Spherical Harmonics Architect
Spherical Harmonics Architect is a free browser tool from Tijerín Art Studio that paints directional iridescence and reflections into the spherical harmonics of .ply Gaussian Splat files.
Platform
Browser (HTML5, runs on itch.io)
GPU
None published. The tool runs in the browser and edits spherical harmonics coefficients in an existing .ply file, so it needs no CUDA GPU or local training hardware
Pricing
Free, with optional donation on itch.io
License
N/A
Compare licence terms ↗
Best for
Painting view-dependent colour into trained .ply splats
Updated
July 2026
Spherical Harmonics Architect is a browser utility from Tijerín Art Studio for editing the view-dependent colour stored in 3D Gaussian Splatting scenes. Each Gaussian carries spherical harmonics coefficients that set how its colour changes with viewing angle, and the tool lets artists change those coefficients after training instead of accepting whatever the optimizer converged to. Tijerín Art Studio released it in April 2026 for painting iridescence, reflective highlights and directional colour shifts into .ply files.
The workflow imports a binary .ply splat, builds directional colour layers, filters which splats they affect and exports a modified .ply for standard renderers. Iridescence can be aimed at the top, bottom, left and right viewing directions, edits sit on separate SH1 and SH2 layers, and hardness and intensity controls set how sharply a reflection falls off. A schematic preview shows the effect in real time, and filters restrict an edit by splat scale, opacity or original colour.
The tool runs entirely in the browser as an HTML5 app on its itch.io page, so there is no installation, Python environment or GPU driver to configure. It is free, with an optional donation, and the itch.io listing discloses that its code was written with AI assistance. No source code or licence is published.
Tijerín Art Studio publishes a set of related splat utilities on its itch.io profile, including Quick Gaussian Splat Editor for removing splats by colour, Splat Craft for converting OBJ, GLB and FBX models into splat-compatible .ply files, Gaussian Fog Generator for volumetric fog exported as PLY, and 360 Image Creator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Spherical Harmonics Architect do?
Spherical Harmonics Architect edits the spherical harmonics coefficients inside a .ply Gaussian Splat file, letting artists paint directional iridescence, reflective highlights and colour shifts into a scene after it has been trained.
Does Spherical Harmonics Architect need a GPU or installation?
Spherical Harmonics Architect runs in a web browser from its itch.io page and needs no installation, Python environment or CUDA GPU, because it edits an existing .ply file rather than training a scene.
How much does Spherical Harmonics Architect cost?
Spherical Harmonics Architect is free on itch.io, with an optional donation to Tijerín Art Studio. Tijerín Art Studio has not published its source code or a licence.
Which file formats does Spherical Harmonics Architect support?
Spherical Harmonics Architect imports and exports binary .ply Gaussian Splat files, and the exported file opens in standard Gaussian Splatting renderers.
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