# Export formats

Beyond video exports, Intangible can produce image stills (PNG, JPEG) and 3D scene exports (GLTF, USD). Pick the format that matches the downstream tool.

## What it does

Different downstream pipelines want different formats. A print designer wants PNG. A web developer wants JPEG. An Unreal artist wants GLB. The format picker exposes the working set; choose one based on what the file will go into.

## Image formats

### PNG

Lossless raster. Larger file size than JPEG. The right format for:

* Renders going into print or large-format display.
* Renders going into a downstream design tool (Figma, Photoshop) where you may keep iterating.

PNG exports do not carry alpha. The image-generation models render flat against a background; transparency is not preserved on export. If your downstream tool needs an alpha channel, mask externally.

### JPEG

Compressed raster. Much smaller files than PNG; some quality loss but visible only at high zoom. The right format for:

* Web upload, social media posts.
* Email attachments to a client for review.
* Storage-constrained delivery where file count is high.

Renders generated at 2K and downloaded as JPEG land at a reasonable file size for web while keeping enough detail for screen viewing.

## 3D scene formats

Export a complete scene with its hierarchy, transforms, and layout intact. Cameras carry through with their position and framing exactly as you composed them. Licensed assets in the scene may be substituted with high-quality stand-ins so the export stays rights-clean; you always get a complete, usable scene.

The canonical scene export formats today are **GLTF** and **USD**. FBX is not supported – for Maya / Max pipelines that historically used FBX, use USD or GLTF as the interchange format instead.

### GLTF (and GLB)

Open 3D format with embedded textures and materials. GLB is the binary variant. The right format for:

* Handing scene assets to a web developer.
* Sending to a real-time engine that consumes GLTF / GLB (Three.js, Babylon, some Unity flows).
* Archiving the 3D scene for re-import elsewhere.

### USD

The format Unreal and most virtual-production pipelines expect. The right format for:

* Unreal Engine handoffs for VP work.
* DCC-to-DCC interchange where GLTF doesn't carry your structure cleanly.
* Maya / Houdini round-trips where USD is the agreed lingua franca.

## What's not supported

A few formats users sometimes ask about that aren't exposed today:

* **FBX** – the legacy Maya / Max interchange format. Use USD or GLTF for those pipelines instead.
* **TIFF** – high-bit-depth print. PNG covers most print cases at lower bit depth.
* **WebP** – modern compressed raster. JPEG is the closest substitute.

If your downstream pipeline strictly needs a format Intangible doesn't export, transcode externally from PNG, GLTF, or USD.

## How to choose

| Downstream tool                   | Format      |
| --------------------------------- | ----------- |
| Photoshop                         | PNG         |
| Figma                             | PNG or JPEG |
| Premiere or Resolve (still frame) | PNG         |
| Web upload (social, blog)         | JPEG        |
| Email                             | JPEG        |
| Unreal Engine                     | USD         |
| Three.js or Babylon               | GLTF / GLB  |
| Maya / Houdini                    | USD         |
| Print                             | PNG         |

## How to export

The format is automatically determined by what's selected and which model produced it. Image renders download as PNG or JPEG depending on the source; 3D scene exports go through the dedicated scene-export action. There's no manual format picker mid-flow.

The per-render download icon below each gallery render is the entry point for image stills:

1. **Pick the asset to export.** A specific render in the Visualize gallery, or the active scene for a 3D export.
2. **Click the download icon** below the render preview.
3. **Pick the option** from the popup menu:
   * **Image** – currently selected generation as a still.
   * **Scene Reference** – the graybox 3D scene as an image (no image references included).
   * **Crossfade Video** – currently selected video artifacts on the Sequence Timeline. Trims respected.
   * **All** – the currently selected image generation plus the scene (3D graybox) image, bundled as a ZIP.
4. **The file downloads automatically** to your local download directory.

For video exports at shot, scene, or sequence scope, see [Export Video](/publish/export-video.md). The Storyboard kebab menus expose Export Render (Compose mode) and Export Video / Export Scene Videos / Export Sequence Videos / Download All Media (Visualize mode).

For batch image export, repeat the per-render flow from each render in [Managing outputs](/visualize/managing-outputs.md).

## Limits and known issues

* **Scene exports of large scenes can take time.** Multi-thousand-object scenes (city populators, dense environments) take minutes to bundle. Plan for it.
* **Populators export as frozen instances or as individual objects.** Either way, the populator's runtime regeneration is baked out at export time; the file is geometry, not a populator definition.
* **Licensed assets may be substituted with stand-ins.** Owned assets export at full fidelity; licensed library assets may export with high-quality substitutes so the file stays rights-clean. You always get a complete scene; plan around the substitution if a specific licensed asset matters downstream.
* **PNG and JPEG output resolution matches the render's resolution.** A 1K render exports as a 1K image; a 2K render as a 2K image. To get a higher-resolution still, render at 2K first.

## Related

* [Publish tab](/publish/publish-tab.md)
* [Export Video](/publish/export-video.md)
* [Export shot video](/publish/export-shot-video.md)
* [Managing outputs](/visualize/managing-outputs.md)
* [Supported file formats](/overview/reference/supported-file-formats.md)


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