Introduction
As with any software package, there are often techniques or shortcuts which will make the software easier to use. Other suggestions may help you avoid getting into trouble. This chapter contains a list of tips and techniques which will hopefully reduce your RenderBoy pain and anguish.

File Tips and Techniques
As with any program, save your files frequently, especially your design files. In case you haven't noticed, sometimes your Mac will crash for no apparent reason (hopefully, not due to my software). It is always a good idea to save your design before rendering an image, just in case you "get the bomb" while rendering is taking place. With the design saved, you would only need to reload the design and start the rendering process again.

If you are working on a complex design, it is usually best to design smaller pieces of it in separate files. You can then use the "File Merge" feature to put it together into one larger file.

You can also use the "File Merge" capability as a method of accessing "libraries" of designs. If you maintain frequently used designs/objects in their own files for this purpose, this can greatly reduce the amount of time needed to create new designs.

Movies and batch animations create lots of files.  Generally, you always want to put these design and image files into a new folder all by them selves.  This makes them easier to find, select, work with, and delete later on.

Design Tips and Techniques
Become accustomed to using the keyboard shortcuts, especially those which control the Tools menu. They can really speed up your work.  With practice, this is even faster than using the icon bar.

Alway keep in mind that when you copy or duplicate an object, you also copy all of its surface properties and texture references (if any). Also, when you create a new object, it is always created with the surface and texture characteristics of the most recent object selected with a single mouse click.

If you use "Duplicate", the newly duplicated objects will be offset from the objects they were duplicated from by the amount of the current snap grid size. If you perform the same action with "Copy" and "Paste", the newly pasted objects will be superimposed on the objects they were copied from.  This is a subtle difference, but useful to know.

When you modify the characteristics of an object using a dialog box, the default values in the dialog will always be those of the most recent object selected with a single mouse click. With this knowledge, it is easy to duplicate the characteristics of an existing object: First select the object(s) to change, then shift-select the object you wish to copy from. Open a dialog box, and it will already have the correct default values loaded into it. To apply these values to the object you want to change,  just click "OK" or "Apply".

Remember that you can move objects in the front, side, or top views using the arrow keys on the keyboard.  You can also use the arrow keys to control the eye view settings.  When using the arrow keys to adjust something, holding down the option key at the same time makes a fine adjustment.

In your design, avoid the situation where the surfaces of two or more objects are coincident, especially if the objects have different surface properties. This is especially important if one of the objects is a negative object. When two surfaces overlap, RenderBoy will only "see" one of them, and you can never be sure which one. When this is the case, the rendering algorithms within RenderBoy can create goofy results.

Sometimes it is useful to only display one of the four design views in the design window. Not only does this allow you to see that view in more detail, but view updates are quicker since there is only one view to draw on the screen.

Remember that when creating new objects, they might not be visible in any view or they may have dimensions which do not allow you to see them. For example, if you created a new sphere which had a very small diameter relative to the other objects, it may be difficult to find it. If this happens, don't deselect the object. Just increase its size to a reasonable value, then autoscale the design views.

Remember that the clipboard functions are all local to RenderBoy, and they only work with the wireframe objects in the design window.  Maybe in the future, this will change.

If you are working on a design in which it is important to align objects with each other, then take advantage of the grid snap features. This usually works the best if you try to dimension objects with even multiples of the grid snap size.

Avoid creating objects which are the same color as the background color, since it will be difficult to see them. If necessary, remember that you can easily change the background color.

Avoid creating objects which are the same color as the selection color (default is black), since they will be difficult to see when selected. If necessary, remember that you can easily change the selection color.

It is easier to maintain a complex design if you remember to use the "group/ungroup" feature to your advantage.

Use the lock/unlock feature to prevent yourself from accidentally deleting finished parts of your design. 

Remember that any PICT file can be used as an applied texture, even any previously rendered images.

Remember that black and white textures can be applied to colored objects in order to create a colored texture. Black stays black, but white becomes the color of the object. Other shades are tinted accordingly.

You can create a "beam of light" affect by creating an object which represents the beam of light.  Set its surface properties to half diffuse and half refractive, with an index of refraction of air.  Then set its behavior so it glows like a light and doesn't generate shadows.

Rendering Tips and Techniques
Be aware of how to make the rendering process go as quickly as possible by avoiding unnecessary calculations. This is described in the chapter "The Need For Speed". Also remember that you can obtain an estimate of the required overall rendering time using the "Render -> Estimate Render Time..." menu item.

Although RenderBoy will allow you to work on other applications while rendering is taking place, keep in mind that you are taking a risk. If something goes wrong in the other application(s) which crashes your Mac, the rendering will be gone and you will need to start it over.

Since rendering takes a lot of time, render images overnight or while you are away. The best time to render images is during the time that your computer would otherwise be doing nothing, like when you are sleeping or at work.  Use drag&drop batch rendering to your advantage here.

If the final image is as large as the screen or larger, remember that you can scale down the eye window to be a percentage of this size. What you see in the eye view window will be the same as the final image, only smaller.

If you want to reduce the visual discomfort of the "jaggies" caused by the finite pixel size, you can simply render the image larger than its final viewing size. When the image is zoomed down to its viewing size, the jaggies will seem to go away.

Experiment with different types of lighting and light source objects. The special effects which proper lighting creates can add a tremendous amount of realism. Refer to the "About RenderBoy" dialog box for an example. This image was created by RenderBoy.

Remember that light source objects do not need to be white, although this is what we are accustomed to. If you make them other colors, the light which they cast will be in those colors.

It is possible to apply textures to light sources. Although this will not affect the light which they cast, it will affect their appearance.

You will want to avoid putting purely reflective or refractive objects in front of a solid colored background. Because of the way the light reflects and refracts, it will be difficult to see them. In real life, objects are rarely completely reflective or completely refractive.

The color display capabilities of your monitor will have no influence on the quality of the rendered images (or the PICT files) which RenderBoy produces. It only determines how well your particular monitor can display an image.

When you run RenderBoy, you will usually want the monitor to be in its best color display mode. You can change the display mode using the "Monitors" or "Monitors and Sound" control panel under the Apple menu.

Movie Tips and Techniques
All of the tips regarding rendering images (above) also apply to the rendering of movies. 

Before you start a movie rendering, be sure that you have enough disk space available to hold all of the PICT files.  If RenderBoy runs out of disk space, the rendering will stop.

You do not need to render an entire movie all at one time.  For example, you might want to render frame 0 to 19 tonight and frames 20 to 39 tomorrow night. Just be sure to render them into the same folder.