A few years ago, Nvidia released a demo of a new AI tool that resembled Microsoft Paint but had an AI backend. This tool could turn any painting into a realistic photo, and since then, it has evolved from a simple demo into a standalone application that you can use now.

The Nvidia Canvas tool differs from other generative AI tools, such as Midjourney or Stable Diffusion, in that it allows the artist to maintain control over the image and art direction. In comparison to Midjourney, the images produced by Canvas 360 look more realistic and geared more towards enviroments and backgrounds.

While Canvas 360 may not be the winner for the on going AI wars for generative art, it has proven to be more useful for artists in the visual effects industry. This tool can be used for set extensions and matte painting in movie production since it provides greater control over where you can add detail and what type of detail.

If you are not familiar with the concept of set extension and how frequently it is used in movies, you may not immediately recognize the significance of Canvas 360. Allow me to clarify.

Set extension is a visual effects technique used to expand the boundaries of a physical film set or location by adding additional digital elements to it. It is typically used to create the illusion of a larger or more complex environment, which may be too expensive, impractical or even impossible to build in reality.

For example, let’s say a movie is set in a city and the filmmakers want to show a shot of the main character walking down a street with a large skyscraper in the background. If the production budget does not allow for the construction of a tall building or the filming location doesn’t have a tall building, the filmmakers can use set extension to add the skyscraper digitally to the shot.

To create a set extension shot, the film crew shoots the scene on a physical set or location and then uses VFX software to add digital elements to it. This can include 3D modeling and rendering, compositing, and matte painting. The end result is a seamless integration of real and digital elements that creates a convincing and immersive visual experience for the audience.

Unlike Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which produce final products , Canvas 360 produces raw material that you can use right away in your production pipeline. It is not a tool designed to replace you in your job, but rather, it is an application to add to your workflow, similar to Photoshop or Substance Painter.

Furthermore, you can even use Canvas 360 to create your own HDRI images for use in 3D applications.

check out nvidia canvas

Nvidia canvas is going to be a great tool for making hdri and background images but if you are lazy like me and dont want to learn yet another application on top of the 30 you already use, try out hdri maker a blender addon that you can use to create custom hdri images right inside blender, you can edit the hdri an make it part of your scene rather than it being just a background.

if you need some foreground assets like plants and vegetations i got you covered with my addon quick trees that comes with different types of trees and a friendship, i know there hundreds of other vegetation addons like botaniq, vegetation, grass world and more that have more vegetation than mine, but what they dont come with is a best friend.