Pond Wizard
The Pond Wizard creates a garden pond from a shape you draw on the canvas. Draw the pond outline first, then configure the edge, fountain, and features in the sidebar.
Pond WizardThe Pond Wizard converts a shape you draw on the canvas into a fully detailed water feature. Working through five steps — Footprint, Depth, Edge, Fountain, and Features — you configure every aspect of the pond: the water depth, the width and height of the edge surround, an optional fountain with four spray patterns, and decorative details including ducks, swans, herons, frogs, lily pads, lotus, cattails, reeds, and water hyacinth. Use it whenever a client needs a natural, wildlife-friendly pond rather than a structured swimming pool.
Step 3 — Features
Add decorative features to the pond. Wildlife options: duck, swan, heron, frog. Water plant options: lily pads, lotus, cattails, reeds, water hyacinth. Click a feature to place it on the pond, then drag to reposition. Also configure ripple effect intensity for the water surface animation.
Use the Bezier tool for curved, organic pond shapes. The wizard adopts your drawn outline exactly as the pond boundary, so freeform curves produce smooth water edges with no staircase approximation.
Set the water depth
In the Depth step, enter how deep the pond will be. Depth is stored in your project's current unit system (metric or imperial) and influences the appearance of the water surface in 3D view. A shallow depth produces bright, reflective water; deeper values shift the water colour toward darker tones. The depth value also feeds into any cost estimate for liner and excavation.
Configure the edge surround
In the Edge step, set Width to control how far the edge material extends outward from the pond perimeter — set it to zero for no edge band. Set Height to extrude the edge into a raised wall visible in 3D view; a flat flush edge uses a height of zero. When height is greater than zero, a Water Level control appears so you can position the water surface below the top of the raised wall. The water level is automatically clamped between zero and the edge height to prevent invalid geometry.
Add a fountain
In the Fountain step, toggle the fountain on to reveal four spray-pattern options: Single Jet (one central vertical jet), Ring (multiple jets arranged in a circle), Spray (a fan of jets spreading outward), and Horizontal (a sprinkler-style outward spray). After choosing a pattern, adjust the Jet Count slider and the Height field to control the scale and spread of the display. Leave the fountain toggled off for a still-water natural pond.
Place wildlife and aquatic plants
In the Features step, choose from wildlife — Duck, Swan, Heron, or Frog — and from aquatic plants — Lily Pads, Lotus, Cattails, Reeds, or Water Hyacinth. Click a feature button to place it at a default position on the pond, then drag it across the water surface to reposition it. You can place multiple instances of each type. Use the Ripple Intensity slider to control how animated the water surface appears in 3D view.
Apply the pond to the drawing
When all steps are configured, click Apply at the bottom of the wizard sidebar. The pond is committed to the drawing as a parametric object. To edit it later, select the pond on the canvas and click Parameters in the inspector panel — the wizard reopens with all your settings intact.
For the most natural result, draw the pond outline with the Bezier tool before opening the wizard. Curved bezier paths produce smooth water edges, while polygon outlines with many short segments can look angular in 3D view.
The Water Level control is hidden until you set Edge Height above zero. This is by design — a pond with no raised edge has no wall to position the water against. Raise the edge height first, then the Water Level control appears.
A pond is different from a pool. The Pond Wizard is designed for natural wildlife-friendly water features with soft planted edges, fountains, and decorative details. For a swimming pool with coping, deck surround, depth profiles, and pool accessories, use the Pool Wizard instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Water Level control is not appearing in the Edge step. Why?
The Water Level control is only shown when Edge Height is greater than zero. A flat pond edge has no wall, so there is nothing to position the water against. Set the Height field to any value above zero and the Water Level control will appear immediately below it.
Can I reposition wildlife and plants after placing them?
Yes. After clicking a feature button to place it, you can drag it anywhere on the pond surface to reposition it. You can also place multiple instances of the same feature type — for example, three lily pad clusters at different positions.
Which footprint shape should I use for a natural pond?
The Bezier footprint tool gives the most organic result. Draw a curved outline by clicking to place anchor points and dragging to set curve handles. The wizard adopts the drawn bezier path exactly as the pond boundary, so the water edge matches your design precisely with no blocky approximation.
How is the Pond Wizard different from the Pool Wizard?
The Pond Wizard is for natural garden ponds — it provides a planted edge band, a fountain with multiple spray patterns, and decorative wildlife and aquatic plants. The Pool Wizard is for structured swimming pools with coping, a paved surround, depth profiles, and pool accessories such as ladders and lights. Use the Pool Wizard any time a client wants a swimmable pool.
Can I edit the pond shape after applying?
Yes. Select the pond on the canvas and click Parameters in the inspector panel to reopen the Pond Wizard with all your existing settings. You can change any parameter — including the footprint shape, edge dimensions, fountain, and features — and click Apply again to update the drawing.