However, just a thought, depending on what 'kind of render' you are looking for. Maybe if you had a map of the football obj you could try 'cloning' the football with a second that has a Transparancy applied and slightly larger than the actual obj (ie a whole in the larger "White" football). From there you can maybe play with camera angles, lighting, and perhaps transparancy settings on the 'outline' ball. (be sure to parant the 'dummy-outline' ball to the object football) Did I make any sense? Will it help?