Search Tips3D Compositing with the New 3D System
The New 3D System in Nuke enables you to efficiently work with modern 3D scenes at scale. Our new architecture brings Nuke’s 3D System in line with modern standards and USD-based workflows, with a focus on intuitiveness and efficiency for compositors.
The Story of the New 3D System
The Why
Why do we have two systems?
The Classic 3D System works well for many smaller setups. However, when there is a need to bring in denser meshes, larger scale scenes, and play them back in real time while adding projections or animated textures, these larger assets need to work in a more performant manner. The New 3D System allows you to bring in the assets you need no matter the size, and allows comp artists to leverage their skills at any part of the production that needs it.
Note: To ensure you don't lose access to any workflows you're used to, the Classic 3D system nodes are still available in Nuke.
Why USD?
The New 3D System’s USD architecture embraces open standards and allows for workflows that not only provide better performance and scalability, but also allow for greater collaboration between artists. Having a non destructive workflow that means you can work more seamlessly with the lighting artists, FX TDs, layout department, will mean less time waiting for asset handovers and enables comp artists to see exactly what artists in other departments see.
The Philosophy
The driving philosophy has always been that this is a 3D system for comp artists. This means that the New 3D system isn’t intended as a replacement for other DCCs, and even though it’s based on a USD architecture, it has been designed for compositing workflows first. Whether it's used for projections for cleanup work, setting up matte paintings, additional particle simulations to complement a hero effect from FX, or even just adding small background details to help guide the eye, to better compose the image and tell the story, Nuke’s New 3D System creates an intuitive way to work for compositors, adding greater control over your elements and easier management in the scene graph.
For any artist put off by the idea of it being USD, this system should feel like 3D in Nuke always has, and that USD is just the underpinnings of greater performance, new collaborative workflows and better rendering. We have worked hard to make this the most comper-friendly approach to USD, so that you can focus on doing what you’ve always done, using the same workflows you’ve always known.
Note: For artists newer to USD, learn more about the terminology at USD Basics: Stage, Prims, and Layers.
Note: See more about how Nuke approaches USD at USD Concepts in the New 3D System.
New 3D System Overview
Learning about the New 3D System
This User Guide explains how to set up a scene in Nuke's New 3D System, such as how to add geometry and cameras in the 3D workspace. You’ll also see how to texture objects, transform objects and cameras, and render out scenes for use in other areas of your script.
Here are some good places to get started:
Note: For those who are newer to using USD, it may be helpful to start with USD Basics: Stage, Prims, and Layers.
New 3D System Nodes
There are two sets of 3D nodes in Nuke - New 3D System nodes and Classic 3D System nodes.
New 3D System nodes are colored depending on the node type, and Classic 3D System nodes are always green.
Thanks to Nuke's new tools, you can pass data easily across your node graph and use the full toolset of nodes and workflows.
Tip: Most New 3D System nodes start with the prefix 'Geo'.
You can see the full list of New 3D System nodes by right clicking in the node graph and selecting 3D > 3D.
Note: For a list of New 3D System nodes with links to documentation for each node, go to New 3D System Nodes in the Reference Guide.
Tip: You can mix 2D and 3D objects together in the node tree to create scenes. For example, you can texture a 3D object with a 2D clip or generator such as the Checkerboard node, or take the rendered output from a 3D scene and use it as a 2D background. Learn more about constructing a scene at New 3D Scene Basics.
A New 3D System basic scene
