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[MtoA] Hiding the image file statistics in the Arnold log
Here’s a good example of why you might use the User Options, and how it lets you set Arnold parameters that aren’t exposed by MtoA in Maya. If you set the verbosity level to Warnings + Info, you’ll get...
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[MtoA] The curse of pymel.log
PyMEL is great. But…if pymel.log can’t be accessed, any plugin that uses PyMEL will fail to load. And MtoA uses PyMEL, so every now and again I see a case where MtoA doesn’t load, and you get something...
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[Arnold] [MtoA] How to check if your processor supports SSE4.2
This blog post is for Google search to find; I’ve already blogged about the SSE4.2 requirement elsewhere. If your processor does not support SSE4.2, the Arnold won’t run on your computer. MtoA will...
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[MtoA] The renderer ‘arnold’ used by this scene, is not currently available
// Warning: file: C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2017/scripts/others/supportRenderers.mel line 64: The renderer "arnold" used by this scene, is not currently available. The "mayaSoftware" renderer will...
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[MtoA] Unable to dynamically load : mtoa.mll The specified module could not...
I have another, more general, version of this post here. This one is for new Arnold users with Maya 2017. Here’s what to do if you get errors like this: // Error: file: C:/Program...
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[MtoA] What environment variables does MtoA use?
MtoA uses these environment variables: ARNOLD_PLUGIN_PATH is for shaders. MtoA and kick use this environment variable. Arnold doesn’t (when you write Arnold code that loads an ASS file, Arnold doesn’t...
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[MtoA] The case of the machine that was unable to dynamically load mtoa.mll
In this case, a Windows 7 machine did support SSE4.2, but Maya 2017 still couldn’t load mtoa.mll. I didn’t get a full Process Monitor log from the client, but I did get a Dependency Walker log, and...
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[MtoA] Warning: Renderer “arnold” does not provide batch rendered options
Not all renderers have batch render options, so if you click the box beside the Batch Render menu command: then you’ll get a warning: // Warning: file: C:/Program...
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The case of the missing Yeti fur
In this case, a client complained that Arnold wasn’t rendering Yeti fur. I asked him to try with a simple sphere, and to send me the log (at verbosity level Warnings + Info). This what I was looking...
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[MtoA] UnicodeEncodeError when rendering
If you get this UnicodeEncodeError when you render # Error: line 1: UnicodeEncodeError: file C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2016\bin\python27.zip\encodings\utf_8.py line 16: ascii # it’s probably...
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[MtoA] Getting the MtoA build ID
When you contact support or log bugs, it’s nice to provide the version number and build ID of the MtoA version that you’re using. This information is displayed in the Arnold > About box. But the...
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[MtoA] Using standins with MASH dynamics
Here’s a way to use standins with MASH dynamics: instance a low-poly mesh that has its Arnold Translator set to procedural. Use a low-poly primitive as a proxy for the standin In the low-poly...
View Article[mtoa] Running a silent install
On Windows, run the MtoA installer with the flags /S /FORCE_UNINSTALL=1 MtoA-2.0.2.2-2018.exe /S /FORCE_UNINSTALL=1 You can use /D to specify a different install location. On Linux, use the – – silent...
View Article[clm] product key not found (44)
The Problem To use Autodesk licenses for Arnold when you batch render with Maya, Arnold must be registered in the Product Information file (aka the PIT file). Normally the MtoA installer does this for...
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[MtoA] Jittering color with user data
To jitter color with user data, you need to connect an aiUserDataInt to the data input parameter, like this: The user data is an mtoa_constant attribute on the shape. For example, if add an extra...
View Article[mtoa] Register failed for arnoldAOVChildSelector
If you see this error in the script editor # Error: Register failed for arnoldAOVChildSelector # that means your preferred render layer setup is Legacy Render Layers (so MtoA fails to register...
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[MtoA] cross-platform volume file names
The Arnold volume node uses the texture search path, so you don’t have to use an absolute path in the volume filename. So if you need to set up a Maya scene so that the OpenVDB volumes work on any...
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[MAXtoA] Rendering XGen in 3ds Max
You can export an ASS file from Maya (with the XGen primitives) and then use an Arnold Procedural to load the ASS file into 3ds Max. You need to add these two folders to the system environment...
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[mtoa] Getting a Process Monitor log to troubleshoot problems loading mtoa
If a clean install of MtoA doesn’t work (and the computer does support SSE4.1), then “The specified module could not be found.” usually means there’s a missing dependency. Dependency Walker is a...
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ShadingGroup has no surfaceShader input
If you see this warning when you render Warning: [mtoa] [translator polymesh] ShadingGroup exampleSG has no surfaceShader input it’s because a shadingEngine node either has nothing connected to the...
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