Introduction
The following video and article are a collection of helpful tips, tools and resources for creating, editing, and processing “skybox” images for use in Roblox Studio. A quick disclaimer: this mini-tutorial mentions a few helpful third-party/non-Roblox links.
What is a skybox?
A skybox is the far-distant surrounding environment in a Roblox experience. It is generated from a set of six images that seamlessly stitch together to create the illusion of a 360º panoramic environment.
Roblox Studio templates include a default skybox — but it is possible for developers to upload unique image IDs for the Sky object, to customize environments.
In this mini-guide you’ll learn tips and tricks for creating, editing and publishing custom Skybox images in Roblox Studio.
- Creating skybox images - Use tools to generate your own Skybox images, or libraries to download existing ones.
- Editing and previewing - Preview, edit and convert your images to a format that Roblox Studio can use
- Uploading and implementing - Upload your skybox images to Studio and and update the Sky object.
Creating
If creating your own skybox images, keep in mind the following tips:
- Choose complete 2:1 equirectangular images that show a full seamless 360º environment — otherwise seams or other visual glitches will appear in your environment.
- Avoid skybox images with objects that are too close to the camera — they will feel unnatural work against a sense of depth and dimension when placed in the virtual environment. Instead choose images showing the far-distant horizon that better match the scale of your scene.
Libraries and Resources
The following are great resources for getting skybox image assets:
- HDRI Haven - https://hdri-haven.com/
- Polyhaven | HDRI - HDRIs • Poly Haven
- Blockade Lab | Skybox Ai - Blockade Labs - Unleash Your Creativity with AI
Editing and Previewing
Use a preview tool like Insta360 Player (Action Camera｜360° Camera - App, Firmware Download) to quickly preview 360º panoramic images.
To convert 2:1 equirectangular skybox images to 1:1 cube map faces check out the Panorama to Cubemap tool by Jaxry.
Additional processing is required for use in Roblox Studio, rotate the Down image 90º CCW, and the Up image 90º CW — then rename each cube face image as below:
| pz | → | SkyboxBk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ny | → | SkyboxDn | (rotate 90º CCW) |
| nz | → | SkyboxFt | |
| nx | → | SkyboxLf | |
| px | → | SkyboxRt | |
| py | → | SkyboxUp | (rotate 90º CW) |
Upload to Roblox Studio
Once the equirectangular skybox image has been processed into individual cube faces, you can upload them to Roblox Studio in bulk with the Asset Manager.
- Go to the View tab and select the Asset Manager (note: to upload assets, the Roblox Studio project needs to be published)
- Upload your new skybox images
- Once uploaded, right-click on an image, and choose “Copy Asset ID”
- Open the Lighting folder in the Explore panel, and select the Sky object
- In the appearance section, find the corresponding Skybox face and paste in the new asset ID.
- Repeat for all 6 faces of the sky object.
- Once all the assets IDs have been updated, you should now see the custom skybox in your scene.
Summary
In this quick tip tutorial we covered:
- What a skybox is
- How a custom skybox can help enhance the quality of a Roblox environment
- Resources to find and create skybox images
- Tools and techniques for converting equirectangular skybox image into the cube map format required for Roblox Studio
- How to upload custom skybox cube image, and update the Sky object in Roblox Studio
I hope this quick tutorial will help you customize your Roblox environments — have fun bringing your ideas to life on Roblox!
Do you have any related tips and tricks for creating custom Skyboxes? Chime in and share your skills and experience with the community!
