Custom Thumbnail lighting

Want better thumbnail lighting AND the auto-generated thumbnail camera? You’re in the right place.

Before

After

I really wanted to ship this feature by default, but doing so would’ve meant unlocking the component output node or replacing it with my own HDA, which could lead to all sorts of issues. So, here’s a simple workaround to get better lighting in your thumbnails:

Dive into the Kitbash Converter so you're in the LOP stage.

Find the component_output node and scroll all the way down to the Thumbnail parameters.

Make sure “Camera and Scene” is set to Automatic.

Right-click the component_output node and choose “Allow Editing of Contents.”

Dive inside the component_output node and locate these three nodes:

• Switch - use_second_input

• Python Script - auto_thumbnail_camera

• Graft Stages - graft_second_input_temp

Now do the following:

• Set the Switch to Input 1

• Set the Python Script Activation to 1

• Set the Graft Stages Activation to 1

That’s it! Now, go up one level and plug your light stage into the second input of the component_output node. The thumbnail camera will still be generated, and your lighting will now be used in the thumbnail rendering.

The example shown uses an HDRI from Polyhaven.