Importing from 3dsmax into C4D?

[sezbod]

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Edited June 7, 2008 by sezbod

[jrizzo]

.max files can't be imported into Cinema, but .3ds files can. Depending on whether or not poly count is a concern, you might want to select your faces and run an untriangulate function on them once you've imported it.

[STRAT]

a common method is to export from max as a .3DS file

try OBJ too

[Ernest Burden III]

you might want to select your faces and run an untriangulate function on them once you've imported it.

 

You should do that regardless of the polycount.

 

Also, the file will come in with a phong smoothing tag on all objects, and set to 89.5 degrees. This is bad for GI speed. Group the entire import in under a single null, copy a phong tag up to the top null and rt.click>select all identical to give you access to all the phong tags. Change the angle to something more reasonable, like 30 degrees. Then, go through as you work with the model sub objects and delete any of the phong tags you don't need. Flat objects don't need them.

 

If objects do not have defined UVs that you are going to use, delete all of those tags as well. I think 3ds comes in with UV tags on everything. I could be wrong, but that's my memory.

[STRAT]

You should do that regardless of the polycount.

 

 

not regardless. i rarely untriangulate. it aint essential, especially if dealing in non-organics. tris aren't really a bad thing if you know them. besides, just blindly untriangulating might also loose you some faces. be carefull.

 

 

 

Also, the file will come in with a phong smoothing tag on all objects, and set to 89.5 degrees. This is bad for GI speed.

 

again, unless gi animating (which isn't recommended with c4d) you wont really spot a slow down. individual phong tags are more controlable. generally, as EB says, a value from 15-30 is a norm.

 

 

 

If objects do not have defined UVs that you are going to use, delete all of those tags as well. I think 3ds comes in with UV tags on everything. I could be wrong, but that's my memory.

 

yup, they have UV's, but again, you might as well leave them there if you want, they dont do any harm or interfier.

 

 

Sorry Ernest, just chucking in some more opinions into the pot

[Ernest Burden III]

Sorry Ernest, just chucking in some more opinions into the pot

 

I learned almost every thing I know about arch-vis in C4D from you. But...I've learned a few things from use and others, also.

 

Untriangulating is useful in two ways. First, is reduces the number of polygons you are dealing with, and second, it cleans up the display of lines making your workflow faster. It also means you select one poly, not two, to grab a surface that needs pulling up, or out or whatever. With a model of a submarine that might not seem useful, but for architectural models, you will often be tweaking shapes based on cubic geometry. Having quads helps. You can have problems when reducing to n-gons, though it almost always works as expected. But the untriangulate function will NOT take a grid of 20x20 squares (cut into tri's) and return one big square like the n-gons option. It will return 20x20 squares. You could then melt them into one if you like.

 

C4D user AdamT from CGtalk has written that every UV tag doubles the memory footprint of an object, whether you use UV mapping or not. So while they are wonderful when you need them, if you don't it makes sense to delete them. And I think the ones that come in with 3ds files aren't set up for the objects, they're just there.

 

Oh, one more thing. As soon as your file imports select all points and do an 'optimize'.

[William Alexander]

In the Max OBJ export dialog there are options for geometry...triangluate, quads and polys. Using the polys option can minimize the nasty triagulation out of max, if it was modeled as Poly's.