There are two ways of displaying sculpture in Preview - 3D Models or Billboards.
3D Models are the best solution. Preview accepts .fbx or .obj formats.
Billboards are a quick work-around solution using photographs with transparency (like Cut outs). They look great from the right angle, however, there are significant limitations (no depth, shadows, dynamic lighting).
Working with Billboards in Preview:
Sculpture photograph must be cut out in Photoshop and uploaded as .png file (background is transparent).
Crop the bottom of the image (as close to the bottom of the sculpture as possible) to avoid a ‘floating’ effect.
For best results add contact shadow in Photoshop to complete the illusion.
Ensure your photograph is high resolution, well lit and taken from a reasonable angle.
Adjust Dimensions, Lighting, Plinth size, and Position as usual.
Save and use Billboard Metadata the same way you would Model Metadata or Picture Metadata.
Setting Up a Model
Working with 3D Models in Preview:
Add a Model Slot the same way you would a Picture Slot. Model Slots automatically generate a plinth. To remove it completely, set the height in the Plinth tab to zero.
The model must be imported as an .fbx or .obj.
Most models also have material files containing textures and surface detail. Preview supports Diffuse, Specular, Normals and Emissive. Upload them by clicking on corresponding tab in Materials.
3D models files come with scale built in. You can increase or decrease the size of the mode by adjusting the Dimensions . Greater than 1 will make it larger, less than 1 will decrease it.
Saving Model Metadata works with the same principal as Picture Metadata.
