Rendering Notes
Some general guidelines for rendering stuff. Click here for renderfarm information.
Setting up Render Globals
In the "Common" tab:
- Frame/Animation Ext -> name.#.ext
- Image Format -> IFF, TGA, or TIF
- Camera -> the camera that you want to render from. This better not be persp! Also, IMPORTANT, make sure that it's the only renderable camera in the scene. If it says (renderable) after the camera name, then it's not, so you need to go to all the other cameras that are marked renderable and unmark them. (Output Settings -> uncheck the renderable box).
Under "Image Size":
- Width: 720
- Height: 480
- Device Aspect Ratio: 1.5 (or 1.8 for widescreen)
- Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.0 (or 1.2 for widescreen)
Under the "Maya Software" tab:
- Quality: Production
- ... and you should be able to leave everything else the same. Make sure under "Raytracing Quality" that raytracing is off, unless you specifically want it (and if you do, then you should do some tests first to see how you can get the results you want with the lowest settings.)
BEFORE SENDING YOUR RENDER TO THE FARM, TEST A FEW FRAMES IN MAYA! Just to make sure your lighting is working and stuff looks right, and stuff.
Using the Renderfarm
Start -> Programs -> Pixar -> RenderMan Artist Tools -> WindowsAFM.tcl
If it asks you what to open this with, choose "Select this Program from a list" and select "Wish Application" (near the bottom).
Render script settings:
- Name of Maya file: navigate this to your file.
- Maya Project Directory: navigate this to the folder that you want your renders to go to. you should set this up logically: have a renders folder, and in that a folder for each shot.
- Frame Range: set this to the start and end frames of your shot. Don't forget this.
- Render Command: C:/Program Files/Alias/Maya7.0/bin/render.exe
- ...and you should be able to leave everything else alone.
IMPORTANT: The script won't accept spaces in your input or output file paths.