Batch Rendering with Arnold in Maya produces a watermark

Autodesk Support

Aug 27, 2024


Products and versions covered


Issue:

You completed a Batch or command line Rendering using Maya with Arnold on a single machine. Once completed a watermark is included in the rendered images.
  • You are finding there is no license available for Arnold while using Maya.

Causes:

Watermarks appear on renders if Arnold does not have, or cannot access, an Arnold Rendering License. These licenses are not included in Maya by default and need to be purchased separately.

Arnold license and Batch rendering:

  • Maya cannot locate an Arnold License. Arnold is included in Maya, but a separate license purchase is required for Batch Rendering.

Difference between Arnold for Maya and Standalone Arnold:

  • This local version of Arnold for Maya (MtoA) only works interactively within Maya. Network and Batch rendering are not available without a license, and images appear with a watermark.

Solution:

Easy Solution: To avoid the watermark when rendering in Maya without purchasing a separate Arnold License, use the Render Sequence Tool.

 

If a dedicated Arnold license has been purchased, but the watermark still appears:

  1. Confirm that your Arnold license is not expired from your Autodesk Account.
  2. Verify that the latest version of Autodesk License Server Manager is installed and set up correctly with the Arnold license:
Note: If you are using an Arnold Single User license, confirm that the user is signed into the Arnold License Manager. Select Arnold > Licensing > Sign in. See also: Sign in to Activate Single-User Arnold.
  1. Verify that Arnold licensing is correctly set up on the render node. Within Maya, it is possible to connect to the license server directly: 
    1. In the main menu, navigate to Arnold.
    2. Choose RLM Licensing.
    3. Select "Connect to License Server":
Connect to License Server
Note: If this menu appears differently than the preceding image, confirm that the latest version of the MtoA plug-in is installed on the machine. Download the latest Arnold plug-in for Maya (MtoA) version here: Arnold for Maya
  1. To connect Maya with the license server (the computer with the FLEXLM Tools installed), enter the computer name beginning with "@" in the Autodesk (NLM) field:

License server

If the computer is running the FLEX LM tools (meaning, the computer is the license server) type: @localhost
It's also possible to connect the computer with the Autodesk license server (the computer with the FLEXLM Tools installed) by setting up an environment variable.

Note: the procedure described in the preceding step is effectively doing the same thing and setting the environment variable automatically.

 

Verify the Environment Variable manually

To set up the environment variable outside Maya manually, do the following:

  1. Use a text editor to create a flexlmrc.txt file. The file content should look like the following example, except with the name or IP address of the license server.
Note: If the License Server is set up on the same system as Arnold, localhost can be used instead of the server name.
ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE=@MY_SERVER_HOSTNAME_OR_IP
  1. Make sure that client workstation and license server can communicate by opening firewall ports TCP 2080 and 27000-27009.

Watermarks still appears?

  1. Navigate to the Arnold Render Settings.
  2. In the System tab, expand the Licensing group.
  3. Verify "Skip License Check" is disabled.
Note: With this setting enabled, Arnold always renders the image with a watermark even if a valid license is available. Tick the "Abort On License Fail" option to fail entirely when no license is available. This change makes sure that no images are watermarked. 

Arnold rendering watermarks

Products:

Maya; Arnold;


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