Setting Up the Node View

Now that your environment variables have been properly set up, the final step is to prepare your network to call the Autodesk Maya rendering utility. Once this is done, you can render the 3D objects in your Harmony project and preview them in the Camera view in Render View mode. This will allow you to composite your 3D scene and effects.

There are two types of script nodes that work with the Harmony-Maya connection:

Render Maya Batch
This node uses the script renderMayaBatch();

This script starts a Maya Batch session, renders the 3D elements on that frame, and then closes the session. It will open and close the session for every frame to be rendered.

Render Maya Batch Server
This node uses the script renderMayaBatchServer();

This script starts a Maya Batch session that stays open so when you render 3D objects through multiple frames, it does not close the session between each of them.

Possible Artifacts Resolved with Z-Buffer Smoothing

When batch rendering 3D models originating from Maya, some unwanted artifacts may appear, particularly on models with outlines. This is due to problems with the depth information. You can use the Z-Buffer Smoothing node to smooth out the edges.

Z Buffer Smoothing Node Properties

Parameter Description
Histogram Range

Lets you define the range of clean pixels in the depth histogram when rendering 3D models. Only opaque or semi-transparent values are considered.

A low value means fewer pixels are used in the depth calculations and may flatten your object, while a higher value uses more pixels in the depth calculations, but may not eliminate all the image artifacts.

Kernel Size

Lets you determine the size of the matrix used for calculating the depth of a single pixel. For example, for an operation with a kernel size of 3 pixels, Harmony uses the pixels within a 1-pixel radius to calculate the effect. A larger kernel size means longer calculations.