Resolving Blender Cycles And Blender Render Not Rendering Current Scene

Checking Render Settings

The render settings control how Blender processes the scene to generate the final render output. Start troubleshooting by verifying the basic render settings are correctly configured for the desired render engine in use. Both Blender Render and Cycles have settings to define aspect ratio, resolution, output location, frame range and more. Go through each relevant panel in the Properties Editor and confirm the settings match expectations for the scene.

Pay particular attention to the device setting in Cycles to ensure GPU computing is enabled if available. GPU acceleration can dramatically speed up rendering so verify Cycles is set to use the GPU instead of CPU only. Also check the tile size is not set too high for GPU memory limitations.

Common Render Setting Issues

Incorrect resolution or aspect ratio
Restricted frame range preventing full scene animation
Cycles not utilizing compatible GPU
Cycles tile size too high for GPU memory
Incorrect output save location
Sampling settings too low and noisy

Confirming Scene Objects are Visible to the Camera

A common oversight when troubleshooting render issues is confirming the 3D objects in the scene are actually viewable and framed within the camera’s field of view. Objects outside the camera view will not be rendered. To quickly inspect visibility, look through the camera in Blender’s 3D viewport with keypad 0.

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Scan the full camera view and take note of any critical elements missing, obscured or seemingly cropped. This can occur when working in orthographic mode instead of perspective, or if the clipping start/end settings snip content. If objects are missing in the camera, adjust the viewpoint, location or lens settings to capture the full area required.

Common Camera Visibility Issues

Critical objects positioned outside camera view
Clipping configuration cutting off objects
Incorrect camera lens scale or angle
Orthographic mode not showing full scene

Verifying Materials are Properly Assigned

For objects to accurately render in Blender, they must have properly configured materials assigned. This catches many beginners off guard when rough untextured models appear plain white or black when rendered instead of displaying colors, textures or lighting as expected.

Edit the materials for key objects not appearing correctly in renders. Inspect material settings like surface color, Roughness, Specular intensity in Principled BSDF shaders. Textures may not be linked properly or have issues with mapping coordinates not correctly wrapping the model. Also check light interactions are enabled on the intended materials.

Common Material Rendering Issues

No materials assigned to objects
Incorrect material surface settings
Missing or misconfigured texture maps
Custom shader problems preventing proper renders
Lighting disabled on materials

Inspecting Lighting Setup

Proper lighting setup is imperative for Blender scenes to render correctly. Without at least one light source, the entire scene will appear pitch black regardless of how well objects and materials are configured. Start troubleshooting render issues by confirming lighting is enabled, properly located and providing full coverage.

Adjust lighting power, color, direction and positioning while using Matcap material preview mode in the 3D viewport to inspect coverage across all scene surfaces. Common new user mistakes include placing the sun too far away, using orthographic scale instead of intensity, and not accounting for shadows and indirect lighting.

Common Lighting Render Problems

No lights present in scene
Lights configured but disabled from rendering
Lights present but too dim or dark
Critical scene elements not lit properly
Shadows and indirect lighting not configured

Examining Layer Visibility

Blender allows organizing objects in scenes across multiple layers which can selectively be enabled and disabled from rendering. This is a quick way to isolate elements without needing to delete or hide objects. However layer misconfigurations can unintentionally exclude critical items.

Double check layer settings on key objects failing to render properly. While troubleshooting, enable the option to always include layers in renders instead of relying on layer visibility. If critical scene elements suddenly appear, inspect object layer assignments more closely to identify mistakes.

Common Layer Visibility Render Issues

Objects assigned to layers not set to render
Forgotten objects still isolated to previous test layers
Unnecessary holdout or invisible layers blocking key objects
Layer override exclusion preventing proper render output

Checking for Modifiers That Prevent Rendering

Modifiers are extremely valuable for introducing variety and enriched details into Blender scenes. However some modifiers include options which can unintentionally prevent affected objects from rendering properly. This catches new users by surprise when expecting elements to appear which are skipped.

Pay particular attention to modifiers like grease pencil and array when objects are missing from renders inexplicably. Dig into the settings for modifiers like these to enable and check the option that allows rendered results. In most cases the fix is as simple as toggling the boxes available to permit rendering with modifiers.

Common Modifier Render Exclusion Issues

Array modifier without rendered results enabled
Subdivision surface modifier set to viewport only
Grease pencil objects lacking render visibility
Incorrect modifier stack causing problems

Confirming Sufficient Computing Resources

Behind the scenes, rendering scenes in Blender relies on sufficient computing hardware resources – most notably CPU threads and RAM capacity, GPU capabilities for Cycles. Before troubleshooting render problems too extensively, take a moment to confirm your available hardware meets minimum thresholds.

Task Manager on Windows provides insightful spec details on CPU cores, speeds and RAM utilization. Mac Activity Monitor and Linux top/htop can help gauge loads. Watch these while attempting test renders to check for bottlenecks. Upgrading computing gear can dramatically boost reliability and performance if lacking.

Common Hardware Bottlenecks

Low CPU thread count slowing renders
Insufficient RAM capacity causing crashes
Old GPU unable to process modern Cycles
Storage drives too full or slowing I/O data rates

Updating Graphics Drivers

Graphics drivers serve as the software bridge between operating systems, GPU hardware and applications like Blender. Keeping drivers updated ensures compatibility with the latest Cycles rendering capabilities using available graphics cards. Old outdated drivers can easily introduce instability, crashes and performance hits.

When troubleshooting rendering issues or crashes focus special attention on ensuring your GPU drivers are updated to the latest stable versions offered by AMD and Nvidia. Avoid beta drivers when relying on production stability. After major driver updates, reset user preferences to help clear any lingering configuration problems.

Common Graphics Driver Issues

Old graphics drivers causing crashes
Version compatibility problems
Buggy premature driver releases
Preferences needing reset after upgrades

Resetting Blender Preferences

After checking more obvious issues like objects, lighting and materials – resetting user preferences can provide a fresh start for resolving stubborn render problems. Through extensive Blender usage, small configuration discrepancies scattered across preferences can accumulate causing instability.

Resetting preferences clears out all settings, presets and add-ons registered over time. This effectively restores Blender to factory default conditions ideal for troubleshooting. Preferences can be reset directly within the user interface under File menu or via command line arguments.

When ready to render again after resetting preferences, be sure to reconfigure any critical add-ons, preferences and key map customizations to previous working states. Now attempt test renders again while watching for any lingering issues.

Reset Benefits

Eliminates small glitched preference values
Clears problematic add-ons and scripts
Restores stock tool settings
Starts fresh for troubleshooting