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3D Canvas

3D Canvas

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3D Canvas is a module for viewing and creating maps in 3D.

Turn your maps into true 3D, load in 3D models, and play your games in the glorious third dimension. Supports lighting and animated models. If you don't have 3D models don't worry! 3D canvas will turn your 2D tokens into stand-up figures in 3D mode.

For people who want a quick and simple guide to get started with 3D Canvas, read the Getting Started guide.

If you prefer Video Guides, you can check 3D Canvas Installation (opens in a new tab) and the Playlist (opens in a new tab) with the most recent 3D Canvas Video guides

Modules

Incompatible Modules

There are no known modules that will cause issues.

However, modules that create visual effects in 2D will likely not carry over effects to 3D. Other types of modules will likely be compatible with 3D Canvas.

Tools

Controls

While loading into a 3D scene, you will see a pop-up of the basic controls. It can be closed or re-opened by selecting the button on the left of the Foundry sidebar. All controls can be rebinded in the configure controls menu.

Actions marked GC are only available when Game Camera is enabled.

ControlAction
Left Mouse + DragRotate Camera
WASDPan Camera
Right Mouse + DragPan Camera
Scroll WheelZoom Camera
AltHolding Alt while moving the camera will prevent regular mouse event (like selecting an entity)
⇧ Shift + RReset camera to initial position
⇧ Shift + XIf a token is selected, focus the camera on the selected token
LToggles first person camera
SpacebarGC Locks onto active target
In combat, this is the last actor to do an action Outside of combat, it locks onto the currently selected token
OGC Toggles top-down view

Settings

Enable Screen Space Panning

Enables screen space panning. This enables an alternate way of panning, more similar to a Strategy game.

Enable Damping

Adds damping to camera movements. Disabling this option is recommended for people who experience motion sickness easily.

Press Shift + R in 3D View to reset the camera and apply changes.

Soft Shadows

Adds softer shadows. Minor performance impact.

Shadow Quality

Affects the resolution of shadows. Set to Disabled to disable shadows.

Anti-Aliasing

Adds anti-aliasing (reduced pixelation around edges). FXAA will have very little impact on performance. SMAA will have better results but with more performance impact.

Fog of War Quality

Sets the resolution of fog of war.

Resolution Multiplier

Sets the resolution scale.

Entities in 3D

While most entities will work the same in 3D as they do in 2D, there are some differences that you should be aware of. Especially when dealing with Tiles since they are the most common entity in 3D and can do a lot more than what you are used to in 2D. For example in 3D we use tiles to create walls, floors, ceilings, and even roofs. Tiles are capable of blocking sight and movement and to be used as doors. To see details about how to use the various 3D Entities, visit their respective pages. It's suggested to at least read the Tiles page since it's the entity you will be dealing with the most.

TilesLightsTemplatesWallsDrawingsNotes

Fog of War

Fog of war works slightly differently in 3D, with the default settings the map will be completely revealed. If you want to know more about how Fog of War works in 3D and it's performance implications and limitations, check the Fog of War & Vision page.

Special Effects

Shaders

Shaders allow you to create many procedural effects on Tiles, Tokens, Templates and more. From simple color changes to complex effects like water, fire, wind, and ice. To learn more about how to use Shaders, check the Shaders page.

Token Animations

3D Tile Menu3D Tile Menu

Start an animation through the UI

You can access the Token Animations by Right clicking your token to open the Token Hud, you will see a Magic Wand icon on the right, click it to open the available animations. Clicking on an animation will play the animation for all clients. Some animations might not work if the token is Prone or Defeated.

Start animation with macros

To play an animation with a macro, first create a script macro, then use the following commands to play your desired animation.

game.Levels3DPreview.playTokenAnimation(tokens, animationId, options);
ParameterDescription
tokensThis parameter can be a single token object, an array of token objects, a single token ID or an array of token IDs, the animation will play on all these targets.
animationIdThe identifier for the animation, you can find all the animation IDs by typing game.Levels3DPreview.CONFIG.tokenAnimations in the console and hitting Enter.
OptionsThis is optional, an object containing additional parameters
{
  repeats: 1, // How many times you want the animation to play
  resetTime: milliseconds, // Force the time that the animation takes to reset to the original position once it ends
}

Example Macro

This macro will play the Twirl animation, 3 Times, on all Selected Tokens

game.Levels3DPreview.playTokenAnimation(canvas.tokens.controlled, "twirl", {
    repeats: 3,
});

Particle System

3D Canvas includes a particle system meant for spell effects, the system is highly customizable but also very simple to use for basic projectiles.

No Scripting usage

Automated Animations UIAutomated Animations UI

If you don't want to dig into the scripting aspect, the module Automated Animations (opens in a new tab) provides a graphical interface to setup 3D Canvas Particle Effects.

Advanced usage

If you wish to use the particle system to it's full potential, you can create particle effects by using macros. You can find the full documentation in the Particles API Wiki Page

Supported File Formats

⚠️

Note that FBX support is getting phased out, since it's an inferior and outdated format compared to the new GLTF standard. It's suggested to use GLB\GLTF if possible.

You can use GLB, GLTF and FBX files, other formats can be easily converted. Blender is suggested to perform this operation.

Assets and Resources

If you wish to purchase premade content for 3D Canvas, some content creators have it available on their Patreons.

Tutorials

  • Getting Started: a page for new users to quickly get started with 3D Canvas.

  • A playlist (opens in a new tab) of 3D Canvas tutorials. Keep in mind that some may be outdated, but the general concepts will likely apply for current or future versions of 3D Canvas.

Special Mentions

Volumetric TemplatesGetting Started