Exporting USD from Blender

Tested with Blender 5.0.1.

Example scenes: Download example Blender scenes from Google Drive.

Overview

The goal is to produce a single, self-contained USD file with all geometry, materials, and textures using relative paths. The general workflow is:

1. Open or import your source file
2. Build the scene (geometry and materials)
3. Add lights
4. Set units
5. Set color management
6. Export USD

Walkthrough Video

Blender USD Export Walkthrough

1. Open File

1. Delete the default Camera, Cube, and Light from the scene.
2. Import your source asset using one of the methods below.

USD

Go to File → Import → Universal Scene Description (.usd*).

• Enable General → ☑ Relative Paths.
• Click Import USD.

OBJ

Go to File → Import → Wavefront (.obj).

• Make sure the .obj and .mtl files are in the same folder, with textures in a subfolder.
• Select your file and import.

FBX

Go to File → Import → FBX (.FBX) and select your file.

2. Build Scene

If you need to create or adjust materials:

Tip: Apply materials only to the meshes that require them.

1. Open the Shading workspace.
2. Create a New Material.
3. Build a node graph: Image Texture → Principled BSDF (or Diffuse BSDF) → Material Output.
4. Click Open, select your texture, and click Open Image.
5. Click Unpack Item to embed the texture reference.

Once the scene is complete:

1. File → Save As... — save into the folder that contains your texture folder, then click Save As.
2. File → External Data → Make Paths Relative.
3. File → External Data → Unpack Resources → Use files in original location (create when necessary).

3. Add Lights

Caution: Lights will appear significantly darker in Miris than they do in the Blender viewport.

1. Go to Properties → Render Properties → Render Engine and set it to Cycles.

World / HDRI

1. Go to Properties → World Properties → Surface → Color → Environment Texture.
2. Click Open, select your HDRI, and adjust the Strength setting.

Compensating for lighting differences

To match Miris rendering, boost the world lighting in the Shading workspace:

1. Open the Shading workspace and switch to the World context.
2. Move the Background node out of the way.
3. Press Shift + A → Utilities → Vector → Vector Math → Multiply.
4. Set the Multiply vector to (500, 500, 500) — multiply this value by your desired exposure. For example, if your exposure is 3, use (1500, 1500, 1500).
5. Press Shift + A → Shader → Background and set Strength to 1000.
6. Connect: Image Texture → Multiply → Background → World Output.

Note: This node graph is what you will be exporting. The viewport will appear blown out — this is expected.

Previewing the final look

To preview how your asset will look in final renders:

1. Press Shift + A → Input → Texture Coordinate.
2. Press Shift + A → Utilities → Vector → Mapping and set Rotation to (0, 0, 180).
3. Connect: Texture Coordinate → Mapping → Image Texture → Background (using original strength) → World Output.

4. Set Units

1. Go to Properties → Scene Properties → Units.
2. Set:

• Unit System: Metric
• Unit Scale: 1
• Length: Meters

5. Color Management

Go to Render Properties → Color Management and set:

6. Export USD

1. File → Save to make sure your latest changes are saved.
2. Go to File → Export → Universal Scene Description (.usd*).
3. Configure the export options:

• General → File References → ☑ Relative Paths
• Object Types → ☐ World Dome Light — disable this if you do not want a dome light in the export
• ☑ Materials
• • ☑ USD Preview Surface
  • ☑ MaterialX Network
  • Export Textures: New path

4. Set the Filename — change the default .usdc extension to .usd.
5. Click Export.

Updated on: 21/04/2026