Render passes - what do they mean?

[jhiker]

Hi,
Could someone please explain to a layman what the various render passes in this dialogue mean and when it might be appropriate to use them? I couldn't find much information in the manual.
Many thanks,
Jeff

[Speedster]

This is just another of the amazing new features in KS4.

Clown is the most useful in my opinion.  In KS3 and earlier I always created a clown pass as my final render, then closed KS without saving.  Now, a simple checked box does it automatically.  It creates a flat color, usually quite ghastly and bright, for each part or mapped surface, with no two adjacent parts or surfaces the same.  You drop the clown pass into Photoshop, usually as your first layer.  Then use the "Place" command to insert your beauty shot.  Then, LOCK the layers!!!  Now, using the Magic Wand, you can select any of the colors, or all similiar, or several different colors in the Clown layer and use the selection to create adjustment layers or drop outs.

The clown below was created automatically during the render. 

Layers is similiar, but creates a separate JPEG of each part, material or whatever, for use much like above.  I usually don't do a Layer pass as it can really slow down the render time.  But there are times when it's worth it.

The best thing is to just play with them and see how or if it helps you in post.

I'm not that familiar yet with the other options, and look forward to others piping in with guidance.

Bill G

[Robb63]

That's funny Bill, I always used to do the clown colors last too, and force myself to remember not to save!

Funny how people evolve the same workarounds.