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More realistically, each 3D scene that you want to create will probably have three to five nodes
to give you a better lit and framed result. These include:
One of the available geometry nodes (such as Text3D or Image Plane 3D)
A light node (such as DirectionalLight or SpotLight)
A camera node
A Merge3D node
A Renderer3D node
All these should be connected together as seen below, with the resultantly more complex 3D
scene shown below.
The same text, this time lit and framed using Text3D, Camera, and SpotLight nodes to a Merge3D node.
To briefly explain how this node tree works, the geometry node (in this case Text3D) creates an
object for the scene, and then the Merge3D node provides a virtual stage that combines the
attached geometry with the light and camera nodes to produce a lit and framed result with
highlights and shadows, while the aptly named Renderer3D node renders the resulting 3D
scene to produce 2D image output that can then be merged with other 2D images in your
composition.
In fact, these nodes are so important that they appear at the right of the toolbar, enabling you to
quickly produce 3D scenes whenever you require. You might notice that the order of the 3D
buttons on the toolbar, from left to right, corresponds to the order in which these nodes are
ordinarily used. So, if you simply click on each one of these buttons from left to right, you cannot
fail to create a properly assembled 3D scene, ready to work on, as seen in the previous
screenshot.
The 3D nodes available from the toolbar include the ImagePlane3D, Shape3D,
Text3D, Merge3D, Camera3D, SpotLight3D, and Renderer3D nodes.
Chapter – 76 3D Compositing Basics 1536