Ambient Occlusion and visual quality settings

Last updated: June 5, 2026

Motif includes visual quality settings that affect how your 3D model looks on the canvas. This article covers Ambient Occlusion (AO) — what it does, how it's controlled, and when it adjusts automatically.

What is Ambient Occlusion?

Ambient Occlusion is a shading technique that adds subtle shadows in the crevices, corners, and contact points of a 3D model. It gives geometry more depth and definition, making it easier to read form and spatial relationships on the canvas — especially useful during design reviews or when preparing views for client presentations.

💡 AO affects how your model looks on the canvas in Motif. It does not affect AI rendered images.

Ambient Occlusion is on by default

As of the May 2026 update, Ambient Occlusion is enabled by default for all boards. You don't need to turn it on — it applies automatically when you open or stream a model.

Turn Ambient Occlusion on or off

  1. Hover over the view cube and select the … menu on the top right next to the cube

  2. Go to 3D model color & shading → Ambient Occlusion shading

  3. Click on the name to toggle between Enabled and Off

⚠ This setting is per-session and per-device. It is not shared with other collaborators viewing the same board.

How AO adjusts automatically for performance

When AO is enabled, Motif monitors your frame rate and automatically reduces or pauses AO processing if performance drops — for example, when orbiting or navigating a large or complex model.

This means:

  • While navigating — AO may back off during active movement to keep the canvas responsive

  • When the view settles — AO reapplies once you stop moving

This behavior is automatic and does not require any configuration. If you notice AO disappearing during navigation, it will return once the view is still.

💡 On lower-powered devices or very large Revit models, you may notice AO backing off more frequently. Turning AO off in Settings will give you the most consistent frame rate on those devices.

Need help? Reach out to us at community.motif.io