layer: Playground uses one cut for the layer. Put each cut on its own layer.
• No layers: an STL file has no layers. Use 3DM, GLB or FBX.

See Gems and diamonds and Layers and names.

Watch:

• Fixing weird or wrong normals in Rhino
• Fixing diamond rendering issues in iJewel Playground

How do I import my own material?

Playground material files are .pmat (metal and other standard materials) and .dmat (diamonds and gems). Drop the file onto a selected part, or add it to the material library. See Import Materials.

Playground cannot open Blender, Maya or 3ds Max material files. To bring a material from these programs, export the model as GLB or FBX with the material. Then adjust the material in Playground and save it as a .pmat file.

How do I recreate the look of a reference render?

Set the parts of the scene in this order:

Step 1 of 5

1. Environment: select an environment map and set Env Rotation and Env Intensity. See HDR lighting.
2. Background and ground: see Background / Environment and Ground.
3. Metal: select a preset in the Metals tab, then adjust the color. See PBR Materials.
4. Diamonds: see How do I match the diamond look of a reference image?.
5. Save the result as a .vjson file to use it again.

Why does my metal look dark, flat or too bright?

Metal shows the environment map in its reflections. If the map has dark areas, the metal shows dark patches.

Step 1 of 5

1. Open Scene → Background / Environment.
2. Change Env Rotation until the dark areas go away.
3. If the metal is too dark, increase Env Intensity.
4. If the metal is too white, decrease Env Intensity.
5. If this does not help, select a different environment map.

How do I get a specific metal color?

Step 1 of 4

1. Select the metal part.
2. Click a gold, silver or platinum preset in the Metals tab of the left panel.
3. To change the tone, open the Physical Material in Picking and change color.
4. Save the material as a .pmat file to use it again.

How do I make a black, glossy ground with a reflection?

Step 1 of 4

1. Open Scene → Ground.
2. Make sure that Visible is on.
3. Turn on Planar Reflections. The ground then shows a reflection of the model.
4. In the ground Physical Material, set color to black or a dark color.

The ground is a scene setting. You do not need a ground in your 3DM file. See Ground.

Why are the textures missing, or the texture is upside down?

A texture needs a UV map in the model. If the UV map is missing or broken, the model is white, or the texture is distorted.

• Make a UV map in your 3D program, then export the model again.
• For gems, Playground has Auto UV Mapping. See Diamond Materials.
• If a texture is upside down, change Flip Y in the texture settings of the material.

What is the difference between a GLB file and a VJSON file?

File	Contents	Use it to
.glb	The model, with its materials and textures	Open the model in Playground, the iJewel platform or another 3D program
.vjson	The scene settings: environment, background, camera, post processing and plugin settings. It has no model.	Apply the same look to other models

See Export Models and Export Scene Settings.

How do I make the watch hands move?

Playground can turn the watch hands to the current time.

Step 1 of 5

1. In your 3D program, give each hand a name that contains hour, minute or second.
2. Put the pivot of each hand at the center of the dial.
3. Open the Plugins tab in the right panel and expand Watch Hands Time.
4. If a hand turns around the wrong axis, change the axis (x, y or z), or invert it.
5. If the hands show the wrong time, use the hour, minute and second offsets.