How to create realistic .scn files?

Question

Looking at the apple sample AR app, there are many realistic looking objects (cup, candle, etc). However working with the scene kit editor on Xcode it is clear that this only al

Answer 1

Xcode's SceneKit editor isn't a 3D art authoring package — just like its SpriteKit editor and Interface Builder components aren't equivalent to the likes of Photoshop, Illustrator, Pixelmator, Affinity Designer, etc. To create 3D art assets yourself, you'll need to learn Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, or one of the other major 3D authoring tools. Beware, the learning curve to becoming a 3D artist is a bit steeper than learning how to paint in 2D.

What the SceneKit editor is for is taking the output from a 3D artist and preparing or combining it for use in a SceneKit-based app or game — tweaking material definitions so they look right with SceneKit's renderer, arranging separate assets to create a game level or other scene, adding dynamic SceneKit-specific features like particle effects and physics, etc.

You bridge between these two worlds by exporting assets from your 3D art tools in one of the formats SceneKit can import. Digital Asset Exchange (.dae) is one of the best options here, but through SceneKit's lower level counterpart, Model I/O, you can also import other formats like OBJ or Pixar USD.

When you open those in Xcode, you get the SceneKit editor, so you can start marking SceneKit-specific edits and save the results for use in your app as .scn files.

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There are a few things you can do in the process of authoring and prepping 3D assets that makes them look more realistic in ARKit. The ARKit session from WWDC (and the ReadMe file in the sample code project attached to that session) includes a few such tips:

• use physically based materials
• "bake" ambient occlusion and other static lighting effects
  • add invisible shadow planes