PixelCG Podcast

In the second part will look into separating the scene elements in spate passes and incorporating render layers in our work-flow.

Render passes were first introduced in Maya 2009. The terms Render Layers and Render Passes are sometimes used interchangeably. However, this is inaccurate. In this tutorial we will explore how to extract the render passes out of Maya and going through all the available options.

In this session we will have a closer look at the mia_photometric_light. This node is not only allowing you to achieve more realistic lighting , but it will also make your GI solution much easier and faster to work with.

In this session we will have a closer look at how to use the mip Shaders, in particular the mip_rayswitch and mip_rayswitch_advanced. This Shader will act as a gateway for the outgoing rays that are bouncing of an object or an environment. For example you can change the color of the reflection of any giving object in the scene. It can also be used to alter environments.

In this session we will have a closer look at how to use the mip Shaders, in particular the mip_grayball. This is a simple Shader that can be utilized to shade an object via a texture file, very similar to the behavior of Mudbox lit Sphere material. With this workflow you can achieve the same look that you have in any 3D package, just by using a simple rendered sphere.

In this session we will have a closer look at how to use the mip Shaders, in particular the mip_gamma_gain. This is a simple Shader that can be utilized to allow a linear workflow. It can be used either on a texture or on the entire render.

In this session we will have a closer look at how to use the mip Shaders, in particular the mip_render_subset. This lens Shader will allow us to re-render an element of your scene without the need to render the entire file. Elements can be defined by an object name or a single material Shader.

In this session we will have a closer look at how to use the mip Shaders, in particular the mip_rayswitch_environment, the mip_cameramap, and the mip_mirrorball to composite 3d elements onto a live action background.

In this session we will have a closer look at the mip_binaryproxy and how to use it as an object holder for a complex geometry that will only appear at render time

In this session we will have a closer look at the mip_motion_vector and how to use it in post to get fast render of our motion blur.

In this session we will have a closer look at the mip_motionblur and how to use it to speed up our render time when using motion blur.

The production Shader library contains a set of Shaders aimed at production users of mental ray. They are hidden by default. In this episode we will explore how to expose these shades in Autodesk Maya.