Render Palette

From ZBrush Info

The Render palette controls which methods will be used to calculate the shading of scenes. Lighting, color, and material properties are evaluated, and render-level special effects such as fog and depth cueing are included.

Controls

Cursor: When you drag the Cursor button to the canvas, a sample area centered around the mouse release position is rendered using the Best Renderer. To re-render the same location after making changes, press Ctrl-R.

Render: Causes ZBrush to render the entire document with the current settings.

Best: Used for the final render, the Best Renderer uses the best (and slowest) methods to produce the highest quality image. Shadows must be rendered using this renderer.

If you try to work in the Best Renderer mode, ZBrush will automatically switch to the Preview Renderer. There's one exception to this; if you have a floating object in the scene, you can make changes to its material properties and the Best Renderer will re-render only the object and its bounding box.

Preview: The default renderer, used when composing a scene. It will show most properties of the scene (exluding shadows, complex fog, light colors, depth cue and some other effects). It does show transparency, but the Best renderer is significantly better in most situations.

Fast: The fast renderer does not render materials, only basic shading. This makes it ideal for modeling, since it is very fast and shows surface details due to geometry, not materials.

Flat: Allows you to see the scene with no shading, just basic color.

3D Shading: Controls the amount of shading in the Preview render. 0%= flat shading, 100%= fully shaded. Default = 100%

Fog: Click to enable the fog effect. The properties of the fog are adjusted in the Fog sub-palette. Used only by the Preview (which displays only basic fog) and Best Render mode.

Depth Cue: Click to enable the Depth Cue effect. Depth Cue simulates the blurring that results from an object being too close or too far away from a camera. The properties of the depth cue are adjusted in the Depth Cue sub-palette. Used only by the Best Render mode.

Flatten: When active, all document layers are rendered as one layer. This button must be turned off before material transparency effects can be rendered. Default = on.

Shadows: Click to enable shadow rendering. At least one light in the scene must have shadow casting enabled also. Used only by the Best Render mode.

SoftZ: Evaluates which material is assigned to each pixol. Activating Depth Adjustments can clean up intersections between multiple objects in your final render. Enable only when needed. Used only by the Best Render mode.

SoftRGB: Blurs edges in the image to reduce edge artifacts (blockiness). See Antialiasing, below. Used only by the Best Render mode.

Antialiasing Subpalette

Blur: Sets the intensity of the blur. Range = 0 to 100%. Default = 100%.

Edge: Controls at which edge sharpness eges are antialiased. Range 0 to 100%. Default = 25%. A setting of 0% will antialias only very sharp, edges, 100% will blur the entire image.

Size: The number of pixols evaluated when producing the blur. Larger sample sizes produce more blur. Range = 1 to 8. Default = 1.

Super Sample: Causes ZBrush to render the same image several times and then average the results for better final quality. Range = 1 to 4. Default = 1. A setting of 2 causes four renders, 3 causes eight renders, and 4 causes 16 renders.

Note: The best possible antialiasing is produced by working on a canvas that is twice the final size. After rendering, press the Zoom:AA Half button to display the image at half size using optimal antialiasing. When displayed in this mode, the image will be exported at half size with antialiasing intact.

Depth Cue Subpalette

Rendering with depth cues is only available in Best Render mode. Depth cues cause the image to be rendered with different levels of bluriness at different depths. This can be used to, for example, simulate the effect of a lens that focuses sharply at only one depth, or atmospheric haze that causes distant objects to appear blurrier.

Depth Cue Alpha: You can modify the depth cue effect by using Depth Cue Alpha. Click the Depth Cue Alpha patch to access the texture sub-palette and choose a texture. It will be converted to grayscale alpha and stretched over the entire canvas area. Each pixol of the alpha will determine the intensity of the depth cue at that location. White areas give the strongest depth cue effect, black areas give no effect. Useful for restricting the depth cue effect to a selected area of the canvas.

Intensity: Sets the intensity of the blur at its far point. Range = 0 to 100%. Default = 100%.

Softness: The number of pixols averaged to produce the blur. Higher numbers produce more blur. Range = 1 to 8. Default = 4

Depth1: Depth1 is the near point of the depth cue effect. There is no blurring at this distance. The blurring begins as depth increases. Type in the Z depth directly or click and drag from the slider to the canvas to set the value; pick an object at the depth where you want the depth cue to begin and release the mouse button.

Depth2: Depth 2 is the far point of the depth cue effect. There is full blurring at this distance. Type in the Z depth directly or click and drag from the slider to the canvas to pick a depth.

On the left, a fish rendered without depth cuing. On the right, the same fish rendered with Depth 1 set on its nose and Depth 2 set on its tail.

Depth Cue Curve: Clicking on the collapsed Depth Cue Curve area of the sub-palette expands the Depth Cue Curve to its full size. You can adjust the intensity of the depth cue between the near point (Depth1) and far point (Depth2) by adjusting the curve.

Note: By setting a high depth cue intensity at each end of the curve, and a low intensity at an intermediate point, you can achieve a "lens effect", where depths both in front of and behind the focal plane of lens of the virtual camera are blurred.

Fog Subpalette

The controls of this palette can be used to obtain a fog effect; different depths or areas of the canvas may be partly or fully obscured by a foggy or smoky haze.

Intensity: Sets the intensity of the fog at its far point. Range = 0 to 100%. Default = 100%.

Depth1: Depth1 is the near point of the fog effect. There is no fog effect at this distance. The fog effect becomes stronger as depth increases. Type in the Z depth directly or click and drag from the slider to the canvas to set the value; pick a object a pixol at the depth you want the fog to begin.

Depth2: Depth2 is the far point of the fog effect. There is full fog at this distance. Set the value as for Depth1.

Fog Color 1: Fog Color 1 is the color of the fog at the near point of the fog effect. Set by selecting a color with any of the color pickers and clicking on the Fog Color 1 patch. You can also click and drag from the Fog Color 1 to any part of the canvas or interface to pick a color.

Fog Texture: You can also colorize the fog by using a bitmap texture. You can produce other environmental effects, such as smog, by using a fog texture. Click and hold on the Fog Texture patch to access the texture sub-palette and choose a texture. It will be stretched over the entire canvas area. Each pixel of the texture will determine the color of the fog at that location.

Note: A Fog Texture will override Fog Color 1 and Fog Color 2 settings.

Fog Alpha: You can further modify the fog effect by using Fog Alpha. Click and hold on the Fog Alpha patch to access the texture sub-palette and choose a texture. It will be treated as a grayscale alpha and stretched over the entire canvas area. Each pixel of the alpha will determine the intensity of the fog at that location. When the alpha is white, there is maximum fog. When the alpha is black, there is no fog effect.

Fog Color 2: Fog Color 2 is the color of the fog at the far point of the fog effect. Set as for Fog Color 1

Left: A fish with with no fog effects. Right: Same fish with fog effects, Depth 1 set on its nose, Depth 2 set on its tail and a light blue Fog color 1 and Fog Color 2.

Fog Curve: Clicking on the collapsed Fog Curve area of the sub-palette expands the Fog Curve to its full size. You can adjust the intensity of the fog between the near point (Depth 1) and far point (Depth 2) by adjusting the curve.

For example, setting the left end of this curve to the max value and the right end to the min value would render a scene with the closest objects being the foggiest, and the most distant being the clearest.

Fast Render Subpalette

Since the Fast Renderer does not take materials into account, an ambient and diffuse setting for the entire scene is set here.

Ambient: Determines how much ambient (unshaded) light is rendered for all objects on the canvas. Used only by the Fast Renderer. Range = 0 to 1. Default = 0.3.

Diffuse: Determines how much diffuse shading is applied to all objects on the canvas. Used only by the Fast Renderer. Range = 0 to 1. Default = 0.8.

Preview Shadows Subpalette

Environment Subpalette

The ZBrush Environment palette allows you to globally reflect a single image or color on all the objects in the scene with reflective surfaces. The amount of environmental reflection is set in the Material palette for each material.

Off: Turns off Color, Texture, or Scene reflections. Default = pressed (environmental reflections off).

Color: When on, lets you use a single color for global reflections. Pressing the Color button enables the Environment Color patch.

Txtr: Allows a texture to be used for global reflections. Pressing the Texture button enables the Environment Texture patch.

Scene: When on, uses the current scene as a source image for global reflections.

Environment Color (in the figure above, the blue square): When the Color switch is on, use this patch to selecte the environment color. Select a color with any of the color pickers and click on Environment Color, or click and drag from Environment Color to any part of the canvas or interface to pick a color.

Environment Texture (in the figure above, the small square showing a scene): When Txtr is on, click and hold on the Environment Texture patch to access the texture sub-palette and choose a texture.

Trace Distance: The trace distance is how far ZBrush will look to find a local object to reflect. Range = 0 to 100% of the current image size. Default = 50%.

Repeat: Controls how many times a reflective surface can reflect another reflective surface. The effect can be visualized by facing two mirrors at each other. Range = 1 to 5. Default = 1.

Field of View: Sets the field of view for environmental mapping and lights. A setting of zero degrees causes the point of view to be infinitely far away. A setting of 180 degrees places the point of view right above the canvas. Range = 0 to 180 degrees. Default = 0.

Field of View = 0

Field of View = 120

Field of View = 180

Adjustments Subpalette

Adjustments allow you to make color corrections to the final render without permanently altering it. The four curves at the bottom of this subpalette are, respectively, the RGB Level, Red Level, Green Level, and Blue Level adjustment curves

Adjust: Enables the adjustment variables. After the values are changed, the adjustments can be turned on and off with the Adjust button. All adjustment values are saved with the ZBrush scene file.

Clr: Clears all adjustments to their default values.

Contrast: Varies the contrast of the entire image. Range = -100 to 100. Default = 0.

Brightness: Varies the brightness of the entire image. Range = -100 to 100. Default = 0.

RGB Level, Red Level, Green Level, and Blue Level curves: Clicking on a collapsed curve area of the sub-palette expands the clicked adjustment curve to its full size. You can adjust the intensity of the colors between their minimum and maximum values by adjusting the shape of their curves.

For more information on how real-time shadows work, seel Real-Time Shadows.

ObjShadow: Controls the intensity of the model's real-time shadows.

BackShadow: Acts as a drop shadow cast by the current model and projected onto the canvas. The slider value controls the intensity of the shadow.

Length: Increases the scan range that ZBrush uses to create the shadow. A larger Length will lengthen and soften the shadow but will also increase computation time.

Slope: Equals the azimuth of the light used to project the shadow. All shadows fall at a 45 degree angle across the canvas. This can not be altered. Slope controls the angle in Y at which the light casts the shadows. Zero means that the light is directly overhead of the model. A larger number means that the light is more in front of the model.

Depth: Deepens and enlarges the shadows. The effect of Depth depends on the setting for Slope; at small settings of Slope, changing Depth will have little effect.