AR Placement

The AR Placement template is a customizable starting point for placing 3D characters and objects into a real world environment using World AR. The template includes preconfigured scene elements such as AR tracking, lighting, and a character asset to help you quickly build an interactive AR experience. You can easily personalize the effect by swapping the existing assets with your own and adjusting the scene to fit your design.

Open the Template

To use this template in your Effect House project:

1. Go to Templates
2. Click World AR
3. Go to and select the AR Placement template

Hierarchy

The Hierarchy panel consists of the following render groups:

• Tip: To modify AR Placement contains helpful hints to customize the effect
• General contains AR camera, AR plane, character, and scene lighting

Customize the Template

You can customize this template by swapping out the assets with some of your own!

Import Assets

First, let's import your images into the Assets panel.

To import your own assets:

1. Go to the Assets panel
2. Click the Add asset button [+]
3. Go to Import and click From Computer

4. Select your images and click Open

tip

To add multiple images at the same time, Command + click (Mac) or Control + click (Windows) onto the images you'd like to select before clicking Open. You can also simply drag the images directly from your computer folder into the Assets panel.

Swap Assets

Now that your images are imported, you can now swap them out in the AR Container.

To swap the assets:

1. Go to the Inspector panel
2. Drag your new asset into the AR Contanter [ADJUST SCALE] section of the Hierarchy panel

Next, let's remove or hide the old assets.

1. Go to the Hierarchy panel
2. Uncheck Alien Character [REPLACE]

Adjust Lighting and Asset Scale

Now that the original assets are hidden and your new assets are visible, you can fine tune the scene. Adjust the lighting, asset scale, and positioning so everything appears natural within the AR environment. You can make these changes directly in the Scene panel or by selecting your assets and adjusting their properties in the Inspector panel.

That's it! You've now created your own character using the AR Placement tutorial!

Asset Preparation Recommendations

Before importing your assets, follow the guidelines below to help ensure optimal performance and efficient file sizes.

Export Assets as Prefabs

Export assets as a Prefab from a separate Effect House project before importing them into your main project. This helps keep projects organized and avoids unnecessary dependencies.

Maintain Efficient Asset Sizes

Keep individual assets within the 3 MB to 4 MB range to help keep the overall effect size optimized.

Use Opacity Maps for Transparency

When creating transparent materials, use Opacity maps instead of PNG transparency. This helps reduce file size and improves rendering performance.

Use JPG Textures for Most Materials

Texture assets should be exported as JPEG or JPG files whenever possible to help reduce the final package size.

   

Use PNG for Normal Maps

Normal map textures should be exported as PNG files to avoid visual artifacts and preserve detail.

   

Optimize Animation Curve

If you notice discrepancies between exported and imported animations, try disabling Optimize Animation Curve before exporting.

Test your Effect

After applying your custom cubemap, the environment will update instantly to reflect your new assets.

To test it, use the Preview in TikTok button in the Inspector panel.