Remove an HDRI Map from Mental Ray Render
 

Another Noob here!

Is it possible to remove an HDRI from the render of a scene using mental ray in Maya 7?
Basically I want my model to appear to be floating against a black background but still have the reflections on it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

P.S. Great site!!

Yes it is, in the HDR Attributes switch the renderable to off and it should work for you

Thanks.
 

I'll try that when I get home...
Is it in the actual attributes section?

yep, under render stats or display , I think, off the top of my head

but rem compostitin stuff done in mental ray with hdri is a pain in the arse!!!!!!!!!
the alpha channel doesnt com out properly but if u do above it will have a black background an still be a pain to composite

good luck

Can you recommend a decent renderer?

Again, I'm quite new to all of this.

Is it possible to get 3rd Party renderers and install them in Maya 7?

I personally use mental ray, its pretty good and built in (although I use the Software fo getting the basics down)

YOu can get plug in renders, Renderman, Maxwell, turtle etc

For the alpha channel im Mental Ray use the "pass surface colour alpha channel" checkbox in the custom entities.

Thank you v much for your help.
I've got the image to render without the HDRI now, and loads of renderers to try.

Thanks again!