Getting glass transparency in PNG

Maxon Cinema 4D (Export script developed by abstrax, Integrated Plugin developed by aoktar)

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atoyuser1
Licensed Customer
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:10 pm

Hi, I'm attempting to render out a PNG with proper alpha/transparency

For the glass material I'm using Octane Specular Material:
Material.jpg
As you can see from the viewer, the object behind the sheet of glass is visible, but the background is not:
Viewer.jpg
Same goes with viewing the output PNG in photoshop:
photoshop.jpg
Any clues as to how I can achieve this? i've played around with the opacity, but that isn't really what I'm after as I want the reflections to remain solid
jhansen
Licensed Customer
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:22 pm

Hi,

In your transparent material you should check "Affect alpha" in the common tab. It's seems like you have Alpha shadows checked in render settings and thats also a must.
Example
Example
Mac Studio M2 Ultra | 24 Core CPU | 76 Core GPU | 128 GB RAM
macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Cinema 4D 2025.0.2 | OctaneX 2024.1-R3
atoyuser1
Licensed Customer
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:10 pm

Thanks for your reply, I already have that checked;
Screenshot 2020-11-20 at 09.12.00.png
Also even before I bring it into PS, I've noticed the chequered bg in the Octane viewer doesn't show through the glass:
Screenshot 2020-11-20 at 09.15.20.png
jhansen
Licensed Customer
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:22 pm

Thats weird, it should work. If you post or send me the scene file I can take a look and compare to my settings.
Mac Studio M2 Ultra | 24 Core CPU | 76 Core GPU | 128 GB RAM
macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Cinema 4D 2025.0.2 | OctaneX 2024.1-R3
atoyuser1
Licensed Customer
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:10 pm

Sure, thanks - here it is:
TransparencyTest.c4d.zip
(113.61 KiB) Downloaded 133 times
I should mention I'm on a mac, using PR3
jhansen
Licensed Customer
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:22 pm

Hi,

Sorted. Disable your backdrop and you're good to go.

Just so you know, PR4 for Catalina is released and you should find it in your download section. Stay away from BigSur for the time being.
Mac Studio M2 Ultra | 24 Core CPU | 76 Core GPU | 128 GB RAM
macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Cinema 4D 2025.0.2 | OctaneX 2024.1-R3
atoyuser1
Licensed Customer
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:10 pm

jhansen wrote:Hi,

Sorted. Disable your backdrop and you're good to go.

Just so you know, PR4 for Catalina is released and you should find it in your download section. Stay away from BigSur for the time being.
Ah, but I wanted the reflections of the backdrop on the glass to remain, I couldn't see a way of just selecting reflections in the object tag:
Screenshot 2020-11-20 at 12.59.06.png
Didn't realise there was a new version, thanks for the heads up
jhansen
Licensed Customer
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:22 pm

Hi,

For that I would look into using Render layer found in Render settings > Octane Renderer > Multipasses. It's a bit wonky to set up but once you get the settings down it's rewarding. Heads up, this setting also affects the Live Viewer and can seem to break things. At least for me Render layer is a bit confusing and needed some getting used to.
Mac Studio M2 Ultra | 24 Core CPU | 76 Core GPU | 128 GB RAM
macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Cinema 4D 2025.0.2 | OctaneX 2024.1-R3
atoyuser1
Licensed Customer
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:10 pm

jhansen wrote:Hi,

For that I would look into using Render layer found in Render settings > Octane Renderer > Multipasses. It's a bit wonky to set up but once you get the settings down it's rewarding. Heads up, this setting also affects the Live Viewer and can seem to break things. At least for me Render layer is a bit confusing and needed some getting used to.
great, I will try that. Thanks for your help
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bepeg4d
Octane Guru
Posts: 10328
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 6:02 am
Location: Italy
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Hi jhansen,
Render Layer workflow is going to be greatly enhanced in 2020.2 SDK.
With the upcoming AOVs Composition nodes, it will be possible to see and fine tune full Render Layer result directly in Live View.
Here is an example made in Standalone 2020.2:
E89F2033-B299-4A25-9878-5BA8FA9BF598.jpeg
For now it is only for CUDA, but it will be also added in OctaneX soon.

ciao Beppe
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