How to correctly render Char/BG layers in maya

#1

Hi I am trying to understand the best way to render a Character/BG beauty layer in maya.
I know I can add the char into a render layer and the BG into another but that wont take into account how the the character reflects the environment, receives shadows, FG, etc…
So an approach that I’ve been taking is to add the BG to the char layer and then turn off Primary visibility on the BG objects. But this feels a bit cumbersome, is there a better way to do this?

#2

The studio I worked for did pretty much this, but we build custom tools/scripts to make our lives a bit easier. You could also create another layer for Ambient Occlusion and one for the contact shadows. I guess that more or less depends on how much freedom you want.

#3

Step one, keep an eye on the hierarchy in your shot, hierarchy is good