User Guide > Rendering > Mantra   

Rendering Image Sequences


Rendering an image sequence using Mantra involves the creation of a Render operator. You can use one or more Render operators that each have their own settings. For example, you may have one render output for test renderings that uses a lower resolution and no motion blur and another with all the settings cranked up.

The following steps outline some of the settings you can choose.


1. Create a Mantra Render Output Operator

From the Network pane, select Network > Outputs. With your cursor over the Network pane list, press tab > Generators > Mantra. This creates a Render Output Operator.

2. Choose a Camera

In the Parameter pane, set Camera to one of the cameras in your scene. If you don't have one then create a camera at the object-level. Cameras contain important information required by Mantra and should be set up properly.

Note: You should also make sure you have lights in your scene. Without lights your scene will likely render out black.

3. Set the Output Picture format

You can set the Output Picture to render out either a still image or a sequence of images. Select from the arrow icon [>] as either an image that will be shown in mplay or a sequence to be saved to disk. The HIP prefix will put the images with the Houdini file you are rendering from and JOB will put the images in a predetermined project path.

Padded Files: If you select padded file names then you will get an output name that includes the variable $F4 which will create the following numbering scheme: 0001, 0002, 0003...... You can change the number to control the amount of padding.

4. Set the Image formats

Set the Image Format to determine how your images will be saved. Click on the black arrow [V] to the right of the format to view the options for that format. For instance, there are different kinds of tiff files available depending on which program you are sending the images to. For instance, Adobe Deflate works best for Adobe Photoshop while Standard Deflate works best for Adobe After Effects.

Houdini is the default pic format that offers a robust file format for use in a Houdini pipeline. It is also a great format for Apprentice users because it renders images with no wordmark. This lets Apprentice artists use Houdini Master or Halo to composite clips. The wordmark will only appear when the images are output later in a different format.

5. Frame Range

By default the Global Animation options determine your Start and End frames and Step value. You can also choose to control these values specifically within the Render Output operator.

6. Aliasing

The Anti-Aliasing quality of your rendering images is determined by the Super Sample settings. The setting of 3, 3 is good for many cases but may need to be increased to get the best quality possible.

7. Image Resolution

By default, the Image resolution is acquired from the settings found in your chosen camera under the View tab. You can choose to use the Override Default Resolution option to create a Render Output specific resolution.


Starting a Rendering

Once you have all your settings in place, you can either click on the Render bar at the top of the Parameter pane or on the Render button found to the right of the Render Output in the Network pane list. The results of this can then be viewed in the Viewer pane where you can kill a rendering and watch its progress.