Test
Rendering
As you create,
animate, light and texture 3D scenes, you are working towards a
final rendered sequence of images. Along the way, you will want
to test render. This can be accomplished in a number of ways.
Topics covered:
• Launch Render
• Render Tool
• Render Output Operators
Launch
Render
At the bottom
of the Viewer pane is the Launch
Render button that lets you launch a rendering
in mplay that matches the proportions of the Viewer
pane. If a camera is active then this will match your output aspect
ratio. This rendering is the same as going to the Viewer pane menu
and selecting View > Launch Render.
The renderer
used by default is View Mantra
which is a Mantra renderer which has low quality settings. You can
RMB-click on
the Render button
to get a menu of Render output operators that will offer you better
quality. If there are not any available then you can create them
as discussed below.
Note:
After
launching a rendering, closing mplay does not stop the rendering
process. You need to press the Kill
Renders (Alt-k)
button or go to the Render Output Viewer pane and click Kill.
The
Render Tool
You can also
invoke a rendering directly in the Viewer pane. Press tab
> Generic > Render then click drag a region
over your objects in the Viewer. Again the quality of the rendering
is determined by the renderer chosen from the Launch
Render button menu. If you want to test out
a different part of the view then simply draw out another region.

The rendered
region will continue to update as long as you keep the Render
tool active. If you change parameters, use the spacebar to make
a view change or otherwise adjust your scene, the rendering will
update. To quickly remove the rendered region, press the escape
key which puts you in the View
tool.
Note:
If you are at the Geometry (SOPS) level working on a model and you
invoke the Render tool, shaders you have applied at the Object level
will not be recognized. You either have to assign the shader using
a Shader SOP or go back up to the Object level.
Render
Output Operators
In the Rendering an Image Sequence lesson,
you can learn how to create Render Output Operators. You can use
these to test render directly or to control the quality settings
for the other techniques. This is the only way of creating test
renderings of animated sequences.
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