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SolarisCreator Documentation

Table of Contents

Overview

Solaris Creator – Daylight Studio is a professional lighting system for Blender that combines HDRI environment lighting with Blender’s native Nishita sky system. It provides real-time controls for creating realistic daylight scenarios with advanced features like sun positioning, lighting presets, and intelligent light routing.

Installation

  1. Download the addon from Blender Market or official website
  2. In Blender, go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons
  3. Click “Install” and select the downloaded ZIP file
  4. Enable the addon by checking the checkbox next to “World: Solaris Creator – Daylight Studio”

Interface

  1. Main Panel Location

    • World Properties → Solaris Creator – Daylight Studio

    Panel Sections

    The interface is organized into logical sections:

    1. HDRI Selection – Primary environment texture controls
    2. Sun Position Integration – Real sun object synchronization
    3. Intensity & Balance – Overall lighting strength and HDRI/Nishita mix
    4. HDRI Mapping – Environment texture transformation
    5. Visibility Routing – Per-render-pass visibility controls
    6. Atmosphere (Nishita) – Physical sky parameters
    7. Nishita Sun – Sun disc and positioning

    Lighting Presets – Pre-configured lighting scenarios

HDRI System

  1. HDRI Folder Setup

    1. Open Blender Preferences → Add-ons
    2. Find “Solaris Creator – Daylight Studio” in the list
    3. Click on the addon and set your HDRI Folder path in the preferences
    4. The folder should contain your HDRI files (.hdr/.exr) and optionally a “thumbnails” subfolder with preview images

    HDRI Browser

    • Access via the “HDRI Browser” button in the main panel
    • Displays thumbnail previews of all HDRI files in your designated folder
    • Click “Select” to choose an HDRI, “Active” indicates current selection

    HDRI Controls

    HDRI Rotation Z

    • Rotates the environment texture around the Z-axis
    • Range: 0-360 degrees
    • Useful for aligning specific elements in your scene

    Scale X

    • Stretches or compresses the HDRI horizontally
    • Affects the aspect ratio of the environment

    Zoom (Scale Y)

    • Zooms in/out on the HDRI vertically

    Useful for framing specific areas of the environment

Sun Position Integration

  1. Solaris Sun Object

    The addon can create and manage a physical sun object in your scene:

    Create Sun Button

    • Generates a sun light named “Solaris_Sun”
    • Automatically positioned based on Nishita parameters
    • Can be manually moved and rotated in the 3D viewport

    Auto Sync System

    Auto Sync: Sun Position → Nishita

    • When enabled: Moving the Solaris_Sun object automatically updates the Nishita sky parameters
    • When disabled: Nishita parameters can be adjusted independently
    • Recommended workflow: Enable Auto Sync for intuitive sun positioning

    Manual Sync Button

    • “Sync Sun to Nishita” manually transfers the current sun position to Nishita parameters

    Only available when Auto Sync is disabled

Lighting Controls

  1. Intensity & Balance

    Visible HDRI Strength

    • Controls the intensity of the HDRI in the final render
    • Affects only the visible background, not the lighting
    • Useful for balancing background visibility with lighting intensity

    Total Intensity

    • Master control for overall lighting strength
    • Affects both HDRI and Nishita lighting components
    • Adjust this first, then fine-tune with HDRI Ratio

    HDRI Ratio (Slider: 0.0 to 1.0)

    • 0.0 = 100% Nishita sky lighting only
    • 0.5 = Balanced mix of HDRI and Nishita lighting
    • 1.0 = 100% HDRI lighting only

    The system automatically balances sun energy based on this ratio

Visibility Routing

  1. Camera Visibility

    Camera sees HDRI

    • When enabled: Camera sees the HDRI background
    • When disabled: Camera sees a solid color background
    • Useful for compositing or when you want a clean background

    Solid BG Color/Strength

    • Only available when “Camera sees HDRI” is disabled
    • Defines the color and intensity of the solid background

    Reflection Control

    Reflections see HDRI

    • When enabled: Reflective surfaces show the HDRI
    • When disabled: Reflective surfaces show the Nishita sky
    • Useful for controlling the appearance of reflections independently

Atmosphere Controls

  1. Nishita Sky Parameters

    The Nishita sky is Blender’s physically-based atmospheric scattering system:

    Air

    • Controls the density of air molecules in the atmosphere
    • Higher values = more atmospheric scattering (softer, diffused light)

    Dust

    • Controls particulate matter in the atmosphere
    • Higher values = more dramatic sunsets, warmer tones

    Ozone

    • Controls ozone layer density affecting blue light scattering
    • Higher values = bluer skies, more vibrant blues

    Sun Disc Controls

    Sun Disc

    • Toggles the visible sun disc in the Nishita sky
    • Disable for overcast conditions or night scenes

    Sun Disc Size

    • Controls the apparent size of the sun in the sky
    • Larger values = larger, softer sun disc

    Sun Elevation

    • Angle of the sun above/below the horizon (in radians)
    • Negative values = below horizon (night/dawn/dusk)
    • Positive values = above horizon (daytime)

    Sun Rotation

    • Compass direction of the sun (in radians)

    0° = North, 90° = East, 180° = South, 270° = West

Lighting Presets

  1. Preset System

    The addon includes 10 professionally designed lighting scenarios:

    1. Blue Hour – Deep Cobalt – Cool ambient light after sunset
    2. Golden Sunset – Amber Glow – Warm sunset with golden tones
    3. Overcast – Giant Softbox – Diffuse, shadowless lighting
    4. Moonlit Night – Silver Blue – Cool night lighting
    5. Neon Rain – Cyber Reflex – Humid urban evening
    6. Arctic Noon – Crystal Clear – Crisp, cool midday light
    7. Storm Break – Dramatic Rim – Dramatic post-storm lighting
    8. Desert Dusk – Rose Copper – Warm desert twilight
    9. Forest Canopy – Cool Bounce – Diffuse forest lighting
    10. Winter Twilight – Steel Blue – Cold twilight atmosphere

    Using Presets

    Preset Browser

    • Access via “Browse” button in Lighting Presets section
    • Visual thumbnail interface for selecting presets
    • Shows current active preset

    Applying Presets

    1. Select a preset from the dropdown or browser
    2. Click “Apply” to transfer all parameters

    The description box shows details about the selected preset

Troubleshooting

  1. Common Issues

    “No HDRI files found”

    • Check that the HDRI folder path is correctly set in addon preferences
    • Ensure the folder contains .hdr or .exr files
    • Verify file permissions

    “Viewport Shading → Scene World must be enabled”

    • In the 3D viewport, set shading to “Rendered” or “Material Preview”
    • Ensure “Scene World” is enabled in viewport shading options

    Sun not appearing in renders

    • Check that “Sun Disc” is enabled in Nishita Sun section
    • Verify sun elevation is above horizon for daytime scenes
    • Ensure HDRI Ratio is not set to 1.0 (pure HDRI mode)

    Build/Reset Nodes Button

    • Emergency function that recreates the entire node setup
    • Use if the world nodes become corrupted or modified
    • Preserves all current parameter settings

    Performance Tips

    • Use lower resolution HDRIs for faster loading and rendering
    • Disable “Sun Disc” when not needed for minor performance gain
    • Use the visibility routing to disable HDRI for reflections when using simple materials
    • The thumbnail system caches images – clear cache by restarting Blender if memory issues occur

Solaris Creator – Daylight Studio v1.9.4 • Copyright 2025 – www.blendershorties.com