ImagePlane3D

ImagePlane3D is Fusion's classic tool for turning a 2D source into flat 3D geometry. It is not a DVE- or Corner Positioner-style perspective effect: downstream data lives in the 3D scene domain and must pass through Renderer3D before it becomes a normal RGBA image again.

The node has two external inputs. The orange SceneInput accepts an existing 3D scene stream and lets ImagePlane3D continue that scene. The green MaterialInput accepts either a normal 2D image or a 3D material. Describing this node as having a separate yellow ImageInput is incorrect.

When a 2D image feeds MaterialInput, Fusion uses it as the diffuse texture for the built-in basic material. The same source defines the rectangle's aspect ratio, which makes ImagePlane3D especially convenient for video, photos and graphic cards that should preserve source proportions automatically.

When a 3D material from Phong/Blinn/CookTorrance or another compatible material chain feeds MaterialInput, the built-in Material tab is no longer the active shader. The external material is a different data type even though it enters through the same green socket.

ImagePlane3D Output is a 3D scene stream. It can feed Merge3D, Renderer3D or another 3D node. Treating that output as a normal 2D image and wiring it directly to a regular Merge or MediaOut is a data-domain error.

ImagePlane3D does not have a dedicated Controls/Size parameter like Shape3D. In the current Inspector the image-plane-specific controls are Lock Width/Height, Subdivisions and Wireframe; scene size is changed with Transform Scale while base proportions come from the connected image.

Subdivisions controls tessellation of the plane itself. A high value does not increase texture detail on a static card. Dense geometry matters when a downstream 3D node deforms the surface or when vertex lighting needs more vertices.

Wireframe is a geometry diagnostic for the OpenGL renderer. It is useful for checking real mesh density before Bender3D/Displace3D but is not an artistic 2D outline effect.

The Visibility group separates complete object disablement from camera-only behavior. Visible off removes the object from rendering and shadows, while Unseen by Cameras can keep it in the 3D scene as a helper without showing it directly through Camera3D.

Cull Front/Back Faces matters greatly on a thin plane: incorrect culling can make a card disappear after rotation. Two Sided in Material solves a different problem by providing correct backside lighting rather than simply changing face culling.

Suppress Aux Channels for Transparent Pixels belongs to technical 3D-pass workflows. It determines whether fully transparent pixels write Z, UV, normals and other auxiliary channels, which can matter for depth-of-field, texture reprojection and downstream pass compositing.

Object-level Lighting contains Affected by Lights, Shadow Caster and Shadow Receiver. These flags control the geometry's participation in scene lighting and shadows and should not be confused with the similar Receives Lighting/Receives Shadows controls inside Material.

Is Matte is not ordinary transparency. It is a 3D holdout behavior that can prevent geometry behind the matte object in Z from rendering. It is useful for spatial mattes but can break a scene quickly when used as a substitute for Alpha/Opacity.

Blend Mode [Non-Deep] has separate Hardware and Software choices. The menus do not have to match: the captured Inspector shows a broad artistic set for hardware/OpenGL and a shorter technical set for the software renderer. Always judge the mode against the Renderer3D backend in use.

Normals/Tangents are diagnostic vectors. Normals show surface orientation for lighting; tangents help reveal texture-coordinate directions. Their Scale changes only the overlay-vector length, not the object itself.

ObjectID and Material ID serve different auxiliary passes. ObjectID tags geometry while Material ID tags the material. Renderer3D can output those channels so the element can be isolated later without manual roto.

In the Material tab, Diffuse Color multiplies a 2D texture coming through MaterialInput. White is therefore the neutral baseline; an accidental gray or colored swatch makes the source image darker or tinted.

Material Alpha/Opacity and Transmittance are not the same thing. Opacity controls visible surface transparency while Transmittance controls how light travels through the material and shapes transmitted shadows.

Keep Specular Intensity and Specular Exponent separate as well: Intensity controls highlight strength while Exponent controls highlight falloff/hardness. Changing both together hides causality.

Alpha Detail lets source texture alpha shape a cast shadow, while Color Detail and Saturation control color information carried by transmitted light. These controls matter for PNG cards, stained-glass-style materials and other transmissive surfaces.

Transform is the final placement of the complete plane in the 3D scene: Translation, Rotation, Pivot and Scale. These controls do not transform the pixels of the MediaIn source; they transform the generated card geometry.

Use Target is useful for billboard-style rigs where the plane must aim at a point or camera. For static graphics it is usually unnecessary; direct Rotation is easier to read and animate.

Import Transform imports only transform data from a supported 3D scene file. It does not load mesh geometry and is not a replacement for FBX/Alembic import.

A typical 2.5D parallax setup places several ImagePlane3D cards at different Z positions, combines them in Merge3D, uses Camera3D for the move, then renders through Renderer3D. Depth comes from real card/camera positions, not from input order as in a 2D Merge.

ImagePlane3D and a Shape3D plane can look similar but solve different problems. ImagePlane3D automatically inherits the image aspect ratio; Shape3D is better when plane dimensions must remain independent of the source texture.

For a virtual screen carrying UI or video, establish a neutral material first: white Diffuse, Opacity 1 and restrained/zero specular. Add physical lighting, highlights and shadows only after the source reads correctly.

For a transparent PNG plane, inspect three different layers separately: texture alpha, Material Opacity and shadow/transmittance settings. They can all look like 'transparency' problems while operating at different stages.

If the camera sees the back of a card, decide what you actually need: a visible backside texture, correct backside lighting, or face removal. Two Sided, Cull Faces and Rotation are different mechanisms.

Do not add final 2D Glow/Blur/ColorCorrector until after Renderer3D. While the stream is still scene3d, regular raster nodes are not the correct downstream domain.

This article is aligned with the classic Fusion 3D model in Resolve 21 and the captured Inspector panels bundled with the site. Common 3D controls are described by their real scope rather than as universal artistic presets.