backdrops wont show up in renders :/
I recently reintroduced my self to daz after a few years of inactivity. I made the switch to daz 4.5 pro, which works wonderfully in most respects. However, when I apply a backdrop, it stretches out and does not cover the entire field like i want it to. I originally ignored this because when the render started the back drop seemed to show up fine but when i save the render and opened up the file, there was no backdrop in the render. Does anyone know how to fix either of these problems???
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Did you use a Image on a primitive plane or did you load it as a Backdrop image. My guess is the second one, then you saved the render in PNG format. Png makes the Background area a clear Alpha channel un-less a real object like a primitive plane is used.
I hope this helps.
< nods at Jaderail > Yes, the alpha channel in a .png file is very likely your problem — most programs that you can load images into have a default behaviour of making the alpha channel in a .png transparent. Whatever progam you're using, check its image viewing preferences to see if there's an option to turn this behaviour off.
thanks :D i now feel slightly retarded XD
No need to feel down about not knowing this — it's a basic property of the .png image format, but I don't often see it (or the effects it can cause) mentioned prominently or explained properly in manuals or tutorials, so the effect you've tripped over comes as a major surprise to many people.
It can also be a surprise because the structure of a 3d render, with any background image stripped out from the image of the in-scene objects and stored in a separate alpha channel, is not seen in almost all other pics you might come across on the internet. Digital artists might be more familiar with the concept, but almost all of them will flatten an image (removing the alpha channel) or convert to an image format that doesn't have an alpha channel (e.g. jpg), before releasing an image.
I use PNGs all the time, because of the alpha channel. Bryce recognises it, so it saves me from having to make alpha maps when I am texturing something I use in Bryce. They are also uncompressed images, so better quality, but of course that makes them larger in kb size.