In short. Press Render Turntable, the camera in the toolbar. Choose Animated GIF or MP4 Video, set the size, the frames and the background, and press Render. When the preview plays, Share it (on a Mac, Share or Save As…).
A turntable is a short loop of the model turning once all the way round: a quick way to show what you made, in a post, a store page or a message.
Render a turntable
- Turn the view the way you want the model seen: the render keeps the view’s distance and height.
- Press Render Turntable, the camera in the toolbar at the top.
- Choose Animated GIF or MP4 Video.
- Set the options, below, and press Render. The sheet says Rendering…, with a bar that fills and a count of the frames drawn, then Finishing… while the file is written. Cancel stops the render and brings the options back; closing the sheet stops it too.
- When it’s done, the sheet shows the file’s name and size, and the turntable plays next to them. Share it: save it to Files, AirDrop it, or send it to another app. On a Mac you also have Save As….
To change a setting and render again, choose the format again: the options come back. Choosing a format also clears the last render, so share it first if you want to keep it.
The camera
The camera goes once all the way round the model, starting from the front. It turns around the point the view turns around, at the same distance and the same height as your view: zoom in for a close-up, look from higher up to see the top. Whichever way the view faces when you press the button, the turntable starts from the front.
The render shows the model as the view does with Lighting on, without the grid, the wireframe or the selection. Pixel paint, textures and tiles show as they do in the view. Hidden faces and objects are left out. Isolate doesn’t change the render: everything that isn’t hidden is in it.
Options
| Option | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Animated GIF (loops by itself everywhere) or MP4 Video (smaller for long or large renders) | GIF |
| Resolution | 256 × 256, 512 × 512 or 1024 × 1024 pixels: the turntable is square | 512 × 512 |
| Frames | 12 to 240, by 12: the pictures in one turn | 60 |
| FPS | 10 to 60, by 5: the pictures per second | 30 |
| Background | A Color; for a GIF, also Transparent | A dark grey |
Qwartz remembers every option for the next render, in any model, until you change it.
The length is the frames divided by the FPS, and the sheet shows it under them: 60 frames at 30 FPS make a 2-second turn. More frames make a smoother turn, and a bigger file.
Transparent background
For a GIF, turn on Transparent and the background is left out: the model turns over whatever is behind it, on a web page or in a chat. A GIF’s pixels are either see-through or solid, nothing in between. An MP4 has no transparency: it always has a background color.
The free version
Rendering works in the free version. Each picture carries a faint QWARTZ watermark across the middle, and the sheet says so above Render. The one-time purchase removes it, along with the other limits.
Something missing or unclear? Write to [email protected].