elements in depth not obscuring each other

my next question refers to the display of the elements in 3d space.
i have now two grouped character layers with their own composite modules (selected layer > right click > group selection with composite, in order to attach the separate shadows/highlights to each one) - a man and a horse.

in the open rig the guy’s arm is hiding behind the horse’s body (according to the 3d space depth values), but now the groups don’t follow the 3d rules (attached top views of both).

is there a way to display them properly?
thx,
rob

horse.png

arm.png

on the topic of grouping.
it seems that simple grouping, which renders the elements like a ribbon cable between the group and the composite, is unable to accept a shadow or a highlight module (too many elements, too few ports in the effect modules).

on the other hand the grouping with composite, which winds up with a single string from the group to the composite, sets the elements’ hierarchy in a rigid way, preventing the parts to maintain the pre-set depth values in the 3d space (like in the case in my previous post, where elements from various groups interact in 3d space).

i can’t really see a way to overcome this obstacle. does anybody have a clue? any help will be greatly appreciated.
rob

it turns out that the ‘flattening’ of the 3d appearance is caused by the adding of the highlight effect to the guy on the horse.
as soon as i connect the character’s drawing directly to the composite instead of doing it via the highlight module output port, the 3d order of elements retains its original status.

so if i give up the guy’s highlight, the export could be ok. i still try to preserve all effects, though…
rob

Unfortunately when you use the Hilight module (and other effects with blurs) it has to flatten the image and you loose the z value.

Usually you have to use a Cutter to cut/hide the arm that is behind the horse. You create a mask or use the horse to just cut the arm.

i just started to suspect such a behaviour, but haven’t found anywhere in the guides about it.
thanks for the workaround :slight_smile:
rob