I’ve explained how to make your own HDRIs in Unreal Engine and Daz Studio before, but of course Blender can do this as well. I keep forgetting the settings though, so I thought a little article would be beneficial for both of us.
Here’s how to do it:
- position the camera anywhere you like
- zero out the rotation, aside from X = 90 (that way it doesn’t point downwards)
![](https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image.png)
- switch over to Cycles
- under Camera Settings, enable Panoramic type
- switch Panoramic Type to Equirectangular
![](https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-1.png)
- set your render resolution to an aspect ratio of 2:1
![](https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-2.png)
- hit render and when finished, export as Open EXR or Radiance HDR
![](https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-3.png)
That’s it! The resulting HDRIs can be used in Daz Studio, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter and of course Blender itself as a background. Have fun!