Vraytoon, if you could turn it on and off in VFB

[pailhead]

Here's an idea.

I sometimes do line drawings for architectural renders when working with architects on design development. I forgot to tick it off when i switched back to materials and GI, and didn't realize until it was done. Not sure if it's a good idea, but it would be cool if this would just be an effect that renders every time or something, and you can just tick it on and off in the VFB.

Thoughts?

[vlado]

It can be a rather slow thing to calculate, so having it always on is probably not something that you want. However you can always render black outlines with white VRayLightMtl materials and no lighting, and overlay the toon lines in PhotoShop or something.

Best regards,
Vlado

[windowlicker]

I just finished a render with lighMtl and toon... and to me it feels like a somewhat unnecessary extra step. Would it be possible to implement vray toon as a render element?

[vlado]

I just finished a render with lighMtl and toon... and to me it feels like a somewhat unnecessary extra step.

It's not regardless of how it feels. For example, toon lines in reflections/refractions/dof/moblur can't be done in any other way except as an integral part of the rendering.

Would it be possible to implement vray toon as a render element?

The outlines will go into the "VRayAtmospheric" render element, so long as they are different from black. But even if it was a separate render element, you'd still have to remember to add it and if you didn't you'd have to re-render again, so things would be exactly the same as they are now. And it is too expensive an effect to always have it enabled (the thin lines require extra AA samples).

Best regards,
Vlado

[windowlicker]

Well, If you do render with toon, the lines will show up in all the render elements. Like the Z-buffer for instance, which I find particularly odd. Makes the Z pass useless as a depth map for lens blur in PS for example.

I can see why you want to use vray toon in reflections, refractions and moblur... but it's when you only need it as an artistic layer - a clean "line art" layer that can be comped in various ways - that's when it feels unnecessary. I use the Extratex pass with a vray dirt material to get the AO whenever I need it, it does take a lot of extra render time, but it is very useful to have that option whenever you need it. It would be great to have that option for vray toon aswell, even though it might take extra time to render; something to turn on when you need it. And it would be great if that pass was invisible in the RGBA pass.

[vlado]

Well, If you do render with toon, the lines will show up in all the render elements. Like the Z-buffer for instance, which I find particularly odd. Makes the Z pass useless as a depth map for lens blur in PS for example.

That's a good point, but it won't help if you forget to add the toon in the first place.

It would be great to have that option for vray toon aswell, even though it might take extra time to render; something to turn on when you need it. And it would be great if that pass was invisible in the RGBA pass.

This can probably be done and I'll make a note to look into it; but it will be somewhat limited compared to VRayToon.

Best regards,
Vlado

[windowlicker]

Hehe but I don't forget.

Yes, of course it will not be the same thing if it is excluded from the rest of the render. But I've been in this business for 8 years now, and so far I've never used vray to render the full scene. I always comp it in PS, using overlay or soft light blend modes. Gives a much more subtle line... which is also maskable.
Having it as a render element would be a great addition to what it does now. Thanks for looking into it!