Better modeling viewport rendering

[maruska]

I recently stumbled on this post. It gets at an issue that has bugged me for a while. 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/appearance-question/td-p/10551699

Fusion 360's modeling viewport is a pretty capable realtime renderer, but the way it's been executed results in models that are dull and beige. I like to be able to take quick screen shots of models to share with clients. Not a full ray-traced renderings;  just work-in-progress, or something to sketch over.

I was also involved in the development of the IBL (image-based-lighting) workflow of Alias's viewport several years ago - so I figured I would dig into Fusion's underpinnings and see what's up.

I knew that these directories existed and had played with modifying the files, but had mixed results - until by accident I figured out how they work. On the Mac (I'll follow-up with PC instructions at some point when I get my hands on a windows machine), you can dig into the Fusion app directory like so:

/Users/$HOME/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/webdeploy/production/cdedd4b05efae2d277df7be3d315d4ccce03a01d/Autodesk Fusion 360.app/Contents/Libraries/Neutron/Neutron/Server/Scene/Resources/Environments

In that Environments directory are the sub-directories that hold all the assets for the viewport environments. Here is what the Dark Sky environment looks like:

The EXR file is the main reflection map. Just modifying it will change the look of 100% glossy surfaces, but nothing else. I knew updating the .dds files were the trick for updating the look of non-glossy surfaces (any material with a roughness greater than zero). Any attempt I made to bring the .dds files into an image editor yielded poor results, if any. Then by accident I discovered that Fusion generates the .dds files from the EXR at runtime - so just deleting the .dds files after you update the EXR allows you to easily update the image based lighting. So you can find an HDRI image you like, name it accordingly (DarkSky-Reflection-dwab.exr for instance). delete the .dds files, run Fusion and everything updates at launch.

The XML file has a line of code at allows you the change the brightness of the HDRI image after the fact, tuning the look/exposure of the reflection maps; with zero being no adjustment.

<ToneMapping ExposureBase="0" />

Lastly, here are some examples of my new viewports before and after...

Dark Sky BeforeDark Sky AfterGrey Room BeforeGrey Room AfterInfinity Pool BeforeInfinity Pool AfterPhoto Booth BeforePhoto Booth AfterTranquility Blue BeforeTranquility Blue After

For me, I wanted viewport rendering that was both higher contrast and properly white balanced, with exposure adjustments that ensured "white" looks white (but not too white, or specular highlights won't show up). But with the ability to tweak at will, you can get the look you are after fairly easily. 

Not sure what warranties this voids, or how Autodesk would respond to encouraging modifying the software. I also don't know what happens when an update is pushed. I'll keep a back-up of my new IBL's for sure. Happy tweaking...

J.

[TrippyLighting]

Very cool stuff!

The only downside I see is that you'll have to re-do this every time a new Fusion 360 update is installed.

[maruska]

Here is the path to the environment files on a PC:

C:\Users\$HOME\AppData\Local\Autodesk\webdeploy\production\2719e3c6bed8896e3c7319fbb8bfbceff8f489a4\Neutron\Server\Scene\Resources\Environments

Keep in mind that on both the Mac and PC version, that hashed folder name (i.e. 2719e3c6bed8896e3c7319fbb8bfbceff8f489a4) changes with each version and deployment, so per @TrippyLighting suggestion, you'll need to do some hunting when Fusion 360 updates.  YMMV...

[maruska]

@TrippyLighting Yes - I don't expect many people will do this, but I did want to illustrate that it can be done, and without too much effort; if for no other reason than to catch the Fusion 360 team's eye and show a path forward to solving an issue that another user raised... and that has bugged me for a while.

[TrippyLighting]

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@maruska wrote:

@TrippyLighting Yes - I don't expect many people will do this, 

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I don't believe that either, but it still is really cool. Thanks for sharing and for the effort!

My guess is that this is more interesting to those that do game modeling or/and industrial design.

Can you share where the HDRI's you used can be found?

[maruska]

Yup - Industrial Designer here, so presentation is important.

As for HDRI sources. https://hdrmaps.com and https://polyhaven.com/hdris are both good places to start - the latter being free.

For the ones I showed above, they are a combination of reworking the existing Fusion 360** images, or making my own (either painted in Photoshop, or rendered out of KeyShot using their "light pins" tools and a background image).

I like my HDR images to be a bit cartoony since I'm typically doing surface valuation. For instance, for my Infinity Pool reflection map, I mimicked the old Alias "double horizon", but less purple and black - ha.

I'd repost, but since many are derived art from published software, I'm not sure if that would be frowned upon.

** Alias uses some of the same HDR images as Fusion, but are often crisper and/or higher resolution so I used them when available.

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

@maruska - I have passed this post on to our graphics/rendering team.  It does seem that your results are an improvement visually, and hopefully these suggestions can be incorporated into the product itself.  Thank you for taking the time to figure this out!

[maruska]

@jeff_strater Excellent! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I'm happy to share my source files directly if your team wants them.

As mentioned my (personal) priorities for a CAD viewport are: white balance and accurate color rendering, contrast, surface evaluation, and (as a stretch goal) customizability.

[maruska]

@TrippyLighting The scene mods didn't survive last night's update, but a quick overwrite of folders from my back-up restored all my tricks...

[david.quayle]

Good work, now I'm wondering why Fusion doesn't follow your lead?

[TrippyLighting]

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@david.quayle wrote:

Good work, now I'm wondering why Fusion doesn't follow your lead?

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If you go back 3 or 4 posts, please read what Jeff Strater wrote.

[gooch12013]

I as well take quick screenshots all the time. This would be a great update to do. 

[maruska]

did anything ever become of this?

[Risa.Oram]

I am also interested in knowing whether any of the suggested tweaks/ workarounds @maruska shared would be incorporated into Fusion directly? I have a similar use case where:

"I want white balance and to take quick screenshots (not full renders). For me, I wanted viewport rendering that was both higher contrast and properly white balanced, with exposure adjustments that ensured "white" looks white (but not too white, or specular highlights won't show up). But with the ability to tweak at will, you can get the look you are after fairly easily."

I'm tempted to try the things mentioned in their post, but I'm a coding nube and don't want to break the software. I also think my IT department (government enterprise license) may frown upon this.

[aleksei_ovsienko]

These are all valid concerns. Presentation is important even if you're just sharing your CAD screen on a call with the client. And default Fusion environments leave a lot to be desired. They're all different shades of gray, ugly tranquility blue and one snow white. And it's only in Photobooth that you have decent lighting. All the others are very dark. 
I ended up modifying photobooth XML to change background to black and modify sketch lines and dimensions colors for contrast. Now I'm into hacking lighting too. And then I'll have to keep backups of all the xmls. This is ridiculous. I absolutely can not understand why is it so hard to provide users with an interface to change all of this from preferences.

[TrippyLighting]

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@aleksei_ovsienko wrote:

... I absolutely can not understand why is it so hard to provide users with an interface to change all of this from preferences.

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It isn't "hard". It simply hasn't bubbled up to the top of the priority list. 15 posts in 3-4 years isn't a lot of support.
I've reposted this issue as an improvement request on the Fusion Slack channel (only open to Autodesk Employes and EEs)  as there is some work in progress to improve the rendering experience.

[maruska]

It didn’t help that it was marked “solved” soon after I posted it. It’s not solved. This isn’t a solution. It’s a hack and a workaround at best.

[TrippyLighting]

I don't think that makes any difference. People who are looking for this will still find the thread and comment on it.

Thanks again for posting this hack!

[karina.harper]

Hi @maruska @aleksei_ovsienko @Risa.Oram @gooch12013 @TrippyLighting 

Environment tone mapping was improved in the July 2025 update. Feel free to take a look at let us know what you think. 

 

Cheers,

Karina

[aleksei_ovsienko]

Yeah, this is better. More light on the model gives better contrast. Infinity Pool looks OK if you have the ground plane and environment dome on. With no plane and dome Grey Room would be my preference, as good as my custom jet black. Can't get why Drak Sky has white edges instead of black, that looks really weird.

To be honest I don't get the concept of Environment Dome at all. What would people normally use it for? 
And the ground plane is a little annoying because the only time it's of any use is when you're rendering. And if you've done the whole project the wrong way up you can't just designate a ground plane in Render, you have to reposition everything. On one hand it kinda forces you to keep your XYZ coordinates consistent in between projects and remember to put the first component in the assembly right way up before switching the ground plane off for good cuz it's weird and in the way. On the other I can't see why have a ground place in the design workspace at all if it's only useful in Render.