There are several ways in 3Delight for Maya to create, select and render Render Passes:
- Using the 3Delight Menu (from the Maya menu bar)
- Using the 3Delight Shelf
- Using the Render Settings window
- Using the Attribute Editor
But only the 3Delight Menu offers all the options in one place. We will use it as a guide to explain each option available to manage Render Passes. And for each option, we will indicate the alternate ways available in 3Delight for Maya to perform the same action.
3Delight Menu items for Managing Render Passes
Render
Starts a Render. The sub-menu list all the Render Passes in the scene; selecting one will render it. For convenience, the first one listed in the menu is the last rendered render pass. 3Delight for Maya also offers a few additional ways to launch a render:
(in the 3Delight Shelf) | Clicking on this 3Delight Shelf button starts a Render using the last rendered render pass. Right-clicking on the button instead, pops up a menu listing all the render passes in the scene; selecting one will render it. |
(in the Attribute Editor) | When a Render Pass is displayed in the Attribute Editor, a rendering can be launched simply by clicking on the Render This Pass button located at the top of the editor. |
(Maya's Render Menu) | If Maya’s current renderer in the Render Settings is set to ‘3Delight’, selecting Render Current Frame or Batch Render will launch a rendering using the current Render Pass as set in the '3Delight' tab of the Maya Render Settings window. |
Rendering a Render Pass marks it as the last rendered render pass. This has no effect on which Render Pass is shown in the Render Settings window or Attribute Editor. They each can show and edit a different pass than what is rendered by Render.
Select Render Pass
Pops up a menu listing all Render Pass in the scene, starting with last rendered render pass. Selecting one displays it in the Attribute Editor. 3Delight for Maya also offers one additional way to select a Render Pass:
| Clicking on this shelf button pops up a menu listing all Render Pass in the scene, starting with last rendered render pass. Selecting one displays it in the Attribute Editor. |
Not equivalent: (in Render Settings) | In Render Settings you can select a Render Pass that will be displayed in that window only (not in the Attribute Editor). This is not to be confused with the Select Render Pass we have just explained. This is mentioned here only as supplemental information. |
The Select Render Pass button and menu item do not change the Render Pass the Render button will render; the Render button renders the last rendered render pass. Only by right-clicking on the Render button you can choose what Render Pass the Render button will render.
Create Render Pass
Creates a new Render Pass with all available attributes set to their default values. 3Delight for Maya also offers a few additional ways to create a Render Pass:
(in the 3Delight Shelf) | Clicking on this shelf button creates a new Render Pass with all available attributes set to their default values. Right-clicking on this button instead is the equivalent to Create Render Pass from Templates explained below. |
(in Render Settings) | It is also possible to create a new Render Pass using the Create Render Pass button at the top of the 3Delight tab in the Render Settings Window. |
Create Render Pass from Template
This item displays a sub-menu listing all Render Pass Templates. Selecting one will create a new Render Pass using that template. 3Delight for Maya also offers one additional way to create a Render Pass from the list of templates:
(in the 3Delight Shelf) | Right-clicking on this shelf button pops up a menu listing all Render Pass Templates; selecting one will create a new Render Pass using that template. |
Duplicate Render Pass
This item displays a sub-menu listing all the Render Passes in the scene (not the templates). Selecting one will duplicate it.
When a new Render Pass node is created using Create Render Pass, Create Render Pass from Template or Duplicate Render Pass, but not when using the Create Render Pass in the Render Settings window, it is automatically selected in Maya upon creation and displayed in the Attribute Editor where it can be given a new name.
Save Render Pass as Template
A Render Pass can be saved as a template to add it to the list of templates. All templates are listed in the Create Render Pass from Template menu. This could be useful for example to create a standard pre-defined Render Pass across multiple scenes or across multiple projects. To create a Render Pass template, first create a Render Pass, rename it and configure its attributes as desired. Then select that Render Pass in the sub-menu Save Render Pass as Template to save it. This menu item lists all Render Pass in the scene. Clicking on one saves it as a template. It will now be available across multiple scenes.
Each template is saved in a separate file in the template folder as specified in the 3Delight Data Locations window. The default location puts it inside the Maya Project, which is good if you want to share the templates among all the scenes in your project. But is not a good location if you want to share these templates among different projects. In this case, you are advised to change it to a location of your choice (outside of the Maya Project).