--- Setting up for Rendering ---

1) Always set your project before you render so that you know where your renders will go.

2) Creating a new project and using default folder names will create a file structure for you, and feel free to delete the folders that you are not going to use.

3) Name.#.ext for the naming convention allows easier renaming of the rendered frames, however if you run into problems with that extra period, switch to Name#.ext

4) Increase the frame padding so that your shots will sequence properly

(e.g. frame padding of 1: mousetrap.1.tif; frame padding of 3: mousetrap.001.tif)

5) Make sure that only one camera is renderable. (In the camera’s attribute, under Output Settings.) A general way of indicating which camera is the correct one to render, you should always rename it as “render_cam”. The default persp camera cannot be renamed, thus it is a good habit to always create new ones for each scene.

6) Check your resolution (720x480 is widescreen with a 1.2 pixel aspect ratio) You may use presets or manually type it in. To know what you are going to render, turn on
your resolution gate in the panel menu. This will show you what is actually on screen.

7) When you are done, make sure that you use production quality.

8) Use motion blur and glow in after effects. These take a lot of time to render in Maya and can end up causing problems.

9) Make sure that your file format is .tif, .png or .tga

--- Rendering ---

1) Batch rendering will error less, but takes up a lot of time and CPU power.

2) Linux Farm rendering is less safe, and you need to follow specific naming schemes. Use the Pixar application Alfred.