Environment
Generate an environment map from an image, a uniform colour, or a procedural sky for 3D scene lighting and reflections.
What it does
Environment sets the lighting that wraps the whole 3D scene: the light a surface reflects and picks up from its surroundings, and optionally the backdrop behind it. Image mode starts from a flat colour and accepts any image, gradient or procedural map wired in as the surrounding light source. Sky mode generates a physically based sky and sun instead, driven by sun position and a set of atmosphere controls: air, dust, ozone, altitude and ground reflectance.
Rotation, Intensity and Tint apply on top of either mode. Rotation moves where highlights land, Intensity works as an exposure control, and Tint colours the light without touching the source. Environment also carries the scene's optional volumetric fog, a height-based haze that every light in the scene scatters through.
When to use it
Reflections and ambient light on 3D objects without placing dozens of lights, from a wired image or a flat colour.
A procedural sky and sun: Sky mode, with sun elevation and azimuth.
Repositioning highlights, via Rotation.
The environment showing behind the objects as a backdrop, via Visible in Background. Turn it off to keep the lighting and hide the backdrop.
Atmospheric haze, via Fog and its density, height and colour.
| Parameter | Type | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
mode | String | "Image" | Image: use a texture (solid color gradient, HDRI). Uniform: constant radiance in every direction (white-furnace / IBL). Sky: procedural atmosphere. One of: Image, Uniform, Sky. |
channels | Field or Color Field | — | Environment input — Field (HDRI / gradient / procedural) or Field(Record) with hdri / irradiance / radiance channels |
color | Color | rgba(0.15, 0.15, 0.20, 1.00) | Flat environment color when no map is connected (Image), or the constant radiance (Uniform) |
sun_elevation | Number | 45 | Sun elevation above horizon (degrees) |
sun_azimuth | Number | 180 | Sun azimuth (0=North, 90=East, 180=South, 270=West) |
air | Number | 1 | Rayleigh (molecular air) density — higher = bluer, denser sky |
dust | Number | 1 | Mie (dust/haze) density — higher = hazier sun glow |
ozone | Number | 1 | Ozone absorption — higher = deeper blue sky |
altitude | Number | 0 | Observer height above sea level (metres) |
ground_albedo | Number | 0.300 | Ground reflectance — affects atmospheric bounce light |
rotation | Number | 0 | Rotate environment around Y axis |
intensity | Number | 1 | Environment lighting intensity |
tint | Color | rgba(1.00, 1.00, 1.00, 1.00) | Color tint applied to the environment |
visible_in_background | Boolean | true | Show environment as viewport/render background |
fog_enabled | Boolean | false | Enable scene-level volumetric fog |
fog_density | Number | 0.020 | Fog density — extinction per world unit at the fog height |
fog_height | Number | 0 | World height (Y) at which fog has full density |
fog_height_falloff | Number | 0.100 | Density falloff per unit of altitude above the fog height (0 = uniform) |
fog_color | Color | rgba(1.00, 1.00, 1.00, 1.00) | Fog color — what the fog scatters under white light |
fog_anisotropy | Number | 0.200 | Scattering direction: 0 = even glow, + = glow toward camera-facing lights |
fog_ambient | Number | 0.100 | Ambient fog brightness floor from the environment light |
Gotchas
Fog is scene-level, not per-layer. Enabling it here adds haze that every light in the 3D scene scatters through, not only this node's output.
Sun Elevation is clamped to ±90°, so the sun cannot pass the zenith. Sun Azimuth has no hard clamp and its values wrap, so it is safe to animate continuously through a day and night cycle.
In Image mode the Color swatch is a fallback. Once an image, gradient or procedural map is wired into the environment input, that map drives the lighting and Color is ignored.
Worked example
Add an Environment node and connect it into your scene.
Leave Mode on Image and pick a flat Color for even lighting, or wire in an image for image-based lighting and reflections.
Raise Intensity to brighten the whole scene, or adjust Tint to colour the light.
Switch Mode to Sky for a procedural sun and atmosphere. Drag Sun Elevation and Sun Azimuth to place the sun, and adjust Air/Dust/Ozone for haze and sky colour.
Turn off Visible in Background for the lighting with a transparent or separately composited backdrop.