Shopify 3D model or 360 spin video: what Sume can make

If you want Shopify's 3D viewer, with drag-to-rotate and augmented reality placement, you need a GLB or USDZ file, and Sume does not make one. Sume's video API makes a short clip, so a 360 spin video is what you can generate, and Shopify accepts video as product media (Shopify Help Center, read 2026-10-03).

For many products a spin clip is enough. For furniture, eyewear or anything a shopper wants to place in a room, it is not, and this post says where the line is.

What does Shopify accept for 3D models and for video?

Shopify's product media page lists separate requirements for each type. 3D models need a theme that supports them, and so does video (read 2026-10-03).

What does a spin video give you that a 3D model does not?

It gives you a file you can make today from photos you already have, with no modeler in the loop. Shopify accepts MP4, MOV and WebM uploads up to 1 GB and 10 minutes, so a six second clip is far inside the limits, and you can also embed a YouTube or Vimeo link instead of uploading (read 2026-10-03). A turntable clip is also ordinary video that you can reuse outside the product page, in an ad or an email, where a GLB file has no use.

It gives you less control. The shopper watches the path you rendered. They cannot stop on the left side, tilt the product or place it on a table. And because Shopify's 3D viewer works from real geometry, a spin clip does not substitute for it on products where size in a room matters.

How do you make the spin clip with Sume?

Use first and last frames. frame_images accepts a first_frame and a last_frame, so you can pin the front photo to the start and a back photo to the end and let the model draw the turn between them. Seedance 2 lists those frame types and a 1:1 ratio in GET /v1/videos/models; check the model you pick. Keep the clip short, since it only needs one revolution.

The two-photo rotation post goes further into joining half turns. Here is the single request.

curl -sS -X POST "https://api.sume.com/v1/videos" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: spin-sku-2210-v1" \
  -d '{
    "model": "seedance-2",
    "prompt": "Smooth turntable rotation of the product on a plain surface, fixed camera, even light",
    "frame_images": [
      {"type": "image_url", "image_url": {"url": "https://cdn.example.com/sku-2210-front.jpg"}, "frame_type": "first_frame"},
      {"type": "image_url", "image_url": {"url": "https://cdn.example.com/sku-2210-back.jpg"}, "frame_type": "last_frame"}
    ],
    "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
    "resolution": "1080p",
    "duration": 6
  }'

What can go wrong, and what does Sume not do?

Every angle between your two photos is invented. A model can bend a handle, drop a button or smooth a texture, and a spin makes the error obvious because the shopper watches the whole turn. Review each clip against the product, frame by frame at the sides. A spin that shows the wrong shape sets the wrong expectation before the order even ships.

On the 3D side, Sume's documentation lists no model output in GLB or USDZ, no photogrammetry and no AR file. Shopify's own help page points to its Partner Directory for 3D creation, and asks for real photos from multiple angles and measurements in millimeters (read 2026-10-03). Do not send generated angles to a modeler as if they were photos of the object.

Which should you ship?

Decide per product type, not per store. If most of your catalog is small, rigid and simple, a spin clip on every product covers it, and you can reserve real 3D for the few products where fit in a space decides the sale. Start with ten products across your categories, generate the spin for each, and have someone who handles the physical item watch every clip before you scale up. That review costs minutes per product and tells you which categories the model draws well.

• Rigid, small, simple shapes: a generated spin clip, reviewed frame by frame.
• Products placed in a room or on a body: commission a real GLB, since Sume does not make one.
• Shopify 3D files over 15 MB are optimized for you, and Shopify's expert guide asks for a GLB of about 4 MB and no more than 15 MB.
• Use a distinct Idempotency-Key per SKU and version, so a retried submit does not bill a second clip.
• Check that your theme supports video and 3D before you plan the catalog.