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In the edit

KeyShot Studio 2025.1 brings a couple of additions that matter if you push renders for clients who want to see products in context. The headline is AR export in USDz and GLB formats, plus glTF export — so you can hand off a model that opens straight on a phone or in a browser without extra conversion steps.

Setting up physical lights faster

The new Light Tool lets you click to place Physical Lights in the scene, which saves time when you’re dialling in a studio-style setup. There’s also a new Planar Light material type for those times when you need a soft, rectangular source that behaves like a real panel.

Scripting and hotkeys for repeat tasks

The Re-tessellate Tool is now accessible through the Scripting API, so you can automate retopology steps across multiple scenes. And if you use Studios a lot, there’s a dedicated hotkey for Add Studio now — one less menu dive per shot.

Staying current with format support

Between the AR exports and the glTF path, KeyShot is keeping pace with the formats clients actually ask for. For a Mac-based viz studio running macOS 12 or later, this update is mostly about closing those delivery gaps without a separate export pipeline.

Leaving the default environment untouched makes models look flat

Most people new to KeyShot come from modelling packages and expect the renderer to behave the same way. The biggest slip is leaving the default environment untouched and wondering why the model looks flat. HDRI lighting does most of the heavy lifting in KeyShot, so swapping the default studio backdrop for something that matches your product's real-world lighting conditions changes everything. Another common one is importing a model that hasn't been properly scaled or oriented. If your part comes in at a weird angle or at 1000 times the size it should be, you spend the first ten minutes fighting the navigation instead of working on materials.

Beginners also tend to overcomplicate materials. It is tempting to stack every texture map you can find, but physically based materials work best when you keep it simple — a diffuse colour, a roughness value, and maybe a metalness slider if the surface calls for it. People forget that KeyShot’s material library already has presets that look convincing out of the box. And then there is the light count. Dropping a dozen Physical Lights into a scene because you think more light equals better results usually ends up with blown-out highlights and noisy shadows. Start with one key light, see what it does, then add fill and rim lights only when you need them.

Importing an OBJ file and setting up a product shot by end of day

Say I have a product shot due by the end of the day — a handheld kitchen gadget that needs to look good on a white background and also in a lifestyle setting. I start by importing the OBJ file the client sent. The model lands in the viewport, and the first thing I do is rotate it to check the scale. Everything looks sensible, so I open the Environments panel and swap the default for a soft daylight HDR I have used before.

Next, I assign materials. The gadget has a brushed metal body and a rubberised grip. I drag a Metal preset onto the body, adjust the roughness to about 0.15, and leave the colour neutral. For the grip, I grab a Rubber preset and tweak the diffuse colour to a dark grey. The real trick here is to use the Real-time View — it updates as I adjust sliders, so I can see the brushed effect change from mirror-shiny to something more matte without waiting for a full render pass.

Lighting comes next. I use the new Light Tool to drop a Physical Light above and slightly to the right, then duplicate it for a fill on the left. I lower the intensity on the fill so it doesn't wash out the shadows. The Planar Light material would work well here if I wanted a soft reflection across the metal, but for this shot, point lights do the job. I hit the Render button, choose a 1920 output, and let it run while I check emails. Twenty minutes later, the image is done. I export a GLB version for the client to view on their phone, and I am done.

Using Re-tessellate Tool to fix faceted models after import

One frequent headache is the model looking faceted or blocky after import. That is usually down to the original CAD file's tessellation. KeyShot's Re-tessellate Tool smooths that out, and if you are processing a batch of parts, the Scripting API can handle it programmatically now. Another snag is the render coming out noisier than expected. This is almost always a sampling issue — increase the sample count in the Render dialog, or switch to the Adaptive Sampling option if you are short on time and want the software to focus samples on the tricky areas.

Some people run into trouble with textures not showing up after import. KeyShot looks for image files relative to the model's path, so if you moved the folder after exporting, the links break. The workaround is to use the Texture Relink tool in the Project panel to point KeyShot to the new location. And if the viewport feels sluggish, check whether you have GPU ray tracing enabled in the preferences. On machines with integrated graphics, switching to CPU mode can keep the interface responsive while you work.

Running on a mid-spec MacBook depends on scene complexity

People often wonder whether KeyShot runs well on a MacBook that isn't the top-spec model. The answer depends on scene complexity. For a single product on a plain background, you do not need a workstation — any Mac with macOS 12 or later and a half-decent graphics chip handles real-time previews fine. Heavy scenes with dozens of parts and complex materials benefit from more cores, but the software is designed to be usable at every level.

Another common question is whether you can use KeyShot as a plugin with other 3D applications. Yes — it supports direct workflows with Rhino, SketchUp, SolidWorks, Maya, and several others, so you can send geometry back and forth without exporting intermediate files each time. And people ask about the AR export feature before they install: can you really drop a model into a web page and have it rotate on a phone? Yes, the USDz and GLB formats work across iOS and Android without extra viewers. That alone saves a lot of back-and-forth with clients who want to see the product in their own space.

Setting real-world scale so the toaster looks right on a kitchen counter

Start with your final model already textured and lit in KeyShot. Check that the scale is real-world accurate — a toaster that renders as 50 cm tall will look wrong when placed on a real kitchen counter. Set the real-time view to a reasonable resolution so you can see what you are doing, then fine-tune the materials. AR viewing tends to expose surfaces that look fine in a still render, so pay extra attention to roughness and metalness values; overly shiny parts catch the light unnaturally in a live view.

Once the scene is ready, open the Export menu and choose GLB or USDz. Both formats preserve materials and geometry well. Name the file clearly and set the output quality to High. Exporting takes a few seconds for most models. Open the resulting file on your phone to test it — rotate it, scale it, drop it onto a table in your own room. If the reflections feel off, go back and adjust the HDRI environment in KeyShot. A neutral, even environment works best for AR because the phone's camera provides the real-world lighting. When you are happy, send the file to the client with a note that they can open it in their device's file manager or a compatible viewer. No extra app required.

New this release

• New hotkey for Add Studio.
• New Light Tool for placing Physical Lights.
• Re-tessellate Tool support in the Scripting API.

Mac it needs

• macOS 12 or later
• Intel or Apple Silicon