Render Settings

In the Render Settings section, you may determine if you want to export and render only the current frame or a specified range of frames; the resolution for the image or images to be rendered.

Since Indigo will render your scene infinitely, you may also want to set a render time limit for each frame you render.

You are allowed to optionally save the rendering Indigo Scene into an IGI file for pause-and-continue rendering, enable aperture diffraction for bloom effects, or choose your preferred tracing method.

Basic Exporting Method

The basic exporting method is to export the current frame to Indigo and render. You can use this method to generate a single image (creating a poster, for example) or take it as the preview before rendering sequential images for building an animation.

1. Prepare a project in iClone.
   

   Note:

   Please note that there are only a plane, a character, a directional light, and a point light in this project.

2. In the Export Range group within the Render Settings section, choose one of the radio buttons to determine if you want to export one image or a sequence of images (in this case, the Current Frame is chosen for previewing the project).
3. In the Export Size group, set the resolution for the image to be rendered in Indigo.

   Note:

   For previewing, choose a small size; as for product media, choose a larger size.

4. Export the current project as an Indigo scene for rendering.
   
   • If you want to generate a product quality image, then click the Export button at the bottom of this panel.
     
     You will be asked to export and save the current project as an Indigo Scene file (*.igs).
   • If you simply want to preview the project, then click the Render Scene button on the iClone Indigo Render toolbar.
     

   Note:

   You may check out the rendering result in Indigo and then perform further adjustments in iClone.

Exporting Sequential Images

If you want to create an animation with an iClone project rendered via Indigo, you need to export the project frame by frame into a queue file (*.igq), individually render the frames in Indigo, and then combine the rendered image into an animation video.

1. Prepare an iClone project with animation.
2. Preview the rendered result by exporting one of the frames to Indigo as described in the previous section.
   

   Note:

   You may then adjust the iClone project in accordance with the rendered result.

3. Choose the Range radio button in the Export Range group within the Render Settings section.
   
   • Use the From and To values to determine the range of the frames to be rendered.
   • The Frame Rate value determines the number of frames to be exported in the queue.
   • The Image Completion determines when to stop rendering the current frame and start rendering the next one.
     • Sample per Pixel: This option causes Indigo to track the sampling time for each pixel of the image. When the number of the sampling times hits the value you have entered, Indigo stops rendering the current frame and moves on to the next one.

       Note:

       How to Determine the Value of Sampling per Pixel (SPP) As you use Indigo to preview the rendering result, please check out the information line at the bottom of the 3D view in Indigo. The sample per pixel number is on it. When the rendering quality is visually optimized, you will know the 'sweet spot' for your SPP value range.

     • Second(s): This value forces Indigo to stop rendering the current frame and move on to the next one when the rendering time is equal to the one you have entered.
4. Click the Export button to save the frames within the range into an Indigo render queue file (*.igq).
   

   Note:

   The folder exported along with the Indigo queue file (*.igq) contains Indigo scene files (*.igs), folders of meshes, and folders of texture images. You are not supposed to remove this folder or any files, subfolders within it.

5. Double click the Indigo queue file to start rendering.

   Note:

   To observe the process of rendering, open the Render Settings panel in Indigo, select the Render Queue in the drop-down list.

6. When each frame in the queue is rendered, you will get a number of well-rendered images in PNG format.
   

   Note:

   These images, by default, will be stored in the folder exported along with the Indigo queue file (*.igq).

7. Use video editing tools to combine these images to create your animation video.

   Note:

   Please refer to the More Options of Render Settings section for more information.