SKP + RVT into 3DS Max Best Workflow?

[Larissa Holderness]

Where I currently work, I get models from SketchUP and Revit (and sometimes, the architects put RVT into SKP and the other way around. Then, I have to import them into Max. This always creates material organization issues (when coming from SKP) as well as crap geometry (one mesh will have 3 different materials).

 

- What is the best workflow for handling geometry that comes from SKP that has Multi-Sub object materials applied (example: A facade that also has the interior walls as well as glass attached to ONE mesh)? It is hard to assign material IDs or change materials when you have 50 meshes with 50 different MSOs (nothing seems consistent). And it takes a bit of time to detach geometry based on material... who has that kind of time when 4 renders are due in a week?!

 

- Geometry. The terrain most architects get is trash. Roads are bumpy and non-planar, and the sidewalks and curb work follow that same bumpy trash path. And ... they are usually sloped. I believe the geometry comes from Infraworks or the like. How does one go about getting the civil aspects of the geometry to look better as well as react to Forest Pack without errors? Do you remodel it? Get the road geometry from somewhere else and import?

 

I am trying to streamline my process here at work. Usually there isn't much time to work on renders (like I said, 4 renders in 5 days). Need some advice on how to handle my workflow.

 

Thank you!

[James Vella]

Where I currently work, I get models from SketchUP and Revit (and sometimes, the architects put RVT into SKP and the other way around. Then, I have to import them into Max. This always creates material organization issues (when coming from SKP) as well as crap geometry (one mesh will have 3 different materials).

Can you upload a scene with an example of one of the worst ones you get - I would like to see exactly the type of errors as usually a combination of things can work and ill suggest you something that should cut your time down.

 

 

- What is the best workflow for handling geometry that comes from SKP that has Multi-Sub object materials applied (example: A facade that also has the interior walls as well as glass attached to ONE mesh)? It is hard to assign material IDs or change materials when you have 50 meshes with 50 different MSOs (nothing seems consistent). And it takes a bit of time to detach geometry based on material... who has that kind of time when 4 renders are due in a week?!

 

When I receive sketchup models, I do things usually in this order.

1. Reset Xform

2. Select all, Collapse to Editable Poly

3. Select all, apply an edit poly modifier (we want to edit multiple geo simultaneously but after keep them separate objects after exit object mode)

4. While selected, Sub-object Polygon mode, select the glass on the window, look at the Material ID number in the edit polygon modifier tab, if you select by ID 2 (or whatever it is) it should select all the window panes, can you can detach them all in 1 go (the materials are usually jumbled but the ID numbers come across consistently in most cases so selecting them is easy this way). Make sure you have your scene explorer open and you are selecting a new layer each time, if you do this the detached items will be placed into the highlighted layer, thus saving you time after because you have named all your empty layers - windows, frames, gutters, facia , etc.

5. You should have each layer with each detached items now collected (keep this empty layout structure in your template max file so you dont have to do it again). I prefer at this point to quickly go through each layer and assign a material ID color (helps for post, also if you get used to a consistent wireframe colour you can spot when you have put things in the wrong layer)

6. Apply a white paint on everything (this removes all the crazy material trees this comes with). Then start selecting by layer and applying your material. Makes it easy because the gutters are a coloured metal usually always, so you can select it, apply this and go to your next layer.

 

 

- Geometry. The terrain most architects get is trash. Roads are bumpy and non-planar, and the sidewalks and curb work follow that same bumpy trash path. And ... they are usually sloped. I believe the geometry comes from Infraworks or the like. How does one go about getting the civil aspects of the geometry to look better as well as react to Forest Pack without errors? Do you remodel it? Get the road geometry from somewhere else and import?

 

I prefer to either model over it with splines and create some compound objects, terrain, bevel, etc, each have great effects. If its small area (a park) ill just approximate using RLs as reference and use forest to cover any gaps. Medium/Large Size (3 blocks of houses + ), then ill use what I get, and remodel the closest items to the camera.

 

If you want to streamline your process, I would suggest taking note of the things you repeat most often - and create presets. Only after 8 years I started doing this - and I realised I could have saved myself a lot of time.

 

Good luck, hope some of this is useful

[SkylineArch]

You can save yourself a lot of time by simply exporting by material in SketchUp.

[Lewis Garrison]

Since my office deals mostly with interiors I often find myself rebuilding as much geometry as I can in Max and deleting the old geometry from sketchup and revit. Especially geometry from revit. This is of course if time allows, but it's saved us so many headaches. We also replace all the furniture with detailed Max models. Otherwise we pretty much do what James Vella posted. But either way there's going to be a clean up stage before we can get to materials and rendering.

[Francisco Penaloza]

When Working with Sketchup models as Mark mentioned, importing per materials is a big time-saving. Now, this only applies if your Architect/Designer is an organized person and does not have a white 1 white 2 white 3 material and they all are the same.

 

In that case doing a direct import as SketchUp to your Max then use a script to condense similar material names or similar material will help.

 

But before import the Sketchup model I always open Sketchup and clean the scene of un wanted objects and textures. Then flip all normal (Faces).

Then export as 3Ds per materials and select all important lines and export them as DWG.

 

In my case when something is modeled in REVIT there are very limited material, usually default, nobody work with materials here, so for me, it is easy or faster just to import per FBX family and apply a flat material to the whole building and build my scene from scratch then.

 

If the material is kept from REVIT I also import per family and use the same script to combine similar material to a more manageable number.

 

REVIT can not understand when the same material is repeated in a different object when a project is a work by different users. it takes it as two separated materials.

 

Another script to delete none used dummy or gizmos and reset XForm.

 

If you really want to stream line your workflow, you need to talk with your designers and try to maintain a little of organization on the way their models are created, I am campaigning here in my company to avoid the stupid, white 1 white2 white 3 or default gray or &^!@%#!&^@&Y*QUEYJDAJSDD212123.jpg texture.

 

Did you know that Sketchup import error 32 that Max gets when you try to import Sketchup model is because some material or texture has a long name??!!! Max can't understand more than 32 characters...

 

Same thing for REVIT, if Architect/Designers do their part, it will a lot easier for us and we could speed up our process a lot.

[Larissa Holderness]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions! Unfortunately, I cannot upload a scene - all NDA.

 

I didn't even think about exporting from SKP by material ... what a n00b I am sometimes.

 

If anyone else has any advice, tips, techniques ... let me know. Always trying to improve my workflow.

Edited August 14, 2017 by digitalputty