---
title: "Multi Matte"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/LAV/124521911/Multi%20Matte"
format: markdown
---
This page provides information about Multi Matte objects in Chaos Vantage. Overview The Multi Matte render element object creates red, green, blue, and alpha selection masks based on an object's imported Object ID or Material ID. With this render element object, only three colors are possible: red, green, and blue. For comparison, Material Mask and Object Mask render elements can include a multitude of colors to represent each material or object in a scene with a different color. With Multi Matte, a single R, G, B, or A channel can be used directly as a matte, eliminating the step of selecting the color in the compositing software. This ease of use makes Multi Matte a popular choice for compositors. To represent all the objects or materials in a scene with just the available red, green, blue, and alpha channels, several Multi Matte render element objects can be created for a single rendering, each with different Material ID or Object ID settings. A maximum of 16 Multi Matte render element objects can be created. UI Path || Right side panel || >  Objects  tab >  Create   new   Multi Matte object Parameters The MultiMatte parameters can be moved to their separate column via the  Splitter  ( ) button. Object IDs  – In this mode the specified ID is checked against the object ID of the intersected object.  See the  Multi Matte Modes example  below. Material IDs  – In this mode the specified ID is checked against the material ID of the material being shaded.  See the  Multi Matte Modes example  below. R  – Adds objects or materials (depending on whether the  Object IDs  or  Material IDs  mode is selected) using the specified ID to the red channel.  See the  Multi Matte Usage example  below. G  – Adds objects or materials (depending on whether the  Object IDs  or  Material IDs  mode is selected) using the specified ID to the green channel.  See the  Multi Matte Usage example  below. B  – Adds objects or materials (depending on whether the  Object IDs  or  Material IDs  mode is selected) using the specified ID to the blue channel.  See the  Multi Matte Usage example  below. A  – Adds objects or materials (depending on whether the  Object IDs  or  Material IDs  mode is selected) using the specified ID to the alpha channel. ID  – Sets the ID for the RGBA channels. Setting this ID to 0 disables the ID check and leaves only the include/exclude list. Include  – Specifies objects to be included in the selected channel (red, green, blue, or alpha). Exclude  – Specifies objects to be excluded from the selected channel (red, green, blue, or alpha). With children  – When enabled and if objects in the Include/Exclude list have children, they are automatically included or excluded without the need to specifically pick them to the list. Enabling the Multi Mattes checkbox in the Render Element dialog renders all visible Multi Matte render element objects available in the scene. To render a subset of the Multi Matte render element objects, disable the visibility of the objects you want to exclude from rendering. See the  Render Elements page  for more details. Examples Multi Matte Modes The Multi Matte Render Element is useful for isolating geometry or material in a scene. While  Object mask  and  Material mask  render elements perform similar tasks, Multi Matte is often quicker to use in compositing software because it can be made to include only pure red, green, or blue channels to represent objects or materials in the scene. Compositing software often has a feature for easily selecting the red, green, or blue channels in an image for use as mattes. The following example shows the two Multi Matte modes. In Object ID mode, we set the  R  (red) to match the bins,  G  (green) to match the benches, and  B  (blue) to match the trees. In Material ID mode, we set the  R  (red) to match the wood panels material,  G  (green) to match the metal frame, and  B  (blue) to match the concrete. Thus, masks are created in compositing to modify the isolated geometries or materials. Object ID mode Material ID mode Beauty render Multi Matte Usage In this example, we set the  R  (red) to match the wood panels' material ID, the  G  (green) to match the metal frame's material ID, and the  B  (blue) to match the concrete's material ID. Thus, masks are created in compositing to modify the isolated surfaces in the scene. See the render before and after compositing. Material ID mode Beauty render Beauty render with Color Corrections