When loading an image in the environment editor for lighting the scene, for example and HDRI image is it possible to load the image so it only lights the object in the scene and is not set as a backdrop?

Hope someone can help.

If my memory isn't playing tricks you can but I think it depends on which version of Vue you are using.  It may be an Infinite and xStream only feature.  Which version are you using?

I'm at work so I can't check the details right now but someone else can probably pipe up and help you with the details.

In Infinite you can have 3 separate maps: the environment map itself (which is the backdrop), the illumination map and the reflection map. By default, when you load the environment map, they are all made equal but you can chose to make them all diferent, if you like. Of course, if you just delete the environment map, you will have a black backdrop. Instead of deleting the environment map, you can put something (an object, a plane, whatever) in front of the camera that just blocks the backdrop. So, there are several ways of achieving the same result.

Thanks for the reply both of you.

I am using Vue 6 xstream version.

Rutra by loading the backdrop and then deleting it will the object in the scene still be lit by the backdrop?

What I want to achieve is lighting objects in a scene, rendering and then exporting as a TGA without the hassle of then rotoscoping the background image out. If I placed a plane behind the object and made it completely black then maybe I could matte it out? However if the backdrop is deleted and still my scene object is lit perhaps that would be the best way, as the background would just be black. I will have a fiddle.

Cheers Guys

Quote: "by loading the backdrop and then deleting it will the object in the scene still be lit by the backdrop?"

If you just delete the backdrop without defining a separate illumination map, the answer is no. But if you define a separate illumination map, the backdrop has no influence on the illumination of the scene and therefore the answer would be yes in this case.

Hey Rutra,

I followed your instructions, added the environment map, then made the illumination and reflection map seperate, subsequently deleting the background environment map, which turned the whole backdrop black with the object still lit, so thanks for the help there.

However the problem I am experiencing now is when rendering the scene and saving the image. What I want is to be able to save the image so the background is transparent. Then I can use a completely different layered image as a backdrop. Although the backdrop has been deleted in Vue, the black background is still seen as part of the image. I tried inverting it, which turned the backdrop white and setting up the render for object only, but this has not solved the problem for matting out the background or making it transparent. Any suggestions?  

Ta

I would suggest using the alpha image or the depth image (also know as Z-image). Using these images in photoshop as basis for selection you can easily just cut the black backdrop from the color image and replace it with something else you like.

Ok I will try that Rutra by rendering to disk and then cutting out the backdrop, cheers.