No colors or texture when exporting FBX using Maya

[Anonymous]

Maya 2012: When I export to fbx all I get in the end result is the shape. No colors, no texture, nothing else. I feel really ignorant but I don't know where else to ask for help. I've been through my two books and YouTube. Thanks! 

Larry.

@Anonymous Topic title has been edited to improve findability by @hagen.deloss. Original: FBX Export - No colors or texture

[weshowe]

What are you exporting FBX to? Maybe it can only import shapes via FBX.

Most packages you would export to (game engines, other 3D apps) do not recognize most shader models (some will import a lambert), regardless of whether you included that information in the FBX file or not. Often textures have to be imported into a game engine separately and materials created before they can be applied to your mesh.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

I'm importing the fbx files to Unity. I got it to work after viewing more videos. I have a lot to learn about textures, applying color, etc.. I was not assigning the material properly. I understand what you mean about some apps not recognizing most shader models. I tried some fancy ones (mi_car_paint_phen_x) and they would not even export. Not even when I save the scene with the mi_car_pain_phen_x material to Maya's mb extension. Seems odd to me.

I'm looking around for the best video tutorials and so far Digital Tutors seems the best. What advice do you have on that?

I really appreciate the time you took to answer my post. 😉

[Anifex09]

Maya is capable of some of the most elaborate shading networks of most any other program. That is one of the reason I love the program. As far as Mental Ray shaders that is due to FBX limitations.

[weshowe]

Most shaders are not really standard, beyond attaching a texture, normal map and so on to a mesh. I have played with the Unreal engine, and some special shaders I like I had to remake in UDK also. Once I had that made, I just need to tweak a few constants and alter the textures it uses in their material editor. Easy enough.

I would be the last person to ask about tutorials. I rarely finish watching any of them; I prefer just researching something I don't yet know (and there is still a lot I don't know). There are tons of tips and such written about Maya you can Google up, for me that is usually faster. But we do not all learn the same way, and I never heard anyone knock Digital Tutors.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

Good info, thanks again. I have both educational versions of 3ds Max 2012 and also Maya. Do you ever use 3ds at all? I'm playing with both, and prefer the interface of Maya, but 3ds seems like it might do simple modeling for games easier. What do you think?

[weshowe]

If I could buy 3DS for the upgrade price, I probably would. But a full license is far too much money given what I have already invested in Maya, including the learning time. But every year I download the demo version and play with it until it expires.

As for which is better, that is a call to an argument about anywhere you post it. They are both powerful programs, and they are both very different "under the hood", between DAG nodes in one and the stack in the other. People looking to make a career of working for studios or game developers probably should look at becoming proficient in one, and more than casually skilled in the other to increase their chances of getting a job.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

For a long time I watched the prices of Maya and 3ds. Then I went into the trial section, and got depressed because I'm not a student and also don't have the bucks. Then three weeks ago I opened the panel up and at the bottom it had an option for Unemployed, which I am. I'm 56 and disabled and live on a disability income, so I qualified. Otherwise I could never have gotten even one of these excellent programs. Too many other places for our money to go right now.

I'm amazed at what all is hidden in 3ds, I just have to know how to open menus up. In Maya it's not such a hunt and find task, it's more in the open.

[weshowe]

The Autodesk Assistance Program. I remember hearing about that, I should check it out.

I am more adept at scripting than creating art, try as I will. I have been wanting to learn MaxScript, so that might give me the opportunity to learn. I can always buy a license if I get a chance at making some money with it.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about MaxScript. I too am a better programmer than a graphics anything. I'm trying though. I've built shareware in the past and am now using the Unity engine to do things different. Graphics programs and me are a bit opposite of each other. It's fun though!

Hey, I'm having export problems with fbx again but now in 3ds. I can understand exporting problems with something I designed wrong, but not with maps. I'm using a wood map in a Standard Material and it says the map won't export. What good are the maps if they won't export? Only a person with 3ds can view my art?! Is there a way to make a map work anyway?

Here is the error:
The following maps are only supported by 3ds Max; they will not be recognized by other applications. To learn how to convert them so they will be compatible with other applications, see the Render Map Dialog topic in the 3ds Max documentation.
-Map #5

[weshowe]

It sounds like a procedural texture. Those aren't really bitmap images, but algorithms that generate bitmaps.

I don't know if there is a way in Max to bake one to a texture, but recent versions of both Maya and Max feature Allegorithmic Substances, which I know can be adjusted to your liking and baked to a texture. Various wood, brick, concrete and metal substances are there, very good at least for a starting point.

Thanks for the tip about the unemployed qualifier. I now have 3DS Max, so I can work on learning it. My biggest problem with it so far has been unlearning ALT+ left and right mouse buttons for navigation... at my age, habits are hard to break. 🙂

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

Here is the link to the 3ds forum and I got one reply:
http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autodesk-3ds-max/autodesk-3ds-max--3ds-max-design-2012/fbx-wont-expor...

You are welcome. I was in tears when I found that option, as I thought unless I had about $3500 no way would I ever see Maya or 3ds Max. I wasn't going to lie either because I'm not a student, so when I saw that option I was very thankful. I'm not going to abuse the license in any way, just playing around for now. If something good comes out of it, then I will buy whatever license I need for which ever tool I'm using. That unemployed option is a good way to get people liking their tools who would otherwise never know.

The Alt+Mouse navigation in Maya has made it difficult for me in 3ds too. I'm always messing up with that. I don't understand why the programmers didn't sync the two programs to use the same combination. I like the Maya way, and the Unity game SDK also uses the same combo. Makes it nice.

[weshowe]

I am working on it. Between Maya, Max and the UDK, my poor fingers are now confused beyond repair. I did better with Max once I figured out that the MMB, ALT+MMB and CTL+ALT+MMB move pretty similar to Maya's ALT+LMB, ALT+MMB and ALT+RMB. I just have to work some more on this. Customizing it would defeat my objective to develop skills I could use other than at home.

No, it isn't worth lying about qualifications. I don't know that Autodesk would actually prosecute (and don't know they wouldn't), but obtaining something under false pretenses has a short name, theft, and is against the law. It is probably against more than one law, since a computer would be involved. I have managed to get this far in life without a stretch in jail, and I don't want to change the record.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

Kind of off topic, but how do you like the UDK? That's what I was playing with before I went to Unity. UDK locked up several times and I got fed up with it. However, the animation is better in it. I wasn't fond of the scripting in it either, and installed nFringe which seemed to work good. I never tried Kismet so I may not have a right to complain. 🙂 UDK also taxed my CPU all the time, which was strange. The fans sped up a lot. Unity is more lay back that way.

I mainly use ALT+MMB and CTRL+MMB, then the gizmo at the top right to pan around while holding the mouse button down on it. The steering wheel locked up every time I used it, but the latest service pack #2 fixed that. Which reminds me, if you go to the updates page, there is the SP2 which fixes a lot of things. The 3ds download did not have that installed.

[weshowe]

I did get SP2, before I found any bugs in the release version.

I started to write a full response to your other question out, but being off-topic I suggest you PM me and we can discuss that topic then or exchange emails about it.

<* Wes *>

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I am trying to export a model to FBX format. I changed the colors of the model which works in Maya Binary format. But, when I export the model to FBX format, all the colors are lost. They are not getting saved in the exported FBX file. Please, help me with this! Thanks in advance.

Maya Binary formatThe exported FBX file

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

I found the solution. I was changing the color in the mesh display which is not getting exported to FBX file. The colors added as blinn are getting exported to FBX format.

[SNELSON113RYBX]

No that is due to Autodesk being greedy and sticking us with stupid Arnold.