How to Render Transparent Backgrounds in KeyShot

KeyShot is commonly used to render product shots with transparent background to use across web, print, and video. Rendering an image without a background also gives you more flexibility for layouts in Illustrator, Photoshop, or your website. KeyShot allows you to render an image or animation frames with a one-click option to Include Alpha (Transparency). It’s extremely simple to do and allows you to drop the 3D rendering onto anything you like, and as you’ll see in the following tutorials, apply all sorts of special effects to your image.

Alpha Transparency in KeyShot

An alpha channel is an additional color channel, which contains information about transparency, that is added to the image. Alpha transparency is defined as the range of opacity that allows you to have complete tranparency (0) or to have no transparency (1). In KeyShot, when Include Alpha (Transparency) is checked, your background color will be set a 0, while shadows and transparent materials are perfectly maintained. Let’s see how it’s done.

The juice box model shown in the video is set up for you to explore and available for download on the KeyShot Cloud page.

1. Enable Alpha Transparency

Open the Render dialog and under Output, go to the Still Image tab and the Format setting. Alpha transparency is supported for GIF, PNG, TIF, EXR, and PSD file formats. Select your preferred format, then check the Include Alpha (Transparency) box. With this enabled, you’ll get a clean, transparent background on your final render.

2. Use Black or White Background

But, if you notice the background color of your scene affects the shadows and edges of your model in the final output, try switching to a black or white color background instead. This should fix any colored shadows and edges.

3. Alpha Transparency for Animations

Now for an animation, there is no video format with alpha transparency but with KeyShot it’s possible. Open the Render dialog and under Output, go to the Animation tab and check the Frames Output setting. Go to the Format section and, as you did for a Still Image, select your format and select Include Alpha (Transparency). This will output frames with alpha transparency that can be compiled in a separate video editing program.

In KeyShot, we have a single-click option to apply alpha. In the Render options when the render output is TIFF or EXR you’ll have the option to Include Alpha by selecting the checkbox to the right. That’s it! After you hit Render, your saved image will have a transparent background, ready to be brought into Photoshop or image editor of your choice.

What Can You Create?

We would love to see what you create with this tip. Visit the KeyShot Amazing Shots forum to see what others are creating and share your own work. And if you have a suggestion for another tip share it in the comments below.