References make a rough scene easier to understand. Use a picture to show a material, a cutout to suggest a person or tree, and a note to explain the decision beside the object it affects.

Choose How The Reference Belongs

Stage offers several ways to bring supporting material into the work:

A reference should have a clear job. A material sample beside a wall is more useful than several unrelated pictures that obscure the layout.

Write Where The Explanation Is Needed

Choose a Text tool and click in the scene to enter content. Place creates the annotation; cancelling the dialog leaves the scene unchanged. You can also prepare content in the tool panel before placing it.

Paper controls adjust lettering, color and presentation. Viewer-facing paper remains readable as you orbit; fixed-plane paper stays oriented in the scene. These choices are useful for different tasks: a review label should remain legible, while a sign may need a fixed orientation.

Attach to clicked object makes paper follow the object's movement and rotation. Hiding that object also hides its attached paper. Merely placing a note nearby does not attach it.

Lines can show emphasis or a route through the design. Appearance controls offer continuous, dashed, dotted and sketch styles, with tube or ribbon forms and endpoint markers. A movement Path describes an intended route; it does not make an object travel along it.

Use Images As Cutouts

Choose existing Docs images or upload up to 16 images in one batch. PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF are supported; GIF uses its first frame. Click a floor or object surface to place each queued image upright at that intersection.

Stage keeps existing transparency and can remove a simple, uniform background. If the background is ambiguous, it may remain with a warning. The uploaded original stays unchanged.

Cutout appearance includes Pastel, Original color, Pencil drawing and Solid silhouette, with optional borders and stands. Highlight cutout is a saved emphasis effect, separate from selecting the object.

New cutouts remain fixed in world space. Placing one on an object establishes its position; it does not make the cutout follow that object later.

Bring In Models

Open Assets to import supported glTF or GLB models, choose a stored Docs model, or use a Poly scene. Imported Poly content is a snapshot: editing the original Poly scene later does not automatically update the Stage object.

Models can have file-access requirements as well as scene access. Use sources available to the destination area's audience. If an import is refused or unavailable, read the reported reason rather than assuming that the model is empty.

Common Questions

Will removing a reference delete its original file?

Removing an image from a mood removes the association. Imported and referenced Docs files remain separate documents; deleting the Stage scene does not automatically delete those independent files.

Why did a cutout keep its background?

Automatic removal works best with a uniform background around the subject. A complex or ambiguous background is retained rather than removing parts of the subject.

Can I move a note with the object it describes?

Yes. Use paper attachment when placing it, or organize the items in a group if they should be managed as one composition.