Render Elements are one of the best features of biased rendering engines like V-Ray. By taking advantage of the post processing abilities they offer, you can reimagine your renders easily. And one of the most valuable feature while processing images in Photoshop is the ability to Isolate Elements.

This is accomplished by using black and white mask layers that give you individual control over image elements. With the freedom of editing a specific object in an image gives you ultimate control and variation.

While rendering with VRay you can choose to create such masks for Photoshop using the Render Elements rendering section.

More specifically, there are 2 render elements to choose from. The VRay Render ID and the VRay Wire Color render elements.

While both create isolation masks, the VRayWireColor element is more intuitive and retains Edge Anti-Aliasing. This keeps the edges smooth and accurate. Moreover, VRayWireColor renders include the Depth of Field effect in the mask as well.

VRayWireColor

Now to create this render pass, it’ll be easier if your object is a single mesh. Otherwise you can select all the object pieces and assign the wire color. The wire color is the same one used by 3ds Max in the Command Panel. VRay essentially picks this color for displaying the objects in the render pass.

Since Photoshop compositing uses black and white masks for isolation, you’ll want to set your object of interest with a white wire color. All the other objects can invert selected and given a black wire color.

Conversely, you can choose different colors for the scene and replace the colors with black and white for full control.

VRayWireColor has no additional settings that you’ll need to take care of. Just select and apply it in the Render Elements tab. Once rendered and saved as an image, it’s ready to be used in Photoshop.

1. Open the RGB pass in Photoshop and import the VRayWireColor mask as well.
2. Using Ctrl+A to select the entire mask, paste it into the layer mask section of the RGB pass layer.
3. This will apply the mask and create transparency in the image. You now have the ability to replace the background.
4. Additionally, you can apply the mask on any adjustment layers as well.

Hope this tutorial was successful in guiding you through the use of this Render Element. Share this tip with your friends and subscribe to this blog. Watch out for another VRay tutorial soon.