> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.intangible.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.intangible.ai/build/environment.md).

# Environment

Sun position, time of day, fog, terrain, and grid – the scene-level environment controls in Build mode.

Scene-level lighting and ground. Sun position and time of day, fog, terrain color, grid visibility. Set once per scene; everything you build sits on top.

## What it does

Think of the environment controls as the work lights on a set. They pre-light the 3D scene so you can read where objects sit in relation to one another while you build and block, the same way you'd flood a stage before the DP comes in to light the actual shot. The lighting itself isn't passed to the visualizer. Render lighting is set later, in Visualize, with [Lighting presets](/visualize/lighting-presets.md).

The one exception is ground color. The vision model that reads your 3D scene sees the terrain color and infers a material from it: a green ground tends to read as grass, brown as dirt, gray as asphalt or concrete. That carries into the render even when you don't ask for it, so pick the ground color deliberately.

The environment controls are scene-level – they apply to every shot in the active scene. To vary how a scene reads across an edit, build separate scenes and cut between them in the [Sequence Timeline](/compose/timeline.md).

## Two places, not one

Scene environment lives in two surfaces, and they do different jobs.

**Edit Scene Details** is the panel on the left of Build. It holds the scene's name and description, Fog, Terrain colour, and Show Grid.

**Environment mode** is opened from the sun icon in the bottom toolbar. It holds the lighting: the sun, ambient light, shadows, and the background. An exit control sits in the mode's own bar, and Escape leaves it.

## Fog, terrain and grid

Open **Edit Scene Details** on the left of Build.

**Fog** carries a colour, an Opacity, and **Near** and **Far** distances. Near and Far set where the fog starts and where it becomes total, so a large scene can fade into the distance while the foreground stays clear. Colour is not limited to grey: a red fog tints the whole scene.

![The Edit Scene Details panel, with Fog colour, opacity, Near and Far, plus Terrain colour and Show Grid](https://1179478100-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSWrjIqlgVAblx6vHGJiM%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f0aa6dd355943bca702f38fbee3128ad5272a651%2Fedit-scene-details-fog-01.png?alt=media)

**Terrain** sets the floor colour. This one reaches the render: the vision model reads the coloured ground as a material, so green reads as grass and grey as asphalt.

**Show Grid** toggles the build-time grid. The grid never appears in a render.

## Light the scene

![Environment mode open in Build, with its control bar and exit affordance](https://1179478100-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSWrjIqlgVAblx6vHGJiM%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-b8b5ce2a802b29db41dbb17ee786b95a59b0dffb%2Fenvironment-mode-01.png?alt=media)

Inside the mode, panels cover the background, the sun, ambient light, shadows, and terrain.

### The sun and ambient light

**Main Light** is the sun.

| Control     | What it sets                                               |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Color       | The sun's colour                                           |
| Intensity   | How strong it is                                           |
| Azimuth     | Its compass direction, in degrees                          |
| Time of Day | A clock time, with the sun's altitude in degrees beside it |

![The Main Light panel, showing Color, Intensity, Azimuth and Time of Day](https://1179478100-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSWrjIqlgVAblx6vHGJiM%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-aab3b3be025fe54d0e5b87621a455f214c582890%2Fenvironment-main-light-01.png?alt=media)

A reset control returns the panel to its defaults.

**Ambient Light** carries Color and Intensity. It fills the scene where the sun does not reach.

![The Ambient Light panel](https://1179478100-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSWrjIqlgVAblx6vHGJiM%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-0978e8589b4ac36cf66ed41d3fc1125a2df5c26a%2Fenvironment-ambient-light-01.png?alt=media)

A diegetic sun gizmo sits in the viewport, with rings for azimuth and altitude that you drag directly. A moon sits opposite the sun, and the light hands over between them across day and night.

Sun and shadow are keyframable, so the light can change across a shot.

## Background and shadows

The background takes one of three types: a sky, a solid colour, or an image. Image backgrounds accept HDRIs, including images from the team media library.

A **Blend Horizon** toggle, on by default, blends the infinite floor into the background rather than ending it on a hard line.

Shadows have their own panel with an Enabled switch and an Intensity slider. Shadow quality is set separately in the renderer settings.

## What reaches the render

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A[Time of day, sun, fog] --> B[3D viewport readability only]
    C[Ground color] --> D[Vision model reads the scene]
    D --> E[Render]
    F[Grid] -->|never| E
```

Sun position, time of day, and fog light the 3D viewport so you can read the scene; they don't reach the render. Ground color does reach the render, indirectly: the vision model reads the colored terrain and infers a material. The grid is scaffolding for you, not for the render – it never appears in rendered output.

## Where render lighting comes from

Render lighting is set in Visualize, not here. [Lighting presets](/visualize/lighting-presets.md) are what the visualizer uses to light a specific render. The pattern:

* Use **environment** to make the 3D scene readable while you build and block.
* Use **lighting presets** in Visualize to light the render. "This shot is stormy; the next is misty."

The environment helps you see the scene; the lighting preset is what the model renders.

## Common mistakes

{% hint style="warning" %}
**The grid being on doesn't affect renders, but it can throw off your composition.** If you're framing a shot in Compose mode and the grid lines are visible, the lines aren't going to render – but they're occupying mental space while you frame. Toggle the grid off before you compose.
{% endhint %}

* **Tuning fog and then forgetting it's on.** Fog at high density darkens your viewport readability. If your scene looks unexpectedly murky, check fog first.
* **Expecting the viewport's time of day to drive the render.** Sun and time of day light the viewport, not the render. A scene that looks like midnight in the viewport renders with whatever [lighting preset](/visualize/lighting-presets.md) you set in Visualize. Set render lighting there, not by the Time slider.
* **Leaving the ground a color you don't want read as a material.** A green ground can render as grass, gray as asphalt. If the render keeps inventing a surface, check the terrain color first.

## Related

* [Lighting presets](/visualize/lighting-presets.md)
* [Scene context](/visualize/scene-context.md)
* [Auto-prompt](/visualize/auto-prompt.md)
* [Asset library](/build/asset-library.md)


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