Before blender, I used other software where I could render after rendering the main image the AO separately.
As no materials, lights, etc…where applied when renderig AO, it used to take me about 30 second to render AO for a still image in HD.
In blender cycles, I have not been able to render only one pass (for example Zdepth or AO) withot rendering the whole combined image, so it takes me to render the AO pass as much time as the combined pass.
I know that i could enable at render layer all the passes (AO, Z, Mist…) when rendering the image at first, but that would only work for me if I rendered locally. Now, I´m rendering at a farm that don´t allow exrmultilayer output so I can´t extract, manipulate and use in composition those for me valuable passes.
So I can be helped in two ways:
1)How can I render quickly an AO pass without processing the combined image?
or
2)Can all passes be saved separately as in exrmultilayer, with any other file format?
Thank you for your answers!, I really need help with this.
1)How can I render quickly an AO pass without processing the combined image?
Just use Blender Internal for your AO pass. Which means you need to make a Linked copy of the scene and then set that scene up with the Blender Internal render engine instead of Cycles. You will still be able to access that RenderLayer in another scene’s compositor.
There was a recent post on Blender Nation which showed how someone was leveraging, not only Blender Internal and Cycles but also OpenGL viewport rendering all mixed together to form the final image quickly.
2)Can all passes be saved separately as in exrmultilayer, with any other file format?
I am not sure why your render farm is denying you access to specific file types so get another render farm. Otherwise just save to TIFF or TGA.
As far as I know there is no way in Blender to combine multiple passes into a single file like RLA does.
Which is good from my perspective because those all-in-one file formats are a pain to work with and very slow on any application that decodes them.
I am new to blender. So i am not sure if this is the best solution .
1 - ) Maybe you can combine your final shader node network and an ambient occlusion shader with a mix shader , and use that mix shader as a switch.
2-)Blender has a “file output node” . You can connect it to individual passes of “Render Layers” node. It will save connected pass as a file.
Thanks to both of you…
Atom, yes…Using internal render engine to make an AO pass seems the fastest way.
You said: "As far as I know there is no way in Blender to combine multiple passes into a single file like RLA does. "…I´m not sure if you refer to this, but I think .Exr MULTILAYER is exactly what it does. ¿Doesn´t it?.
Another question; are you sure Tiff or TGA keep passes in separate layers?
Anyway, I should have formulated the question in a wider ranged spec than only refering to specific AO pass.
I mean, do you know if for example, (is just an example), I had to change the diffuse color of an object, will I have to render the whole combined image or will it be possible to render only that diffuse pass? the aim is to save time of course.
(I know that I could apply a RGB curves in compositor with a quick rendered mask to change the color, but that´s not the point…what i want to know if i always have to render a combined image or if i can render in a faster way only the passes that i need in an specific moment.)
Thank you!
Compositing will always be faster than rendering the full scene again. And as you have experienced there is a render overhead for kicking out any pass whether it is in a combined file format or in a single file. If I had to change the color slightly on an object and I had a diffuse pass already kicked out I would certainly change the color in a compositing app rather than revisit the 3D scene again.
Erdinc, sorry, but when I read what you wrote I didn´t fully understand you.
You were right. 2) Using output files nodes was the final solution. Thank you!!!.