3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [276]
Tip
The little lock icon next to the viewport indicates that the selected viewport is always rendered when the Render button is clicked, regardless of the active viewport. •
When you click the Render button, the Rendering dialog box appears. This dialog box, shown in Figure 23.3, displays all the settings for the current render job and tracks its progress. The Rendering dialog box also includes Pause and Cancel buttons for halting the rendering process. If the rendering is stopped, the Rendering dialog box disappears, but the Rendered Frame Window stays open.
Caution
If you close the Rendered Frame Window, the render job still continues. To cancel the rendering, click the Pause or Cancel button, or press the Esc key on your keyboard. •
FIGURE 23.3
The Rendering dialog box displays the current render settings and progress of the render job.
Tip
After you've set up the render settings for an image, you can re-render an image without opening the Render Scene dialog box by clicking the Quick Render button on the main toolbar, by selecting the Rendering⇒Render menu command, by using the Shift+Q keyboard shortcut, or by selecting a render option from the Render Shortcuts toolbar. The F9 shortcut renders the last viewport again. •
Common parameters
The Common Parameters rollout in the Render Scene dialog box includes the same controls regardless of the renderer being used.
Specifying range and size
The Time Output section defines which animation frames to include in the output. The Single option renders the current frame specified by the Time Slider. The Active Time Segment option renders the complete range of frames. The Range option lets you set a unique range of frames to render by entering the beginning and ending frame numbers. The last option is Frames, where you can enter individual frames and ranges using commas and hyphens. For example, entering “1, 6, 8-12” renders frames 1, 6, and 8 through 12. The Every Nth Frame value is active for the Active Time Segment and Range options. It renders every nth frame in the active segment. For example, entering 3 would cause every third frame to be rendered. This option is useful for sped-up animations. The File Number Base is the number to add to or subtract from the current frame number for the reference numbers attached to the end of each image file. For example, a File Number Base value of 10 for a Range value of 1–10 would label the files as image0011, image0012, and so on.
Tip
Don't render long animation sequences using the .avi, .mpeg, or .mov formats. If the rendering has trouble, the entire file will be corrupt. Instead, choose to render the frames as individual images. These individual images can then be reassembled into a video format using Max's RAM Player, the Video Post interface, or an external package like Adobe's Premiere. •
The Output Size section defines the resolution of the rendered images or animation. The drop-down list includes a list of standard film and video resolutions, including various 35mm and 70mm options, Anamorphic, Panavision, IMAX, VistaVision, NTSC (National Television Standards Committee), PAL (Phase Alternate Line), and HDTV standards. A Custom option allows you to select your own resolution.
Tip
Setting up the aspect ratio of the final rendering at the start of the project is helpful. Once an aspect ratio is established, you can use the Safe Frames panel in the Viewport Configuration dialog box to display the borders of the render region in the viewport. •
Aperture Width is a property of cameras that defines the relationship between the lens and the field of view. The resolutions listed in the Aperture Width drop-down