Publish: show it off and export it
Prepare a challenge coin for review, sharing, or production. Set a camera that reveals form, light metal honestly, save a recoverable design state, and choose the export format that fits the next handoff.
What the Publish page looks like
Publish is a compact product-photography workspace: the challenge coin stays in the center, render controls live on the right, and environment, light, ground, and background tools sit on the rail.
Use this stage to verify a design, not to hide an issue. A convincing preview makes the front, edge, and back legible enough that a reviewer can understand the physical object without guessing.
The staged view becomes the saved thumbnail and gallery presentation, so settle the camera and lighting before publishing instead of relying on a randomly pleasant frame.
The camera
Open Camera Settings and begin with a three-quarter angle that reveals both a face and part of the edge. A lower angle makes surface detail read taller; a longer distance communicates the overall silhouette like a catalogue photograph.
Use a hero angle only after you have a verification angle. The hero angle can emphasize a favorite motif; the verification angle should expose the rim, thickness, and any high or low areas that need review.
Lights and environment
The light-bulb icon on the rail opens lighting. Classic recipe: one main light from the upper front, one weaker fill from the other side — coin-surface detail pops right out.
The environment ball matters too: metal mirrors its surroundings, so changing the environment changes the challenge coin's whole complexion.
Ground, background, post
Ground Settings can drop a soft shadow under the challenge coin so it sits rather than floats. The background can be a solid tone or a gradient.
Go easy on post-processing: a touch of vignette to focus the eye is usually all a challenge coin needs.
Save and publish
Save in the top-right stores the complete challenge coin state in My Designs: artwork, model settings, material assignments, and the staged preview can be reopened for further editing.
Publish makes that saved design visible in the public gallery. Treat it as a presentation decision, not a destructive handoff: unpublishing removes public visibility but does not delete the saved work.
Before publishing, rotate the model once, verify that the current image represents the desired face, and confirm that you are comfortable with the design title and thumbnail being public.
Exporting the model
Download Model offers two files: GLB keeps colors and materials (good for showing online), STL is pure geometry (what 3D printers and factories want).
GLB and STL downloads start directly from the download menu — free plans get 10 per month, paid plans are unlimited.
The last check before shipping
Open the exported file in a 3D viewer and rotate it once. Check back-face text direction, the outer silhouette, holes, unexpectedly thin regions, steep slopes, and whether the rim clears the intended surface detail everywhere.
For production communication, record the units and target process with the file. GLB is useful for reviewing geometry with materials; STL is a geometry-only handoff. A fabricator may still require its own checks, tolerances, and final manufacturing specification.
Five deliberate minutes here can avoid an expensive round of revisions later.