Hello, I am having trouble with creating a UV of a building I created in Sketchup and imported into 3ds Max 2018. It is my first UV so it looks like crap honestly but I am pretty sure it is not supposed to look like it does below. Some lines are somehow missing from some of the objects and thus they re black. I also cant find out for the life of me how to turn it into a normal in Photoshop after I hopefully fix it. For some reason these pics don t show up as they should, but the first one should be easily placed in PS if one has to so you can see. Any help is appreciated, Easton

How do I fix this UV?

Message 2 of 29

Hello @Anonymous and welcome to the community,

Is it possible that is an old version of the file? I don't see any UVS's on this object in that Max file. Is there a newer version?

I don't have PS but I'm guessing they were png's which explains the alpha. Overall I don't see anything totally wrong here. Some industries or studios might want you to rotate the shells to orient properly with the world but overall this can work. What is your intention with this? Are you doing arch viz work or games work? Thanks!

Best Regards,

Hello @Anonymous and welcome to the community,

Is it possible that is an old version of the file? I don't see any UVS's on this object in that Max file. Is there a newer version?

I don't have PS but I'm guessing they were png's which explains the alpha. Overall I don't see anything totally wrong here. Some industries or studios might want you to rotate the shells to orient properly with the world but overall this can work. What is your intention with this? Are you doing arch viz work or games work? Thanks!

Best Regards,

Message 3 of 29

Hi,

I made a new post about this

When I export the model to my texturing software it has artifacts all over it, when I go into the UV in Max there are a bunch of random poly's all over the place that shouldn't be there.

I spoke to some people from SketchUp and they couldn't figure out the problem.

Basically there are hidden random poly's within my model and I can only see them in the UV, which causes a major problem when trying to texture. I can't figure out how to fix this...

Thing is I need to model in SketchUp to get accurate representations of models from real life.

Message 4 of 29

Yes Sketchup sometimes creates messy geometry, no doubt about it but it sure is fast to use. Every program has their ups and downs. Sketchup is great for what it is. I must say though I am not seeing these double faces here on this model, it's clean. The model has no UV's laid out though, so that would definitely cause problems in your texturing program.

I'd like to see these random UVs or black line UVs but this model has no UVs. Do you have a version with them laid out?

Best Regards,

Yes Sketchup sometimes creates messy geometry, no doubt about it but it sure is fast to use. Every program has their ups and downs. Sketchup is great for what it is. I must say though I am not seeing these double faces here on this model, it's clean. The model has no UV's laid out though, so that would definitely cause problems in your texturing program.

I'd like to see these random UVs or black line UVs but this model has no UVs. Do you have a version with them laid out?

Best Regards,

Message 5 of 29

Hi Alfred,

Below I provided my models for 2 different models that were made in SU and imported into Max. If you go into the main viewport you should see that the model looks good, however if you look at the UVW that is unwrapped you will see that when polygon is selected and the move tool and you hover over the UV at different parts there are random polys that will be highlighted.

This issue then transfers to my texturing software as the UV has many random polygons in it that I can't seem to get rid of or much less find out how they got there.

Thank you for helping, I hope you can help me solve this issue,

Easton

Hi Alfred,

Below I provided my models for 2 different models that were made in SU and imported into Max. If you go into the main viewport you should see that the model looks good, however if you look at the UVW that is unwrapped you will see that when polygon is selected and the move tool and you hover over the UV at different parts there are random polys that will be highlighted.

This issue then transfers to my texturing software as the UV has many random polygons in it that I can't seem to get rid of or much less find out how they got there.

Thank you for helping, I hope you can help me solve this issue,

Easton

Message 6 of 29

I further tested everything just to try to find out what is wrong. When I went into SketchUp I didn't see anything like what Max is showing me, I went through as many settings as I could in SU and even turned on a option for displaying "Hidden Geometry" and the model is nice and clean. 3DS Max is telling a different story though, but only in the UV's.

I am totally lost on this.

I further tested everything just to try to find out what is wrong. When I went into SketchUp I didn't see anything like what Max is showing me, I went through as many settings as I could in SU and even turned on a option for displaying "Hidden Geometry" and the model is nice and clean. 3DS Max is telling a different story though, but only in the UV's.

I am totally lost on this.

Message 7 of 29

Hi. I just posted this in your other thread:

Hi. Took a look at your Doghouse model, and there are some overlapping faces in it. You can see it if you turn on xView (Views -> xView -> Overlapping Faces).

If you click "Select Results" in the xView dialog roll-out, the faces will be selected. Some times you can then simply delete those faces, but in this case you got to do a manual clean up of your model.

PS - I think it could helps you to uncheck "Edges Only" in the object properties (select object and right click "object properties"), so you can see any crossing hidden edges.

Hope it helps

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Hi. I just posted this in your other thread:

Hi. Took a look at your Doghouse model, and there are some overlapping faces in it. You can see it if you turn on xView (Views -> xView -> Overlapping Faces).

If you click "Select Results" in the xView dialog roll-out, the faces will be selected. Some times you can then simply delete those faces, but in this case you got to do a manual clean up of your model.

PS - I think it could helps you to uncheck "Edges Only" in the object properties (select object and right click "object properties"), so you can see any crossing hidden edges.

Hope it helps

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 8 of 29

Hi again. I managed to clean up your Doghouse (file attached). The faces/polygons in the windows wasn't deleted, by other that it was an issue about retriangulating the hidden edges ((subobject level "edges" -> activate "turn" and click on the edges). I think this deformation is happening during import, because of the way your model is made.

I know many people think SketchUp is fast when modelling, but a house like this is quite fast to model in 3dsMax too. Anyway, if you are going to use the models you make in SketchUp in other 3D-programs, you have to learn to model things in a way that transfers correct into those programs. Otherwise you'll spend more time cleaning up, than it takes to remodel the whole thing 🙂

Hope it helps

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Hi again. I managed to clean up your Doghouse (file attached). The faces/polygons in the windows wasn't deleted, by other that it was an issue about retriangulating the hidden edges ((subobject level "edges" -> activate "turn" and click on the edges). I think this deformation is happening during import, because of the way your model is made.

I know many people think SketchUp is fast when modelling, but a house like this is quite fast to model in 3dsMax too. Anyway, if you are going to use the models you make in SketchUp in other 3D-programs, you have to learn to model things in a way that transfers correct into those programs. Otherwise you'll spend more time cleaning up, than it takes to remodel the whole thing 🙂

Hope it helps

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 9 of 29

Hello @Anonymous,

Ok I see what you mean about missing edges and weird UV's now. All you need to do is collapse your stack and weld your verts with a low tolerance of something like .001. Then put your unwrap back on and you'll see the edges more clearly and properly.

Keep in mind that these UV's do have some overlapping which would cause problems in a texturing app like Substance or DDO. You need to avoid overlapping UV's in most cases. If I grab the big UV island in the lower left and move it, I see all kinds of things left behind in a strange manner. (Overlap)

The double faces you were referencing may just be overlapping UV's, possibly because the object was mapped strangely. You might want to take another stab at the UV's after welding those verts, but the main building model seems fine except for those verts that need to be welded. Does that make sense?

Also, nice work @PROH, you went above an beyond here. Good man.

Best Regards,

Hello @Anonymous,

Ok I see what you mean about missing edges and weird UV's now. All you need to do is collapse your stack and weld your verts with a low tolerance of something like .001. Then put your unwrap back on and you'll see the edges more clearly and properly.

Keep in mind that these UV's do have some overlapping which would cause problems in a texturing app like Substance or DDO. You need to avoid overlapping UV's in most cases. If I grab the big UV island in the lower left and move it, I see all kinds of things left behind in a strange manner. (Overlap)

The double faces you were referencing may just be overlapping UV's, possibly because the object was mapped strangely. You might want to take another stab at the UV's after welding those verts, but the main building model seems fine except for those verts that need to be welded. Does that make sense?

Also, nice work @PROH, you went above an beyond here. Good man.

Best Regards,

Message 10 of 29

Hi guys,

I am still a little lost...I just started 3d modeling as of maybe a month ago and haven't really learned 3DS Max yet, just how to UV Unwrap so I don't overload myself learning about 8 different programs between school and home.

So I tried to figure out how to weld vertices but kept getting lost in doing so, still not sure how to do that even after following this :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/3DSMa...

@PROH I UV Unwrapped the model that you fixed and it looks good, it also looked very well in my texturing software albeit with a few black spots. I am still trying to figure out how exactly you went about it. Below is the model you fixed in Quixel 3DO and the UV.

What exactly are all of those lines within my UV? That's what I was talking about earlier except I couldn't see them until you fixed it. How did you make them visible?

Also, I get a "rats nest" error when I export my OBJ, what is this?

Once I learn how to fix these problems I should be good to go with texturing. Then I will rinse and repeat to get familiar with the workflow, then dive into Max.

Thank you for helping

Hi guys,

I am still a little lost...I just started 3d modeling as of maybe a month ago and haven't really learned 3DS Max yet, just how to UV Unwrap so I don't overload myself learning about 8 different programs between school and home.

So I tried to figure out how to weld vertices but kept getting lost in doing so, still not sure how to do that even after following this :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/3DSMa...

@PROH I UV Unwrapped the model that you fixed and it looks good, it also looked very well in my texturing software albeit with a few black spots. I am still trying to figure out how exactly you went about it. Below is the model you fixed in Quixel 3DO and the UV.

What exactly are all of those lines within my UV? That's what I was talking about earlier except I couldn't see them until you fixed it. How did you make them visible?

Also, I get a "rats nest" error when I export my OBJ, what is this?

Once I learn how to fix these problems I should be good to go with texturing. Then I will rinse and repeat to get familiar with the workflow, then dive into Max.

Thank you for helping

Message 11 of 29

Hi. It looks like there's still something wrong with the model. Wondering if it's something I overlooked, or if it happened during OBJ export. I'll see if I can take a look at it tomorrow.

- "Rats nest" mean "messed up mesh", and indicate there's something wrong - and there is.

- "All those lines" are edges. All mesh is build by triangles, and the edges of these triangles can be visible or hidden. To see hidden edges in Max, you select the object, right click, select "object properties, uncheck "edges only" and press "OK".

Hidden edges may look better in the viewport, but will often screw up in export - especially when exporting editable polys. Editable mesh usually keeps things as they are (but apparently not always).

I would strongly advise you to read up on the basics about mesh (vertices, edges, faces, polys and elements) + how to edit them in Max. Much of this applies to basic mesh in all 3D programs.

Hope to find some time tomorrow 🙂

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Hi. It looks like there's still something wrong with the model. Wondering if it's something I overlooked, or if it happened during OBJ export. I'll see if I can take a look at it tomorrow.

- "Rats nest" mean "messed up mesh", and indicate there's something wrong - and there is.

- "All those lines" are edges. All mesh is build by triangles, and the edges of these triangles can be visible or hidden. To see hidden edges in Max, you select the object, right click, select "object properties, uncheck "edges only" and press "OK".

Hidden edges may look better in the viewport, but will often screw up in export - especially when exporting editable polys. Editable mesh usually keeps things as they are (but apparently not always).

I would strongly advise you to read up on the basics about mesh (vertices, edges, faces, polys and elements) + how to edit them in Max. Much of this applies to basic mesh in all 3D programs.

Hope to find some time tomorrow 🙂

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 12 of 29

Hello @Anonymous,

That's fair. The link you posted is the right one for welding. What I would do is select all the verts on your model, open the weld options and set the tolerance to .001 and then hit apply. That should take care of the UV display issue. Then, you might want to redo the UVs. There are some quick mapping methods in 3ds Max, you could try flatten mapping or unfold mapping followed by a pack uv's. (All simple to use even for a novice and please let me know if you have questions.) As long as they don't overlap, DDO should be fine with them.

My experience with rats nests from Sketchup is that it's often easier to delete the offending faces and rebuild them with a quick bridge than try to debug them and fix them. Looking at that screenshot on your model, I would just delete the faces and bridge. Those flipped triangle faces are basically 'invalid geometry' created by Sketchup and as noted also called a 'rats nest'.

The lines became visible likely due to the welding of the verts in the model, but I'm only guessing. I know it helped for the warehouse model you had.

Best Regards,

Hello @Anonymous,

That's fair. The link you posted is the right one for welding. What I would do is select all the verts on your model, open the weld options and set the tolerance to .001 and then hit apply. That should take care of the UV display issue. Then, you might want to redo the UVs. There are some quick mapping methods in 3ds Max, you could try flatten mapping or unfold mapping followed by a pack uv's. (All simple to use even for a novice and please let me know if you have questions.) As long as they don't overlap, DDO should be fine with them.

My experience with rats nests from Sketchup is that it's often easier to delete the offending faces and rebuild them with a quick bridge than try to debug them and fix them. Looking at that screenshot on your model, I would just delete the faces and bridge. Those flipped triangle faces are basically 'invalid geometry' created by Sketchup and as noted also called a 'rats nest'.

The lines became visible likely due to the welding of the verts in the model, but I'm only guessing. I know it helped for the warehouse model you had.

Best Regards,

Message 13 of 29

Hi Alfred,

Where exactly are the weld options located? From watching any videos on it no one has 3ds max 2018 and I think the layouts are different. All I see is "Selected", "Target", "Pixels 4", and then a scroll section for the distance in cm.

I messed around with the Weld options and tried selecting multiple vertices and welding them (usually 2 sections with maybe 30 vertices) and welded them and part of the model imploded... So I know I can't be doing it right. Does this happen with all models or is it because SketchUp doesn't work well with Max? Because I can not imagine how much trouble this could be with a relatively complex building, and I have yet to even figure out how to fix this tiny model.

Another problem is even with PROH's fixed model I can't find out how to UV unwrap the windows as well in one UV

This is becoming a massive headache, I thought I was finally on a roll after creating a UV, then the UV happened to be messed up. Then I thought I was about to figure it out and more problems just pop up.

I have video tutorials that I am paying for but none of them go over any of this, it feels like they never have to. In all of them they just click their way to a UV and export it flawlessly, while I am scratching my head trying to figure out what I am doing differently, this cant possibly take this long to make a UV, I have spent over a week just trying to make a UV.

Were you able to fix the warehouse model? How long did it take? Another problem is that I may think I am going along fine, then I import my OBJ into my texturing software only to realize I have to do it ALL over again, and again.

Hi Alfred,

Where exactly are the weld options located? From watching any videos on it no one has 3ds max 2018 and I think the layouts are different. All I see is "Selected", "Target", "Pixels 4", and then a scroll section for the distance in cm.

I messed around with the Weld options and tried selecting multiple vertices and welding them (usually 2 sections with maybe 30 vertices) and welded them and part of the model imploded... So I know I can't be doing it right. Does this happen with all models or is it because SketchUp doesn't work well with Max? Because I can not imagine how much trouble this could be with a relatively complex building, and I have yet to even figure out how to fix this tiny model.

Another problem is even with PROH's fixed model I can't find out how to UV unwrap the windows as well in one UV

This is becoming a massive headache, I thought I was finally on a roll after creating a UV, then the UV happened to be messed up. Then I thought I was about to figure it out and more problems just pop up.

I have video tutorials that I am paying for but none of them go over any of this, it feels like they never have to. In all of them they just click their way to a UV and export it flawlessly, while I am scratching my head trying to figure out what I am doing differently, this cant possibly take this long to make a UV, I have spent over a week just trying to make a UV.

Were you able to fix the warehouse model? How long did it take? Another problem is that I may think I am going along fine, then I import my OBJ into my texturing software only to realize I have to do it ALL over again, and again.

Message 14 of 29

Hi. Had a look at the "cleaned" model, and there were still some internal faces to delete.+ some errors in one of the windows. To stop the "rats nest" message, I also split the model in two pieces - the base and the house.

This will also make it easier to for example apply a shell modifier on the house, to give it some thickness. At the moment it has no thickness, and as a result, it's invisible from the backside (as seen on your previously uploaded picture).

I've tried to export it to OBJ-format and then import it back again, and I can't find a way to make this work without screwing up the model. However when exporting and importing back via the FBX-format everything works flawless. So might be an idea to use FBX instead of OBJ.

I've attached the cleaned model v 2 in both max-format and FBX-format.

Hope it helps

BTW - All the errors in the model that I've found, derives from the way it's build in SketchUp.....

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Hi. Had a look at the "cleaned" model, and there were still some internal faces to delete.+ some errors in one of the windows. To stop the "rats nest" message, I also split the model in two pieces - the base and the house.

This will also make it easier to for example apply a shell modifier on the house, to give it some thickness. At the moment it has no thickness, and as a result, it's invisible from the backside (as seen on your previously uploaded picture).

I've tried to export it to OBJ-format and then import it back again, and I can't find a way to make this work without screwing up the model. However when exporting and importing back via the FBX-format everything works flawless. So might be an idea to use FBX instead of OBJ.

I've attached the cleaned model v 2 in both max-format and FBX-format.

Hope it helps

BTW - All the errors in the model that I've found, derives from the way it's build in SketchUp.....

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 15 of 29

Hi @PROH How do you find errors?

So do you have to have to do this with all models or just from SKP. imports?

At least I know there is a way to fix my models.

Could you list step by step how to go about cleaning up the model so it is functional like the one you did? I would be forever grateful

I found this on a SketchUp forum from some years back but I have no clue what this guy is talking about:

"so having the limitation of 3ds format just don't fit for the needs of the HEAVY model i usually need in that workflow.. too much workarounds, exports in chunks, rename things, weld vertices/smooth meshes, fix bad uv mapping and stuff.. not my cup of coffee sir.. if you find it handy in your workflow use it but i'm in love with .skp reader"

What is "skp reader"? I looked around for it but can't find anything, it sounds like it is something that gets around all of the problems.

Thank you for helping

Hi @PROH How do you find errors?

So do you have to have to do this with all models or just from SKP. imports?

At least I know there is a way to fix my models.

Could you list step by step how to go about cleaning up the model so it is functional like the one you did? I would be forever grateful

I found this on a SketchUp forum from some years back but I have no clue what this guy is talking about:

"so having the limitation of 3ds format just don't fit for the needs of the HEAVY model i usually need in that workflow.. too much workarounds, exports in chunks, rename things, weld vertices/smooth meshes, fix bad uv mapping and stuff.. not my cup of coffee sir.. if you find it handy in your workflow use it but i'm in love with .skp reader"

What is "skp reader"? I looked around for it but can't find anything, it sounds like it is something that gets around all of the problems.

Thank you for helping

Message 16 of 29

Hi Alfred,

I am wondering if this is a problem with just SketchUp Make (free version) because of its limitations in file transfer/export. The Pro version has many more abilities such as exporting directly as a 3ds max file, which Make does not. I am not certain though if these issues will still happen in Pro like it does now when I transfer to Max.

This is all I found from Autodesk:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/3DSMa...

Would you happen to know anything about this?

Thanks again

Hi Alfred,

I am wondering if this is a problem with just SketchUp Make (free version) because of its limitations in file transfer/export. The Pro version has many more abilities such as exporting directly as a 3ds max file, which Make does not. I am not certain though if these issues will still happen in Pro like it does now when I transfer to Max.

This is all I found from Autodesk:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/3DSMa...

Would you happen to know anything about this?

Thanks again

Message 17 of 29

Hello @Anonymous,

When I use an STL check I can see you don't have double faces on the warehouse model, but you have a lot of open edges. There are some 5+ sided polys on your model which normally should be cleaned up by cutting or subdividing. This will create those lines on your UV's that you were asking about. Generally speaking a 3D face should not be more than 4 sides and steps should be taken to prevent this. The problem is working with a Sketchup model with bad geo isn't easy and most of the time as I mentioned I just rebuild the problem areas (or the whole thing).

The weld options are shown below. I don't know what tolerance you used, but try something very small like .001. I prefer to use Edit Poly for welding personally. Your model probably imploded because you used too high of a tolerance.

Can you please try that for me?

The last issue is that parts of this model still don't have UV's. You should check them with a checker map in a material or something to make sure you have UV's on everything before moving to texturing.

Best Regards,

95 KB

Hello @Anonymous,

When I use an STL check I can see you don't have double faces on the warehouse model, but you have a lot of open edges. There are some 5+ sided polys on your model which normally should be cleaned up by cutting or subdividing. This will create those lines on your UV's that you were asking about. Generally speaking a 3D face should not be more than 4 sides and steps should be taken to prevent this. The problem is working with a Sketchup model with bad geo isn't easy and most of the time as I mentioned I just rebuild the problem areas (or the whole thing).

The weld options are shown below. I don't know what tolerance you used, but try something very small like .001. I prefer to use Edit Poly for welding personally. Your model probably imploded because you used too high of a tolerance.

Can you please try that for me?

The last issue is that parts of this model still don't have UV's. You should check them with a checker map in a material or something to make sure you have UV's on everything before moving to texturing.

Best Regards,

95 KB

Message 18 of 29

Hello @Anonymous,

I am familiar with the SKP import. After Google sold Sketchup there were some changes to the file format which seems to be closed now, so maintaining the functionality is more difficult. Have you tried importing the SKP?

Best Regards,

Hello @Anonymous,

I am familiar with the SKP import. After Google sold Sketchup there were some changes to the file format which seems to be closed now, so maintaining the functionality is more difficult. Have you tried importing the SKP?

Best Regards,

Message 19 of 29

Hi. I think that the mentioned 3ds format is the actual .3ds format and NOT .max. *.3ds is an old format with a lot of limitations (i.e. maximum 8 characters naming, no instances). The "SketchUp reader" is most likely referring to a plugin that makes it possible to read/load SketchUp-files directly in for example 3dsMax, AutoCAD or other 3D-software. Today 3dsMax has this ability build in (IIRC), and that is in my opinion usually the best way to import SketchUp-files into Max.

Regarding the mesh "errors" I've found, then every convertion between formats brings a risk of some deformation, as I found the OBJ export and import did. But as I said, I think most of the errors derives from the way the model was build. I don't no any tuts or documentation that explains what not to do. I've learned it myself the hard way - by trial and error. Having said that, it is however easier to build and repair models, if you have a basic understanding of how a mesh is build (vertices, triangles/faces, polys etc. etc.), and that's why I suggested you to read up on this.

The way I found those errors, was first to use the xView functions, and after that I went manually through every part of the model. Quite time consuming, and therefore it's often faster to rebuild models in Max, or simply learn to model in Max. These errors doesn't only show in 3dsMax, but many program doesn't have the tools to fix them.

I won't be making a long step by step guide - it would be book sized 🙂

Hope it helps

BTW - I see that your proces includes several different programs, and unless there's a specific reason or purpose for this, I would personally chose a shorter route.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Hi. I think that the mentioned 3ds format is the actual .3ds format and NOT .max. *.3ds is an old format with a lot of limitations (i.e. maximum 8 characters naming, no instances). The "SketchUp reader" is most likely referring to a plugin that makes it possible to read/load SketchUp-files directly in for example 3dsMax, AutoCAD or other 3D-software. Today 3dsMax has this ability build in (IIRC), and that is in my opinion usually the best way to import SketchUp-files into Max.

Regarding the mesh "errors" I've found, then every convertion between formats brings a risk of some deformation, as I found the OBJ export and import did. But as I said, I think most of the errors derives from the way the model was build. I don't no any tuts or documentation that explains what not to do. I've learned it myself the hard way - by trial and error. Having said that, it is however easier to build and repair models, if you have a basic understanding of how a mesh is build (vertices, triangles/faces, polys etc. etc.), and that's why I suggested you to read up on this.

The way I found those errors, was first to use the xView functions, and after that I went manually through every part of the model. Quite time consuming, and therefore it's often faster to rebuild models in Max, or simply learn to model in Max. These errors doesn't only show in 3dsMax, but many program doesn't have the tools to fix them.

I won't be making a long step by step guide - it would be book sized 🙂

Hope it helps

BTW - I see that your proces includes several different programs, and unless there's a specific reason or purpose for this, I would personally chose a shorter route.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
3dsMax 4.2 to 2018
AutoCAD 2000 to 2018
Infrastructure Design Suite Premium 2012 to 2018

Message 20 of 29

Hi,

What do you mean exactly that 3ds max has the ability built in? Just importing a Skp. file? I am trying to find out if there is any way to get around this. I am guessing there is not.

OK, is there any way to simply build around my building? Say I basically want to add a mask over my current model which forms around it perfectly. Can I make another group and then proceed to building this mask (model) over my imported SketchUp one in Max?

Then just delete the original and be left with a flawless version?

Because right now I feel like bashing my head in the desk in front of me as this is a unprecedented mess that I did not plan for.

My sole problem is that I need to build my models in SketchUp because they have something called PhotoMatch which lets me take pictures of buildings and model them accurately, max does not have that capability as far as I am aware, and for multiple pictures as well, all accurate.

I suppose what I will do is model the least I can in SketchUp then go into Max and model the finer details according to my pictures, that should work. SketchUp is easy to work with but it is not worth it if I have to go through this process, it either eliminates the purpose of ease of use or adds even more work.

So would it be possible and best to try and overlap or mask my model by simply overlapping where the polys should go? I feel as if this would be the easiest way but not sure if doable.

"I won't be making a long step by step guide - it would be book sized :)"

That is fine, if it takes that long and you're way more experienced than me (probably by years) it would not be worth it, I'm doing my best to press the eject button and find a easy work around.

"BTW - I see that your proces includes several different programs, and unless there's a specific reason or purpose for this, I would personally chose a shorter route"

What exactly do you mean? Like SketchUp-3ds Max-Photoshop-Quixel?

Unfortunately it will get longer, which is why I don't want to learn 3DS Max more than I have to as of right now. The process is for game design and ArchViz so I have to sometimes get relatively accurate building models, or make my own (depending on the purpose) then build them, UV, texture, then insert into the application.

So yeah for right now I am taking it slowly, otherwise I get really stressed. I am trying to learn AutoCAD at school and about to start Solidworks and Revit ( then other classes ugghh), then at home I have to learn 3DS Max, SketchUp, Photoshop, Quixel, Substance designer, painter etc. Unreal Engine 4, and also another engine. And I just started about a month ago or so with all of those so I am just trying to go step by step right now so my brain doesn't explode lol.

Once I get through with just the basics of what I need, building the model and texturing it, Ill probably rinse and repeat 10X over until I am confident that I can insert it into an engine, then try to ramp up my building and texture skills.

Thank you very much for the help!