Objects, artwork and finishes
Add cards, boxes, mats, boards, tokens, pieces, 3D models and booklets to a 3D mockup, dress them in your artwork and finishes, and light the scene.
Last reviewed October 11, 2026
This article is for anyone building a 3D mockup scene object by object. It covers what each object type takes, how to paint artwork onto it, and how surfaces, finishes, camera and lighting change the final look.
What this page helps you do
- Add and arrange the nine object types.
- Upload artwork to each face, with a dieline template to paint over.
- Pick a surface and add print finishes such as spot gloss and foil.
- Set the background, floor, camera and lighting.
You'll start inside a scene (3D Mockups in the sidebar, then New mockup or open a saved scene).
Before you start
- Beta, rolling out to teams. If 3D Mockups is missing from your sidebar, your team is not in the rollout yet.
- Plan: Pathfinder plan and up. Adventurer teams see "3D Mockups are a Pathfinder plan feature" with Upgrade to Pathfinder. (Virtual Table AI is Oracle and LaunchBoom only, 50 builds per team per day.)
- Roles: Collaborators cannot use the Component Designer or 3D Mockups.
Add objects
Click Add and pick a type. Each object has its own panel under Objects; click an object in the view to edit it. Every object has a Position (Left / right, Back / front, Height above the table) and a Turn.
Helpful details
- Key areas:
- Cards: Cards from a component sent to the Virtual Table, or Uploaded artwork with Several uploaded fronts ("Add one image per card; the cards wear them in turn"). Arrangement: Fan on the table, Hand, held up, Stack, Row, Scattered, Grid or Cluster, with Count, Fan angle, Gap, Card spacing, Columns, Offset every other row and Face down.
- Box: Box style Two-piece box (lid and tray) or Tuck box. Faces: Lid wrap (net) and Tray wrap (net), or Tuck box net. Lid open / Box open, Wall thickness, Net image includes bleed.
- Play mat and Board: Vertical folds and Horizontal folds, Pose (Lying flat or Standing up).
- Tokens: Shape Round, Square, Hexagon or Custom dieline (SVG); Thickness; Cut edge Printed black or Bare chipboard.
- Pieces: Meeple, Pawn, Cube, Disc or Die, with Colours (taken in turn) from Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange, Purple, Black, White and Natural wood.
- 3D model: OBJ, GLB, glTF or STL, up to 25 MB, with Up axis, Size (longest side), a Color or per-material image, and Roughness.
- Extrude: a Shape SVG up to 2 MB; every closed shape is cut and extruded, with Thickness and Side colour.
- Booklet: Binding Saddle stitch, Hardcover or Wire-o; Pages; Open; faces Front cover, Inside spread and Back cover.
- What you can do: Set a Size preset or Custom size in mm on cards, boxes, mats, boards and tokens. Edge rounding rounds the edges of boxes, mats, boards and tokens like real stock; 0 keeps them sharp.
- Good to know: Remove deletes an object. A glTF keeps the materials and textures it was exported with; OBJ and STL files take the color you set.
Put artwork on a face
Each face (Front, Back, Artwork, Lid wrap (net) and so on) takes an image. Upload one and it is wrapped onto the object.
Helpful details
- Key areas: The Template button on a face downloads a dieline at the exact size that face needs, as PNG at {dpi} dpi or SVG (vector). The hint: "Download a dieline at the exact size this face needs, paint over it and upload the result."
- What you can do: For a two-piece box, upload the unfolded lid wrap "as the Component Designer exports it: panel in the middle, walls and turn-ins around it". The tray wears its own wrap; without one it stays bare board. A tuck box takes the net "as the dieline tool draws it".
- Good to know: Artwork is saved with the scene and listed under Saved artwork from this scene. A 2D image you upload is cropped into the face's Frame.
Choose a surface and add finishes
Under Finish, pick a Surface: Satin, Matte, Gloss or Holographic.
Helpful details
- Key areas: Holographic adds a Holographic pattern: Plain, Fine lines, Sparkles, Galaxy, Cracked ice, Waves, Gentle waves, Swirls, Op art swirl, Op art hourglass, Woven diamonds, Cubes, Key maze, Glitter, Stardust, Stars, Star mosaic or Upload a pattern, with Pattern size and Pattern sharpness. "Holographic board is on the front; the back is printed on gloss."
- What you can do: Click Add finish for a Special finish: Spot gloss varnish, Fluorescent ink, Hot foil stamp (Gold, Silver, Copper, Rose gold, Black or Any color), Holographic foil or Emboss / deboss (Raised or Pressed in). Each is placed by a mask: a black-on-white image the same size as the face's artwork. Black areas get the finish; white and transparent areas stay as printed. Invert mask swaps them.
- Good to know: Export the mask from the same design file as the artwork so the two line up. Each finish has a strength slider (Gloss, Glow, Shine or Depth).
Set the background and floor
Under Scene, pick a Background colour, tick Transparent, or add a Background photo ("A table, a shelf or a shop counter behind your pieces").
Helpful details
- Key areas: Floor reflection and Floor roughness control the table's shine.
- What you can do: Use the Boardssey purple, orange or aqua swatches, or any colour.
- Good to know: A background photo must be 15 MB or smaller. Only the pieces' shadows are drawn over it.
Set the camera
Under Camera: Angle around the table, Height above the table, Distance and Lens (field of view).
Helpful details
- Key areas: Use current view copies the angle you orbited to into the camera settings, so the export matches what you see. Reset camera goes back to the default.
- What you can do: A longer lens (narrower field of view) flattens the box like a product photo; a wider one adds drama.
- Good to know: Exports and the 3D share link use the camera settings, not your last orbit, unless you pressed Use current view.
Light the scene
Under Lighting, start from a Preset: Studio, Dramatic, Bright, Colourful or Ring of lights.
Helpful details
- Key areas: Groups Look, Key light, Fill and room and Shadows. The key light has Key light, Key light angle, Key light height and Key light warmth; then Fill light, Ambient and reflections, Exposure, Shadow softness, Shadow darkness and Contact shadows.
- What you can do: Colours picks how colours are rendered: As uploaded, Neutral (keeps whites) or Filmic (softer). Add Extra lights (Point light, Spotlight or Directional) with colour, strength, angle, height and Casts shadows.
- Good to know: Reset lighting returns to the default. Lighting is saved with the scene and carried into templates.
Tips & common questions
My box wrap looks misaligned. What size should it be? Download the Template for that face and paint over it. The template is the exact net the box expects, including walls and turn-ins.
Why is my card art cropped? The image is fitted into the face's Frame. Export the art at the card's exact proportions, or adjust the frame.
Can I use a photo of my real meeple? Not as a photo. Import a 3D model (OBJ, GLB, glTF or STL, up to 25 MB) under 3D model, or use the built-in Pieces.
How do I make a spot-UV effect? Keep the Surface on Matte, add a Spot gloss varnish finish, and upload a mask that is black where the gloss goes.