# Create your first project

Two clicks from the homepage to an empty 3D scene with a name you'll actually find later. Before you start building, internalize the scene-and-shot model – it'll save backtracking after the first render.

![A new Untitled project in Build mode with the empty 3D grid visible and the mode switcher centered above the viewport](/files/zLAOw1bp0gjl2KG3DIlo)

## How to do it

1. **Click New Project.** Top-right of the homepage. The green button. The viewport opens with an empty scene named "Untitled".
2. **Rename the project.** Click the project title at the top-left. Type the actual name. The visualizer's auto-prompt later reads project and scene names – "Lambo commercial" feeds the model better than "Untitled-7".
3. **Confirm the starting scene.** Below the project title is the scenes dropdown, with one scene also called "Untitled". Click it, rename to something descriptive ("Manhattan street", "Garage interior"). You can add more scenes later for additional locations.
4. **Set the environment.** The **Edit Scene Details** panel on the left side of Build mode holds the scene's environment fields. Type a Time into the Sky section (e.g. `8:30am`, `5:30pm`, `midnight`). Toggle Location to use a geographic position. Toggle Fog if you want depth. Toggle Terrain (Show grid) if the floor is distracting.
5. **You're ready to build.** Switch to Build mode in the top-center toolbar (it's the default for new projects). The asset library is along the bottom of the screen. See [Place your first objects](/overview/get-started/place-your-first-objects.md) for what to do next.

## Project naming hygiene

This is small but real:

* Don't leave projects called "Untitled". The homepage grid sorts by modified date but identifies by name; you'll lose track within a week.
* Rename scenes the same way. Scenes drop into the auto-prompt; meaningful names produce meaningful prompts.
* Use descriptive names with the client or the brief baked in. "Lambo commercial – establishing pass" beats "Project 4".

{% hint style="info" %}
The auto-prompt reads scene names directly. A scene named "Manhattan city street at midnight" produces a different prompt than one named "scene-2". You're not just naming for yourself – you're naming for the model.
{% endhint %}

## Scenes vs shots

Two different concepts, important to keep straight before you start. The short version:

* **Scenes** are spatial. Different sets, different locations. A commercial with three locations is one project with three scenes.
* **Shots** are temporal. Different camera framings and times within a scene. A scene can have a dozen shots.

Animation is bound to shots, not scenes. Move an object in Build mode and it moves everywhere; move an object in Compose mode (within a shot) and the move is recorded on that shot's timeline. See [Animation and shot time](/overview/concepts/animation-and-shot-time.md) for why this matters.

## Common mistakes

* **Working in the homepage's "showcase template" copy without realizing it.** Templates open as a new project named after the template. Rename it before you commit time, or you'll have three projects named "Pirate Scene".
* **Adding many scenes before naming any.** Easier to name them as you create them than to rename a stack of "Untitled" scenes later.
* **Forgetting to switch modes.** New projects open in Build mode by default. If your scene looks fine but the camera controls feel wrong, you may have switched to Compose mid-edit.

## Related

* [The homepage](/overview/get-started/the-homepage.md)
* [Place your first objects](/overview/get-started/place-your-first-objects.md)
* [Projects and scenes](/overview/concepts/projects-and-scenes.md)
* [The three modes](/overview/concepts/the-three-modes.md)
* [Animation and shot time](/overview/concepts/animation-and-shot-time.md)


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