9.5.2

716 • CHAPTER 13
RENDERING • RENDER SETTINGS • 717
The Global Illumination and Caustics layers contain the effects created by global illumination and
caustics and are of use only if the optional Advanced Render module is installed.
The RGBA layer is the complete image — the same image as with normal rendering. An alpha channel
will be included if Alpha Channel is enabled on the Save page of the render settings.
The Ambient layer shows the illumination generated by an Environment object if used.
Atmosphere adds a layer for environment fog and volumetric effects such as volumetric light.
Atmosphere (Multiply) can be used optionally with Atmosphere to help conceal objects that are
behind the volumetric effects (a multiplied atmosphere layer is used).
Illumination adds a layer for the color and brightness of surfaces illuminated by light sources.
Depth adds a depth map — object surfaces are shaded in grayscale according to their distance from
the camera. The closer a surface is to the camera, the darker its shading in the depth map.
Depth multi-pass channel with Front Blur and Rear Blur enabled.
The Depth channel denes the distribution of depth in the scene. This information can be used in
compositing applications to create visual effects. Black parts represent the focus (Target Distance on
the Camera’s Depth of Field page in the Attribute manager).
The contrast of the grayscale Depth channel is controlled by the camera’s blur
settings. For full contrast, set the Start value for Front Blur to immediately
before the object closest to the camera. Set the End value for Rear Blur to
immediately after the object farthest from the camera. The easiest way to set
these values is to drag the camera’s handles in the viewport.