AI HDRI Generator
Generate 360° equirectangular HDRI environments from text. Download as a Radiance .hdr LDR-source container for Blender, Unreal, and Unity.
AI HDRI for Blender, Unreal, Unity
Generate 360° equirectangular environment maps and export as Radiance .hdr — drops straight into your 3D pipeline.
Text → equirectangular
Describe a lighting environment and get a 4K (3840×1920) equirectangular panorama in seconds. Works for any scene you can imagine — studio setups, sci-fi interiors, overcast skies. Try the AI panorama generator for general scenes.
Radiance .hdr export
Download a Radiance .hdr file that loads directly as Environment Texture in Blender's Shader Editor, as an HDRIBackdrop actor in Unreal Engine, or via the Skybox/Panoramic shader in Unity. No conversion needed.
Blender / Unreal / Unity ready
Output is a standard 2:1 equirectangular image packed in RGBE Radiance format. Drop it into any 3D app that supports IBL — Blender, Unreal, Unity HDRP, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini.
Honest LDR-source disclosure
Source pixels are 8-bit (LDR). The .hdr file is a container format — excellent for environment backgrounds and matte reflections. For strong sun or specular highlights requiring true HDR data, use a captured HDRI. See FAQ for details.
4K (3840×1920) output
Full 4K equirectangular resolution — the standard sweet spot for IBL and sky backdrop work. Generates fast enough to iterate on lighting descriptions before committing. Need a lower-res preview? Generate and view at 1K first.
Commercial license included
Every generated HDRI comes with a commercial use license — no attribution required, no royalty. Use in client renders, game shipping builds, product visualization, or broadcast production. Convert a real photo to 360° if you need a site-specific environment.
AI HDRI vs captured HDRI vs procedural sky
Three sources for 3D environment lighting. When to use which.
AI HDRI works best as a fast environment-background and look-dev tool. The export is a Radiance .hdr container from LDR-source pixels, so it is useful for soft IBL and scene iteration but not a replacement for measured sun captures.
Best for
Imagined studios, sci-fi interiors, product backdrops, concept lighting, and quick Blender/Unreal/Unity look-dev where a measured location does not exist.
Use another source when
Use captured HDRIs for true high-dynamic-range sun and specular accuracy. Use procedural sky systems when you need controllable daylight and sun position.
Typical workflow
Generate the equirectangular map, preview the sphere, export Radiance .hdr, test in your DCC, then swap to captured HDRI for final physical lighting if needed.
AI HDRI environment maps in real DCC tools
Generated 2:1 equirectangular maps used as IBL lighting in Blender, Unreal, and Unity.
How AI HDRI generation works
Four steps from a lighting description to a .hdr file in your 3D scene.
Describe the lighting environment
Mention key light direction, color temperature, time of day, and surroundings. Example: "overcast industrial warehouse, ceiling skylights, cool 6500K fill, no direct sun." The AI rewrites your prompt with equirectangular projection hints.
Pick a resolution
4K (3840×1920) is the default and the standard for IBL work in Blender, Unreal, and Unity. Select 1K for fast preview iterations — swap to 4K for final renders.
Generate and preview the sphere
The result loads directly in the embedded 360° viewer. Drag to inspect all directions — check pole quality, seam alignment, and light placement. Refine the prompt and regenerate if needed.
Export as Radiance .hdr
Click Download to grab the .hdr file. The Radiance container packs LDR source pixels into the standard format every IBL-aware DCC expects — see below for the exact wiring in Blender, Unreal, and Unity.
Drop the .hdr into your DCC
Three engines, three ways to wire the same file into your scene.
Blender 4.x
Open Shader Editor → World → Environment Texture → Open and pick the .hdr. The world becomes the IBL source for every PBR material in the scene.
Unreal Engine 5
Drag the .hdr into Content Browser, set Compression to HDR(RGB, no sRGB), then drop an HDRIBackdrop actor into the level and assign the texture.
Unity / HDRP
Assign to a Skybox/Panoramic shader material, or in HDRP add a Visual Environment to your Volume Profile and set Sky Type to HDRI Sky.
Pricing for AI HDRI generation
Generation cost depends on the selected resolution. Exporting the finished image as Radiance .hdr adds 2 credits for server-side encoding.
Pro
For regular creators.
- 3,600 credits per year
- Commercial usage license
- Email support
Pro+
For power users and small studios.
- 9,600 credits per year
- Priority queue (rolling out in v1.x)
- Commercial usage license
Pro Max
For studios and high-volume creators.
- 18,000 credits per year
- Lowest per-credit cost overall
- Priority queue (rolling out in v1.x)
- Commercial usage license
AI HDRI generation — frequently asked questions
Is this a real HDR file?
The output is a Radiance .hdr container so 3D software loads it, but pixel values are derived from an 8-bit (LDR) source. Dynamic range is 0..1 linear. For environment background and soft IBL it is indistinguishable from a true HDRI; for strong sun or specular highlights, use a captured HDRI instead.
Will it work in Blender?
Yes — open Shader Editor → switch to World context → add an Environment Texture node → Open → select the .hdr. It loads as a 360° world background and contributes to indirect lighting via the World shader. You can also use it in a Poly Haven–style setup with a Mapping node to rotate the environment. For the complete Blender / Unreal / Unity setup walk-through, see AI HDRI for Blender, Unreal, and Unity.
Will it work in Unreal Engine?
Yes — drag the .hdr into the Content Browser. In the asset settings set Compression to HDR(RGB,no sRGB) and disable sRGB. Then add an HDRIBackdrop actor to the scene and assign the texture, or use it as the Sky Light source texture for IBL.
Will it work in Unity?
Yes — import the .hdr into your project, then assign it to a Skybox material using the Skybox/Panoramic shader. For HDRP projects use the Visual Environment component → set Sky Type to HDRI Sky → assign the texture.
Why no .exr?
OpenEXR is the industry HDR standard but the encoder is heavier; Radiance .hdr (RGBE) covers 95% of equirectangular environment use cases and loads natively in Blender, Unreal, Unity, 3ds Max, and Cinema 4D. .exr export is on the roadmap.
Where can I get true captured HDRIs?
For real high-dynamic-range captures with sun and specular highlights, polyhaven.com hosts a large library of free CC0 HDRIs from photographic captures. These are the best choice when physical accuracy for bright sun IBL matters.