Imago PSD Documentation

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• System Requirements
• Installation
• Features
• User Interface
• Supported Formats
• Supported Render Passes
• Usage Guide
• Best Practices
• Troubleshooting
• Known Limitations
• Changelog

Introduction

Imago PSD Exporter is a powerful Blender addon designed to streamline the process of exporting render passes and images directly to PSD format.

System Requirements

• Blender 4.2.3 LTS or newer
• Operating Systems:
  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit)

Installation

1. Open Blender
2. Go to Edit > Preferences
3. Select the "Get Extensions" tab
4. Click "Install" and navigate to the downloaded .zip file
5. Save preferences (optional but recommended)

Features

• PSD format export support from Blender's own supported formats
• Customizable output settings per format
• Cryptomatte support for precise masking
• Advanced render pass handling
• Intelligent layer organization

User Interface

The addon's interface is located in the Output Properties panel and consists of three main sections:

1. Format List
   • Add/Remove output format
   • Configure format-specific settings
   • Adjust color depth and compression
2. Output Settings
   • PSD file path configuration
   • In this section, you must obligatorily specify the file name.
3. Cryptomatte Controls
   • Object/Material/Asset selection
   • Matte list management

Supported Formats

The addon supports the following image formats:

1. JPEG (.jpg)
2. PNG (.png)
3. TIFF (.tiff)
4. WebP (.webp)
5. OpenEXR (.exr)
6. BMP (.bmp)
7. Targa (.tga)
8. JPEG2000 (.jp2)
9. OpenEXR Multilayer (.exr)

Supported Render Passes

The addon handles the following render passes, you don't need to configure anything in the Compositor, the addon will handle it. The only thing you need to do is to enable the render passes in the View Layer Properties:

1. Basic Passes

• Z-Depth
• Mist
• Normal
• UV

2. Material Passes

• Diffuse
• Transmission
• Glossy
• Emission

3. Environment Passes

• Environment
• Ambient Occlusion

4. Special Passes

• Cryptomatte (Object/Material/Asset)
• Light Groups

Usage Guide

Basic Workflow if you are choosing OpenEXR Multilayer format

1. Setup Render Passes

- Enable desired render passes in Blender's View Layer Properties

2. Configure Output Format

- Add desired output format(s) in the UI of the addon

3. Set Output Path

- Choose PSD file destination

4. Render and Export

- Click "Render PSD" button

Advanced Features if you are choosing OpenEXR Multilayer format

1. Cryptomatte Usage

- Select Cryptomatte type (Object/Material/Asset)

Best Practices

1. File Management

• Use absolute paths when possible
• Create dedicated output directories
• Use meaningful file names
• Regular backup of working files

2. Performance Optimization

• Use appropriate bit depths
• Optimize render pass selection

3. Quality Control

• Check color space settings
• Verify render pass configurations
• Validate Cryptomatte selections

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

1. Export Fails

• Check file permissions
• Verify path existence
• Ensure sufficient disk space
• Check format compatibility

2. Missing Passes

• Verify pass enabled in View Layer
• Check render engine compatibility
• Ensure proper setup in Compositor

3. Cryptomatte Issues

• Verify object/material names
• Check Cryptomatte setup
• Ensure proper render engine support

Known Limitations

1. General Limitations

• No View Layer support currently
• Limited to the most used image formats
• Single PSD file output per render
• Limited real-time preview when rendering is complete, Blender locks up temporarily, you can't see any progress from the Blender UI, which can be confusing, but the process is still running in the background, you can visualize the process launching Blender from the Command Line.

2. Render Pass Limitations

• We only support the above described render passes in case the output format is OpenEXR Multilayer.

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (November 18, 2024)

• Initial release
• Support for 9 image formats
• Render pass handling
• Cryptomatte integration