Ok, this is nuts. Specs first. Maya 2015, Windows 7, rendering a scene (1351 frames) in Mental Ray with multiple render layers, has to be done in Mental Ray due to Materials needed.
Problem:
On this one object in the scene (an arcade machine) a texture on the side is not rendering in batch, but will in single frame render. It’s just coming through as black in the batch render though. Lambert shader with image as texture.
Things I have tried which have made this even more confusing:
Adding a light right in front of the side that’s black, no change, still black.
Removing the image texture and turning the shader color white, renders white.
Changing the image texture to another image texture in the scene that is rendering. Shows that image just fine, both images are PNG.
Converting the image I want to use to JPG (from PNG) and IFF. No change, still rendering as black in batch.
Making an entirely new image from scratch as a replacement texture. No change, still black.
Scaling down the size of the image and reapplying, No change, still black.
Breaking the original image into two parts. One transparent, one not. Duplicating the surface and applying each image as a texture. No change, still black.
Adding just the background as the texture. No change, still black.
Adding just the image with transparency as the texture. Rendered with the transparent part.
Uploading image to the web redownloading and reapplying. No change, still black.
Breaking the file connection and assigning a new material with a new file connection. No change, still black.
Yelling at the computer to work right. No change, still black.
Does anyone have any idea wtf Maya is on?