Changing the scene background color?

martinkeitel_e65f08430a

Hey, is it possible to change the background color of the scene? I don't find it anywhere, but I notice sometimes it changes automatically from white to light blue (when switching between the actor and pose toolsets).
This makes a difference when rendering in png-format and you want to have the background transparent. With png the transparency is anti-aliased and if the bg is white, you get a visible edge if you place the image on a dark backdrop later. Average gray would be most convenient.

And another question: If I want to have the color of an object show no shadows and specularity (for example a sky plane in the background), how do I work it out? I don't quite understand the relationship of diffuse and ambient maps.

Jaderail

Yep its in the Viewport mini menu. The Four line thing in the upper right corner.

Jaderail

The Diffuse map is the Color image that you SEE, the Ambient is the GLOW (sort of) on that Map. I load a Diffuse Map with Color set to FULL White and then the SAME map to Ambient with Color also set to FULL white and Strength to 100%. Not sure that's what you need but that allows the Map on a Plane to not need a light aimed at it to show in your Render.

JonnyRay

mkeitel said:

Hey, is it possible to change the background color of the scene? I don't find it anywhere, but I notice sometimes it changes automatically from white to light blue (when switching between the actor and pose toolsets).
This makes a difference when rendering in png-format and you want to have the background transparent. With png the transparency is anti-aliased and if the bg is white, you get a visible edge if you place the image on a dark backdrop later. Average gray would be most convenient.
Jaderail gave the method. Just wanted to add that if you know you're going to composite what you render over an existing 2D image, you can also try loading that image into the background color setting. It will still end up being saved as "background" in the PNG file (therefore can be transparent). If you're having issues with a slight color to the transparent edge around your rendered elements, it might help if the color of that feathering matches the background you're going to merge it with anyway.

And another question: If I want to have the color of an object show no shadows and specularity (for example a sky plane in the background), how do I work it out? I don't quite understand the relationship of diffuse and ambient maps.

If you want an object to not catch shadows, several of the advanced surface shaders allow you to turn off the ability to catch a shadow. Obviously to turn off specularity, reflection, etc., all you need to do is set their strength values to zero.

Be careful about using the ambient channel. As I describe in Diffuse, Specular and Ambient the purpose of that channel, how it is used in various tools (particularly Poser and DAZ Studio) and how content artists use it can vary widely. In particular, in DS it is important to realize that the default surface shader links ambient and diffuse channels together, which means that setting a color, map, strength value for ambient can change how your diffuse settings look in ways you may not expect.