Quick question regarding renderering

paulcopeland · Post by **paulcopeland** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:03 pm

Hello.

I am about to produce my first little beginner's animation which lasts about 1 minute 30 seconds.

The animation has about 6 layer images, plus about 6 vector layers and 3 background layers.

Could someone please let me know in general terms, if it takes longer to render an animation with image layers as opposed to rendering with vector layers.

Many thanks.

Paul.

madrobot · Post by **madrobot** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:10 pm

I'm not sure to be honest,
can you run a small test maybe?
Set the project properties to only render out
about 50 frames, and see how long it takes
with image layers on and then off?

I'd assume image layers would be quick,
vector layers are quick too until you
apply shape effects, and changing opacity
seems to bog things down a little. I think.

(And as for your thread heading,
"renderERing" is a whole other ballgame.
I'm pretty sure that's when you render
a picture of a guy sitting watching his
computer waiting for the damn thing
to render.)

Genete · Post by **Genete** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:16 pm

It depends on the size of the images and on the complexity of the vector layers and its effects (particles for example).
The final size of the render has definitively the most influence on the render time. Anyway, 6 image layers plus 6 vector layers and 3 background layers will render quickly in any decent new computer.
-G

paulcopeland · Post by **paulcopeland** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:21 am

Thank you for the responses.

I will try a few test renders with a limited number of frames.

seeya,

Paul.

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:48 am

My experience is, all things being equal (and they are often not) an image layer will definitely slow down the render. I know this for sure -- if I have a background image it's far faster to render the foreground with alpha and composite in post than it is to render all in AS (by maybe as much as 50%).

madrobot · Post by **madrobot** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:53 am

Genete has a point, unless you're rendering a whole
heap of footage, the rendering time won't be a big deal.

I try to prep files and batch render them overnight
when possible, otherwise at crunch time I'll have the work
machine batch rendering and keep working on scenes on
my laptop.

I tested a cool trick - you can have batch renders running,
copy updated scenes to your machine and drop them into the batch render window, and it just keeps chugging along.

madrobot · Post by **madrobot** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:03 am

Yep mkelley
It's only now heading for the end of the job
that I've been seperating shots out into layers
to speed up amendments.

I had meant to do so from the start, but it seems
it's only as you get to the end of a job that you
work out the best way to do it - and then it's over.

Anyway, learn every day I guess

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:25 pm

madrobot wrote: it seems
it's only as you get to the end of a job that you
work out the best way to do it - and then it's over.

Anyway, learn every day I guess

LOL. Yep, I always know *exactly* how best to do the job after I've done it. Hindsight is 20/20.

But an unexamined life is not worth living -- so you keep learning all the time.

One thing I do find helpful if I am at all unsure about how to proceed is to do some sort of "proof of concept" before I really jump into the main thing. That's how we did our animated series -- while I knew I wanted to do it I wasn't at all sure it would be possible or even had the slightest idea what the workflow would be. After a series of four shorts (out of a planned series of about ten which we never had to finish) I not only knew it was possible but had decided upon a decent workflow.

But if I knew then what I know now... <g>