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title: "Render Channels"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/ENVISION/124650378/Render%20Channels"
format: markdown
---
This page provides information about the render channels (render elements) in Enscape Envision. Overview Render Channels (also known as Render Elements) are a way to break out renders into their component parts such as diffuse color, reflections, shadows, mattes, etc. This gives fine control over the final image when using compositing or image editing applications when re-assembling the final image from its component elements. Render channels are also sometimes known as render passes. Render Channels are generated at render time based on the ones you choose before rendering. For a complete list of render channels, see the  List of Supported Render Channels  below. UI Path To access the Render Channels dialog, go to: ||Render menu|| >  Render image(s)...  > select either  Still Image  or  Sequence  tab >  Render  settings >   button Render Channels Sub-groups Render Channels in Enscape Envision break down into three major groups: Beauty render channels  – These are the primary render channels that form Envision's pre-composited final render pass. Geometry render channels  – These render channels rely on geometry to generate geometry data for the compositing process. Mask render channels  – These render channels aid selection masking in the compositing process. Supported Render Channels The following render channels are supported by Enscape Envision. Render channel name Color Depth of PNG, JPEG channels Color Depth of EXR floating-point channels Description Beauty Back-to-beauty group 8bit 16bit Enables all beauty elements for the actual rendering. Atmosphere 8bit 16bit Atmospheric effects. Global Illumination 8bit 16bit The diffuse surface global illumination. Lighting 8bit 16bit The diffuse direct surface lighting. Reflection 8bit 16bit The reflections on the surface. Refraction 8bit 16bit The refractions on the surface. Self-Illumination 8bit 16bit The self-illumination of the surface. Specular 8bit 16bit The surface specular highlights. Diffuse Filter 8bit 16bit The pure diffuse surface color. Geometry Bumped Normals 8bit 16bit The normals generated by bump maps, in screen space. Z-Depth 8bit 16bit The z-depth of the scene. Velocity 8bit 16bit The surface velocity. Mask Object Mask 8bit 16bit The object ID. Randomly assigned object IDs at the initial load of the project. Material Mask 8bit 16bit The material ID of the object. Randomly assigned material IDs at the initial load of the project. Examples The following examples show how individual render channels can be used to alter the final image in compositing  or image editing application . Click on any image to view it at a higher resolution. Back to Beauty Composite This example demonstrates how individual render channels compose a beauty image. Atmosphere Global Illumination Lighting Reflection Refraction Self-Illumination Specular Beauty Self-Illumination Channel This example demonstrates how the Self-Illumination channel can be used to alter the final image  in a compositing or image editing application . Here, the Self-Illumination channel is useful to change the appearance of a self-illuminated surface after rendering. Self-Illumination Beauty Beauty with changed colors Lighting Channel This example demonstrates how the Lighting channel can be used to alter the final image  in a compositing or image editing application . Here, the Lighting render channel is used to change the appearance of direct illumination by adding a warm tone to the lights in compositing. Lighting Beauty Beauty with warmed colors The following examples demonstrate the use of geometry render channels. Z-Depth Z-Depth Beauty Depth of field applied to composite using Z-Depth render channel The following examples demonstrate the use of mask render channels. Object Mask Channel This example demonstrates how the Object Mask channel can be used to alter the final image  in a compositing or image editing application . Here, the Object Mask is used to isolate the pillow object and alter its color. Object Mask Beauty Beauty with changed colors Material Mask Channel This example demonstrates how the Material Mask channel can be used to alter the final image  in a compositing or image editing application . Here the Material mask is used to isolate the ottoman's material and then color correct it. Material Mask Beauty Beauty with changed colors Notes Render channels are available only if a still image or an image sequence are rendered. Video files do not support render elements.