I can't save my rendering?

[cmrhm]

After 50minutes rendering, I can't save it. There is error window " can't create into bmp format".

 

Is this sth related the dynamic memory issue? I increased the dynamic memory from 400 mb to 800 mb. My machine have 3 GB to use for XP SP2.

 

STRANGE. isn't it? Here i found the similar situations:

 

http://forums.cgarchitect.com/21961-v-ray-error-cannot-create-bitmap.html

[BrianKitts]

Yes, regardless of how much you are using for dynamic memory, the error means your machine is out of RAM and doesn't have the space to allocate a temp file to write out the image data.

 

Your options are....

 

1. render with the frame buffer turned off to save memory (make sure to set it to save the render)

 

2. render to a .vrimg file

 

3. upgrade to 64bit OS and add more RAM.

[Ricardo Eloy]

Use options 1 & 2. They're cheaper. ;-)

[BrianKitts]

Use options 1 & 2. They're cheaper. ;-)

 

yeah, forgot to mention that part!

 

BTW..... when you do get that error, if it was a long render time and you don't want to have to redo it, the fourth option would be to screenshot the render in pieces and reassemble it in photoshop. It's a pain, but sometimes much quicker than a re-render.

[cmrhm]

Yes, regardless of how much you are using for dynamic memory, the error means your machine is out of RAM and doesn't have the space to allocate a temp file to write out the image data.

 

Your options are....

 

1. render with the frame buffer turned off to save memory (make sure to set it to save the render)

 

2. render to a .vrimg file

 

3. upgrade to 64bit OS and add more RAM.

 

Great. There is a solution. You mean I turned off vray fram buffer and use 3dmax "Rendered Frame window" selected? How can I transfer .vrimg to jpg.?

Edited April 15, 2010 by cmrhm

[BrianKitts]

Great. There is a solution. You mean I turned off vray fram buffer and use 3dmax "Rendered Frame window" selected? How can I transfer .vrimg to jpg.?

 

No when I say turn off the buffer, I mean turning them both off and rendering blind.

 

Once you have the image rendered to your vrimg file, you can use the vrimg2exr tool that installs with vray to convert it into an image file that you can open with photoshop. The other way is to use max and from the file menu select "view image file" option and save out your file that way. Although..... I have no clue where that went to after 2009 when they updated the interface.

[cmrhm]

No when I say turn off the buffer, I mean turning them both off and rendering blind.

 

Once you have the image rendered to your vrimg file, you can use the vrimg2exr tool that installs with vray to convert it into an image file that you can open with photoshop. The other way is to use max and from the file menu select "view image file" option and save out your file that way. Although..... I have no clue where that went to after 2009 when they updated the interface.

 

Thanks for your quick response. very appreciated. I don't have my 3dmax available now. Could u tell me how to render into .vrimg format so I try later on? search google have no results yet.

 

So the basic theory is that memory buffer takes alot of RAM, but .vrimg format is using computer hard disk memory to store the rendering.

 

is this VRimg to OpenEXR converter safe to use? I don't want my one hour rendering get lost by this transfer process.

[cmrhm]

Use options 1 & 2. They're cheaper. ;-)

 

my laptop is sager. it have 4gb. currently I use 3 because I am in 32bit still. do we have laptop with more than 4gb now?

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

Cheaper, but a 64bit machine is probably one of the best investments a digital artist can make. It really opens up what you can do and create.

[Ricardo Eloy]

Here's a quick step-by-step:

 

1- Turn on the V-Ray Frame Buffer

2- Turn off Render to Memory Frame Buffer and Get Resolution from Max

3- Set here the desired resolution (remember: the resolution set in the Common tab should have the same aspect ratio, but be real small. If you set both resolutions to your final size, Max will still fill your ram up and won't save the render! When you let the "common" size small, you're actually lying to the software, telling it to save a small amount of ram to handle the final pic. Then, you'll have more free memory to actually render)

4- Turn V-Ray RAW image file on, tell it where to save it and turn Generate Preview on. This means you're asking V-Ray to save the rendering straight to your hard drive instead of the ram, saving you lots of memory. You can still see what's going on in the preview window, which is actually pretty small and low quality (also using almost zero resources)

5- After the whole thing is done, simply do as Brian said above and you're good to go.

 

Besides saving ram (and making huge renderings possible), this approach also allows you to stop a rendering at any time without losing what has already been rendered. Every bucket is saved as soon as it's calculated.

[BrianKitts]

my laptop is sager. it have 4gb. currently I use 3 because I am in 32bit still. do we have laptop with more than 4gb now?

 

absolutely.... most manufacturers are offering systems with 64bit OS allowing the higher RAM usage.... I just took a peek at Dell's site as a reference, they'ce even listed 64bit OS as their recommended purchase, and you can get a laptop from them with up to 8gigs of RAM in it.

 

Cheaper, but a 64bit machine is probably one of the best investments a digital artist can make. It really opens up what you can do and create.

 

Got to really agree with this one, I didn't realize how many of my problems with scenes in 32bit were memory issues, till we jumped to 64bit. I can't remember the last time I crashed due to rendering.

[cmrhm]

Here's a quick step-by-step:

 

1- Turn on the V-Ray Frame Buffer

2- Turn off Render to Memory Frame Buffer and Get Resolution from Max

3- Set here the desired resolution (remember: the resolution set in the Common tab should have the same aspect ratio, but be real small. If you set both resolutions to your final size, Max will still fill your ram up and won't save the render! When you let the "common" size small, you're actually lying to the software, telling it to save a small amount of ram to handle the final pic. Then, you'll have more free memory to actually render)

4- Turn V-Ray RAW image file on, tell it where to save it and turn Generate Preview on. This means you're asking V-Ray to save the rendering straight to your hard drive instead of the ram, saving you lots of memory. You can still see what's going on in the preview window, which is actually pretty small and low quality (also using almost zero resources)

5- After the whole thing is done, simply do as Brian said above and you're good to go.

 

Besides saving ram (and making huge renderings possible), this approach also allows you to stop a rendering at any time without losing what has already been rendered. Every bucket is saved as soon as it's calculated.

 

Rick: This is a very good tutorial. I am going to give a try soon.

 

I wish this will allow my laptop to render a nice resolution image(sth like 4000x2400).

 

btw, do i need to increase the dynamic memory limit from 400mb to a larger size? what is the reasonable number?

[Ricardo Eloy]

I don't think a higher memory limit will make much difference (when rendering large images, that is). The method I described uses very little ram, so should you increase the memory limit, it might be because of your scene being really heavy.

[cmrhm]

I got my vrimg file and convert it to exr file without any trouble. Open it in PS, save in tiff. Then in this tiff image, do adjustments>Exposure> Gamma Correction.

 

Boom, done. Just don't know why the Curve command is greyed out.

Edited April 16, 2010 by cmrhm