3d Objects

[samsc]

please email me your model.
3d models are very very finicky.

[litemover]

I've created 2 models from 2 separate applications and they work fine for me. I used Modo 201 for the first one, and Maya for the second.

Didn't need to do anything special except name them correctly. I named them 000model1football.obj, and 001model8wierdsphere.obj.

I would post them but I can't upload them here as the file manager needs to accept objs.

It works fine though. Double check that you have put them in the app directory and named them with a 3 digit number then model then a number then your description.obj. I did it just like how it was explained to me and it works. It might be possible that your normals are facing the wrong direction and you are seeing the back of your model. Try either rotating your model or camera if you are using a model that has only one side to it.

Make sure to frame up the model and export the model only not the entire scene. Also make sure not to export any materials with the model.

Christian Choi

[samsc]

i added the obj file type- but you should zip them- really.

one of the big advantages of obj files - is that they are text files - and they have a small number of features- so its not totally impossible to look at them a see incorrect things.

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3d models are tough -

if you use maya and modo - - they do the right thing - most of the time.

i use maya, formz, cinema4d, concepts 3d -i tried modo. i can just make models work.
I have been able to get proper texture maps and uv coordinates out of cinema 4d - with non-mangled vertices -
I also sometimes have to resort to windows based 3d file translation programs.


but it sometimes takes lot of wrangling to make 3d - even transfering files from one 3d program to another, can be traumatic and difficult.

[litemover]

Here's a simple checklist of things to do to create models that will absolutely show up under any circumstances.

1. Use polys only, no Nurbs, Sub-ds, or anything else.
2. Only use quad faces, no n-gons or triangulated faces.
3. Make sure your object is oriented toward the Z camera
4. Make sure to follow richards instructions on how to name the models exactly.
5. Make sure to output only the selected model not the entire scene.
6. check you scale, if it is in mm, your model may be so small that it will look like a pinhole. If you have been working in very small units, just double check that you aren't making models that are too small.
7. try to use double sided geometry, i.e not planes. Instead of a plane use a very thin cube primitive, this way you are guaranteed not to have any reversed faces.
8. If you need to use planes, turn on your normals and make sure they face the Z axis. Catalyst seems to orient the model towards the Z axis.
If you're still having problem try outputting your model without any shading or bump/displacement.
Z axis on many modeling packages is not height it is depth as in from the cameras point of veiw. Only in architectural and 3dmax is Z up and down. You can change this preference in most packages so that Z isup.

I know that if you follow these steps your model should work. Experiment though in your spare time and try all types of geometry and faces. I'm not saying that they won't work, I just know what will.

Anyone with any in depth 3d questions, feel free to pm me and post here.

Christian