3D projection tutorial
How to Preview Fulldome, VR180 and 360 Projections Online
A flat image may look correct in an editor but reveal orientation, horizon, UV, scale, or framing problems when mapped onto a dome, sphere, panoramic surface, or room. This tutorial shows how to inspect immersive projection images in an interactive 3D viewer directly in your browser.
Quick Answer: Use the Free 3D Projection Viewer
Open the free Elizarov Tools viewer, choose the projection mode that matches your source, load the image or room textures, and inspect the result on an interactive 3D surface. Rotate the preview, adjust the available projection controls, and check the horizon, orientation, framing, seams, and texture placement before final rendering or installation.
What the 3D Projection Viewer Does
The viewer places your image onto a matching 3D surface instead of showing it only as a flat rectangle. This makes it easier to see how a dome master, VR180 image, 360 equirectangular image, spherical texture, or room texture layout behaves in a projection workflow.
It is useful for artists and technical directors working with Unreal Engine, Blender, CGI, animation, immersive installations, virtual production, dome rendering, panoramic imagery, and projection mapping concepts.
Important: the viewer previews an existing projection image. It does not stitch photographs, convert a flat image into VR180 or 360, repair incorrect UVs, or create stereo depth. Your source must already use the intended projection format.
Step by Step: Use the Free 3D Projection Viewer
Prepare the correct source image
Export a final or test image from Unreal Engine, Blender, compositing software, a panoramic workflow, or another rendering tool. Use the projection format you want to inspect, such as a dome master, VR180 image, 360 equirectangular image, spherical texture, or separate room surface textures.
Open the online viewer
Go to the free 3D Projection Viewer Online. The interactive viewer runs in the browser. JavaScript must be enabled for the 3D interface to work.
Choose the matching projection mode
Select the mode that represents the target surface: Fulldome, VR180 or a wider spherical segment, full 360 or sphere preview, or Room. Using the wrong mode can make a correct image appear stretched, cropped, reversed, or incorrectly oriented.
Load the image or room textures
Choose the source image for the selected projection. In Room mode, assign the appropriate image to each available wall, floor, and ceiling texture slot so every surface can be inspected separately.
Navigate around the 3D preview
Use the interactive view to inspect the projection from useful angles. Look toward the center, edges, zenith, horizon, floor area, wall corners, and other regions where distortion or orientation errors are most likely to appear.
Adjust the available projection controls
Use controls such as mesh rotation, view tilt, dome angle, floor or base visibility, spherical segment angle, and room dimensions when they are available for the selected mode. These controls help reproduce the intended viewing geometry more closely.
Inspect orientation, framing, UV direction, and seams
Check whether the front of the image faces the correct direction, the horizon is level, important content remains inside the visible area, poles and edges behave correctly, and room textures meet as expected at corners and boundaries.
Correct the source and test again
If you find a problem, return to the renderer, compositor, image editor, or projection setup, correct the source, export a new image, and load it into the viewer again. Repeat until the projection matches the intended display.
Which Projection Mode Should You Use?
Fulldome
Use Fulldome mode for dome master images intended for planetariums, digital domes, immersive theaters, or dome previews. Adjust the dome-related controls and check the center, horizon, dome edge, zenith, orientation, and floor or base area.
VR180 and Wide VR
Use this mode for front-facing immersive images covering 180 degrees or a wider spherical segment. Set the available viewing angle to match the source and inspect the center direction, side boundaries, vertical framing, and orientation.
360 and Full Sphere
Use a full spherical or 360 mode for equirectangular images intended to surround the viewer. Check the front direction, rear seam, horizon, zenith, nadir, pole stretching, and whether the image is viewed from inside the projection.
Room
Use Room mode when separate textures must be reviewed on walls, floor, and ceiling. Assign each surface correctly, adjust room width, depth, and height, and inspect scale, alignment, corners, and transitions between surfaces.
What to Check in the 3D Preview
Orientation and Front Direction
Confirm that the intended front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom regions appear in the correct places. A rotated or flipped texture is easier to identify on a 3D surface than in a flat preview.
Horizon and View Tilt
Check whether the horizon is level and positioned correctly for the target display. Use the available view and mesh controls to distinguish a source-image problem from a preview orientation setting.
Framing and Visible Area
Verify that titles, characters, objects, and important action remain inside the useful viewing area. Pay special attention to dome edges, VR segment boundaries, poles, floor areas, and room corners.
Seams, Stretching, and UV Direction
Inspect the rear seam of 360 images, spherical poles, dome boundaries, and joins between room surfaces. Unexpected discontinuities can indicate an export, mapping, orientation, or source-texture issue.
Practical Workflows for Unreal Engine and Blender
- Export a low-resolution test image first and check the projection before spending time on a final high-resolution render.
- Use the same projection type, field of view, orientation, and image layout that you plan to use in the final delivery.
- Place temporary guides, horizon lines, labels, or numbered markers in a test image when you need to diagnose direction and UV mapping.
- For 360 images, inspect the rear seam and both poles instead of checking only the forward view.
- For Fulldome images, check the dome center, rim, zenith, horizon, and the effect of any intended dome tilt.
- For Room mode, verify each surface assignment before judging the visual continuity between walls, floor, and ceiling.
- Keep the original source and save corrected versions with clear filenames so different projection tests do not become mixed.
Troubleshooting Common Projection Preview Problems
- The viewer does not appear: enable JavaScript, reload the page, and check whether a browser extension or security setting is blocking the interactive content.
- The image looks stretched or heavily cropped: confirm that the selected projection mode matches the source image format and intended angular coverage.
- The front direction is wrong: use mesh rotation for inspection, then correct the source orientation or render settings if the delivered image must use a specific forward direction.
- The horizon is tilted: compare view tilt and mesh rotation settings with the original camera and projection orientation before changing the source.
- A 360 seam is visible: inspect the source image edges, post-processing, texture filtering, stitching, and any elements that cross the left and right equirectangular boundaries.
- The poles look distorted: some stretching is inherent to equirectangular images, but severe artifacts may indicate incorrect projection, render sampling, stitching, or source content near the poles.
- Room textures are on the wrong surfaces: check every wall, floor, and ceiling assignment and verify that each image uses the intended orientation and aspect ratio.
- The preview does not match the final installation: reproduce the target dome angle, spherical coverage, room proportions, display geometry, and playback pipeline as closely as the available controls allow.
FAQ
Can I preview a Fulldome image online?
Yes. Select the Fulldome mode, load a dome master image, and use the available dome, mesh rotation, view tilt, and floor or base controls to inspect how the image maps onto the dome surface.
Does the viewer support VR180 and 360 images?
Yes. The viewer supports VR180, wider spherical segments up to 360 degrees, full sphere previews, and 360 equirectangular image inspection.
Can I preview textures inside a room?
Yes. Room mode provides separate texture slots for room surfaces and controls for width, depth, and height so you can inspect proportions and texture placement.
Does the viewer convert images between projections?
No. It is a preview and inspection tool. The source must already be rendered or exported in the projection format you want to test.
Can I use it with Unreal Engine renders?
Yes. You can load compatible projection images rendered in Unreal Engine and inspect them before final delivery, publishing, playback, or installation.
Can I use it with Blender renders?
Yes. The same workflow can be used for compatible panoramic, spherical, dome, and room texture images exported from Blender.
Is this a video player?
The tool is designed for projection image and texture inspection. To review a video projection, export a representative frame and inspect that image in the matching projection mode.
Why does my flat image look correct but the 3D preview looks wrong?
A flat preview does not reproduce the target geometry. The 3D surface can reveal wrong orientation, projection type, angular coverage, UV direction, seams, pole behavior, horizon placement, or room surface assignments.
Related Tools and Resources
Preview Your Projection Now
Load a projection image, choose the matching 3D surface, and check the result before committing to a final render, upload, presentation, or installation.
