diff --git a/python/gui/qgsmapcanvas.sip b/python/gui/qgsmapcanvas.sip
index 4d4ee376371..a3bce9ca411 100644
--- a/python/gui/qgsmapcanvas.sip
+++ b/python/gui/qgsmapcanvas.sip
@@ -718,6 +718,11 @@ Emitted when the extents of the map change
     void magnificationChanged( double );
 %Docstring
 .. versionadded:: 2.16
+%End
+
+    void canvasColorChanged();
+%Docstring
+.. versionadded:: 3.0
 %End
 
     void renderComplete( QPainter * );
diff --git a/src/3d/map3d.cpp b/src/3d/map3d.cpp
index f2dc7144164..33b3f258597 100644
--- a/src/3d/map3d.cpp
+++ b/src/3d/map3d.cpp
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ Map3D::Map3D()
   : originX( 0 )
   , originY( 0 )
   , originZ( 0 )
-  , backgroundColor( Qt::black )
   , skybox( false )
+  , mBackgroundColor( Qt::black )
   , mTerrainVerticalScale( 1 )
   , mMapTileResolution( 512 )
   , mMaxTerrainScreenError( 3.f )
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ Map3D::Map3D( const Map3D &other )
   , originY( other.originY )
   , originZ( other.originZ )
   , crs( other.crs )
-  , backgroundColor( other.backgroundColor )
   , skybox( other.skybox )
   , skyboxFileBase( other.skyboxFileBase )
   , skyboxFileExtension( other.skyboxFileExtension )
+  , mBackgroundColor( other.mBackgroundColor )
   , mTerrainVerticalScale( other.mTerrainVerticalScale )
   , mTerrainGenerator( other.mTerrainGenerator ? other.mTerrainGenerator->clone() : nullptr )
   , mMapTileResolution( other.mMapTileResolution )
@@ -209,6 +209,20 @@ void Map3D::resolveReferences( const QgsProject &project )
   }
 }
 
+void Map3D::setBackgroundColor( const QColor &color )
+{
+  if ( color == mBackgroundColor )
+    return;
+
+  mBackgroundColor = color;
+  emit backgroundColorChanged();
+}
+
+QColor Map3D::backgroundColor() const
+{
+  return mBackgroundColor;
+}
+
 void Map3D::setTerrainVerticalScale( double zScale )
 {
   if ( zScale == mTerrainVerticalScale )
diff --git a/src/3d/map3d.h b/src/3d/map3d.h
index b1f349c2b94..89fa714b1a6 100644
--- a/src/3d/map3d.h
+++ b/src/3d/map3d.h
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ class _3D_EXPORT Map3D : public QObject
 
     double originX, originY, originZ;   //!< Coordinates in map CRS at which our 3D world has origin (0,0,0)
     QgsCoordinateReferenceSystem crs;   //!< Destination coordinate system of the world  (TODO: not needed? can be
-    QColor backgroundColor;   //!< Background color of the scene
+
+    void setBackgroundColor( const QColor &color );
+    QColor backgroundColor() const;
 
     //
     // terrain related config
@@ -80,6 +82,7 @@ class _3D_EXPORT Map3D : public QObject
     bool showTerrainTilesInfo() const { return mShowTerrainTileInfo; }
 
   signals:
+    void backgroundColorChanged();
     void layersChanged();
     void terrainGeneratorChanged();
     void terrainVerticalScaleChanged();
@@ -90,6 +93,7 @@ class _3D_EXPORT Map3D : public QObject
     void showTerrainTilesInfoChanged();
 
   private:
+    QColor mBackgroundColor;   //!< Background color of the scene
     double mTerrainVerticalScale;   //!< Multiplier of terrain heights to make the terrain shape more pronounced
     std::unique_ptr<TerrainGenerator> mTerrainGenerator;  //!< Implementation of the terrain generation
     int mMapTileResolution;   //!< Size of map textures of tiles in pixels (width/height)
diff --git a/src/3d/scene.cpp b/src/3d/scene.cpp
index 1de3a45d856..cc7ce3418d2 100644
--- a/src/3d/scene.cpp
+++ b/src/3d/scene.cpp
@@ -28,8 +28,11 @@ Scene::Scene( const Map3D &map, Qt3DExtras::QForwardRenderer *defaultFrameGraph,
   : Qt3DCore::QEntity( parent )
   , mMap( map )
   , mTerrain( nullptr )
+  , mForwardRenderer( defaultFrameGraph )
 {
-  defaultFrameGraph->setClearColor( map.backgroundColor );
+
+  connect( &map, &Map3D::backgroundColorChanged, this, &Scene::onBackgroundColorChanged );
+  onBackgroundColorChanged();
 
   // TODO: strange - setting OnDemand render policy still keeps QGIS busy (Qt 5.9.0)
   // actually it is more busy than with the default "Always" policy although there are no changes in the scene.
@@ -226,6 +229,11 @@ void Scene::createTerrainDeferred()
   mTerrainUpdateScheduled = false;
 }
 
+void Scene::onBackgroundColorChanged()
+{
+  mForwardRenderer->setClearColor( mMap.backgroundColor() );
+}
+
 void Scene::onLayerRenderer3DChanged()
 {
   QgsMapLayer *layer = qobject_cast<QgsMapLayer *>( sender() );
diff --git a/src/3d/scene.h b/src/3d/scene.h
index 6f5991ecd29..f19fdda0fcd 100644
--- a/src/3d/scene.h
+++ b/src/3d/scene.h
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ class _3D_EXPORT Scene : public Qt3DCore::QEntity
     void onLayerRenderer3DChanged();
     void onLayersChanged();
     void createTerrainDeferred();
+    void onBackgroundColorChanged();
 
   private:
     void addLayerEntity( QgsMapLayer *layer );
@@ -57,6 +58,8 @@ class _3D_EXPORT Scene : public Qt3DCore::QEntity
     Qt3DLogic::QFrameAction *mFrameAction;
     CameraController *mCameraController;
     Terrain *mTerrain;
+    //! Forward renderer provided by 3D window
+    Qt3DExtras::QForwardRenderer *mForwardRenderer;
     QList<ChunkedEntity *> chunkEntities;
     //! Keeps track of entities that belong to a particular layer
     QMap<QgsMapLayer *, Qt3DCore::QEntity *> mLayerEntities;
diff --git a/src/3d/terrain/maptexturegenerator.cpp b/src/3d/terrain/maptexturegenerator.cpp
index 9a597032e06..d2a7a6d9d3e 100644
--- a/src/3d/terrain/maptexturegenerator.cpp
+++ b/src/3d/terrain/maptexturegenerator.cpp
@@ -113,6 +113,6 @@ QgsMapSettings MapTextureGenerator::baseMapSettings()
   mapSettings.setLayers( map.layers() );
   mapSettings.setOutputSize( QSize( map.mapTileResolution(), map.mapTileResolution() ) );
   mapSettings.setDestinationCrs( map.crs );
-  mapSettings.setBackgroundColor( Qt::gray );
+  mapSettings.setBackgroundColor( map.backgroundColor() );
   return mapSettings;
 }
diff --git a/src/3d/terrain/terrain.cpp b/src/3d/terrain/terrain.cpp
index e965730b0a5..a0d16f8de6c 100644
--- a/src/3d/terrain/terrain.cpp
+++ b/src/3d/terrain/terrain.cpp
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ Terrain::Terrain( int maxLevel, const Map3D &map, Qt3DCore::QNode *parent )
   connect( &map, &Map3D::showTerrainBoundingBoxesChanged, this, &Terrain::onShowBoundingBoxesChanged );
   connect( &map, &Map3D::showTerrainTilesInfoChanged, this, &Terrain::invalidateMapImages );
   connect( &map, &Map3D::layersChanged, this, &Terrain::onLayersChanged );
+  connect( &map, &Map3D::backgroundColorChanged, this, &Terrain::invalidateMapImages );
 
   connectToLayersRepaintRequest();
 
diff --git a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvas.cpp b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvas.cpp
index 5a6be72737c..8e07c3d64dc 100644
--- a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvas.cpp
+++ b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvas.cpp
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ Qgs3DMapCanvas::Qgs3DMapCanvas( QWidget *parent )
   QHBoxLayout *hLayout = new QHBoxLayout( this );
   hLayout->setMargin( 0 );
   hLayout->addWidget( mContainer, 1 );
+
+  mWindow3D->setCursor( Qt::OpenHandCursor );
 }
 
 Qgs3DMapCanvas::~Qgs3DMapCanvas()
diff --git a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.cpp b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.cpp
index de57bf9ea88..5241c35de70 100644
--- a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ void Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::setMainCanvas( QgsMapCanvas *canvas )
   mMainCanvas = canvas;
 
   connect( mMainCanvas, &QgsMapCanvas::layersChanged, this, &Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::onMainCanvasLayersChanged );
+  connect( mMainCanvas, &QgsMapCanvas::canvasColorChanged, this, &Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::onMainCanvasColorChanged );
 }
 
 void Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::resetView()
@@ -72,3 +73,8 @@ void Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::onMainCanvasLayersChanged()
 {
   mCanvas->map()->setLayers( mMainCanvas->layers() );
 }
+
+void Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget::onMainCanvasColorChanged()
+{
+  mCanvas->map()->setBackgroundColor( mMainCanvas->canvasColor() );
+}
diff --git a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.h b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.h
index 9875232e40d..2f27f3e0cd9 100644
--- a/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.h
+++ b/src/app/3d/qgs3dmapcanvasdockwidget.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class Qgs3DMapCanvasDockWidget : public QgsDockWidget
     void configure();
 
     void onMainCanvasLayersChanged();
+    void onMainCanvasColorChanged();
 
   private:
     Qgs3DMapCanvas *mCanvas;
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
index e01adeaf7dd..6b45ee5cfd6 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
@@ -9910,7 +9910,7 @@ void QgisApp::new3DMapCanvas()
   map->crs = prj->crs();
   map->originX = fullExtent.center().x();
   map->originY = fullExtent.center().y();
-  map->backgroundColor = mMapCanvas->canvasColor();
+  map->setBackgroundColor( mMapCanvas->canvasColor() );
   map->setLayers( mMapCanvas->layers() );
 
   FlatTerrainGenerator *flatTerrain = new FlatTerrainGenerator;
diff --git a/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.cpp b/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.cpp
index d810b2961d6..8751e596b90 100644
--- a/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.cpp
@@ -187,6 +187,10 @@ QgsMapCanvas::QgsMapCanvas( QWidget *parent )
 
   setInteractive( false );
 
+  // make sure we have the same default in QgsMapSettings and the scene's background brush
+  // (by default map settings has white bg color, scene background brush is black)
+  setCanvasColor( mSettings.backgroundColor() );
+
   refresh();
 
 } // QgsMapCanvas ctor
@@ -1560,6 +1564,9 @@ void QgsMapCanvas::unsetMapTool( QgsMapTool *tool )
 
 void QgsMapCanvas::setCanvasColor( const QColor &color )
 {
+  if ( canvasColor() == color )
+    return;
+
   // background of map's pixmap
   mSettings.setBackgroundColor( color );
 
@@ -1574,6 +1581,8 @@ void QgsMapCanvas::setCanvasColor( const QColor &color )
 
   // background of QGraphicsScene
   mScene->setBackgroundBrush( bgBrush );
+
+  emit canvasColorChanged();
 }
 
 QColor QgsMapCanvas::canvasColor() const
diff --git a/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.h b/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.h
index 3abeb241796..46d6eeeca1c 100644
--- a/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.h
+++ b/src/gui/qgsmapcanvas.h
@@ -636,6 +636,10 @@ class GUI_EXPORT QgsMapCanvas : public QGraphicsView
     //! \since QGIS 2.16
     void magnificationChanged( double );
 
+    //! Emitted when canvas background color changes
+    //! \since QGIS 3.0
+    void canvasColorChanged();
+
     /** Emitted when the canvas has rendered.
      * Passes a pointer to the painter on which the map was drawn. This is
      * useful for plugins that wish to draw on the map after it has been