reference renderlayer colon batch issue

[Narann]

Outch!
I suppose the only way you have is to create each batch line yourself, giving a "good-writted" folder and remove the %l of your render settings (But it's a very interesting problem you have here).

Good luck! :wavey:

[mputtkammer]

Hi freel@ncer,

Thank you for posting.

Would you mind describing the batch line approach?
That would need accessing the variables of the renderlayer names.
I have not found this to be possible during batch time.
A pointer on where to start or a resource would suffice.

The colon issue only occured with Rfm 2.0.
Maya software and hardware are fine,
they replace colons by underscore automatically.

Regards,
Martin

[Narann]

Ok!

first, a render line:

render -r mr -s 1 -e 200 -rl Amb_rl -rd z:\my_project\s10c21\images z:\my_project\s10c21\scenes\s10c21.ma

Describtion:
render << the first render.exe windows (I suppose) will find in you environment variable PATH
-r mr << rendering engine. Here "mr", mental ray
-s 1 -e 200 << start and end frame
-rl Amb_rl << your render layer name
-rd << render directory
and the path of your scene.

Copy this line in a texte file, change the extension .txt to .bat, launch it directly and it will render it.

You can't "access" to the render layer names directly from the bat (and use it as a variable).

There is lot to say about reference and "render layer referencing". It is possible but you have to be very rigorous (with render layer index):

When you create reference, you can share render layer by name or index.
The way to follow is to be strict with your render layer index for each scene (you can find the index attribute viewing the attribute of your render layer).
Next you have to create (in your new scene) the render layer with good index and a good name (here: Amb_rl) and to select "by index" in the create reference options.

Once it's done, you don't have namespaces in you render layers. The keep the name you create (Amb_rl) but are (somehow) "merge" with the render layer.

(All of that is not very difficult to understand but there is a lot of thing to experiment to understanding the concept).

This way, you don't have to give the "-rd" flag to save you picture in a specific directory but just use "internal variables" of maya in the "File name prefix".

Exemple:
%c\%l\%l
will save you image in the: <your_project_dir>\<camera_name>\<render_layer_name>\<render_layer_name>.tiff

About the renderman specificity, I can't help you, I'm sorry...
You maybe can do a:
render -r <the_renderman_engine_name> -h
to see specifics renderman options flag...

Maybe I hope this informations could help you to find another way rendering you nices pictures ;)

Have a good day! :wavey:

[mputtkammer]

Hi Freel@ncer,

That is a lot of precise knowledge you are sharing.
Thank you very much for that one!

I will put them to practice now.
Any experiences I have will be entered in this thread.

Have a nice day,
Martin

[Narann]

The best way you can thank me is, as you say, sharing your experiences about reference and render layer.

I spend lot of time finding that (looking in documentation and trying by myself) and it's a kind a tricks wich are unfortunatly not very present on the web.

Another things (wich is a real problem in production):
If you switch too much in referenced render layers, sometime you have problem with "multi-depth-references" and you renderlayer create a error with shaders bugs...

It's not impossible to go back but very "heavy", you have to edit the editString of you reference (in your reference editor/File/list reference edits...) and remove all lines wich have a relation with shading group (search for dagNodeThing-trick...).
Because, this list is actually mel commands wich are executed once your model is loaded in your scene. All the modification you made in your scenes are writed here (it's a kind of "modificationList" wich made relation between your reference scene and your scene.

Actually, when you switch with referenced render layer, maya disconnect and reconnect shaders to shading groups...

This is very importante to understand that when you use reference and more when you share component (like render layers for exemple ;) )

The functioning of the maya reference system is very powerfull (If you mastering in mel) but the Reference Editor is really a big dung... A lot of reference specifics tools are not present like remove lines wich talk about a specific kind of node (like shading group node for exemple :) ).
This way, you could delete modification you wont.
For animation it's very interesting for "block" animators to make something they don't have to do in the scene (like animate bones.... yes there are...)

Bye and good luck! :wavey:

[mputtkammer]

Again, thanks a bunch!
Nothing I can add to that right now.

Except that when one uses Character sets in referenced animation scenes,
one must never delete the original character set in the master scene,
since Maya does not reconnect a Character set by name and the names of included attributes, but (not sure here) by the DAG Nodes ID.

So a character set, which has the exact same name and exact same attributes, but stems
from another than the original master scene, will not be connected to already keyes attributes in the file which references to the master.

This can be a killer if you did not save the master scene with the original master scene and the appropriate original Character set.

I am thinking about implementing custom ways of building character sets which connect solely by name, so that one can change the sets easily.

Martin

[mputtkammer]

Hi freel@ncer,

I just added an edit at the top of the page.
If had known this earlier, I would certainly not had you
go through the hassle of explaining all the renderline details.
Sorry for that.

But I learnt a lot,
Thanks,
Martin

[Narann]

If had known this earlier, I would certainly not had you
go through the hassle of explaining all the renderline details.
Sorry for that.
It's not a problem, maybe it will help someone else ;)

About the character set problem, in the editString list, there is a failed connection...
You can maybe copy them (I use MEL because you can't made a copy-paste in the "list reference edits"), modify them (change the name) and execute them as mel commands...

But of course modify master scene is very dangerous and you have to be aware of what you do!
That's why, on great projects, you must have one personne expert on that (often the TD) and wich do this kind of manipulation...

;)

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