Project Workflow: SU to 3ds max
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Hello everyone,
First, my apologies if this is a simple/repeat post but I couldn't find an answer by searching.
Long story short, I was using SU --> KT, now I'm using SU --> Max.
Until just a few days ago I was a solid SU + KerkyThea user. My standard workflow was to model everything in SU including point lights, spot lights, emitters using the SU2KT tools. Then I would export to KT and adjust settings/materials etc. I've become frustrated with KT due to some complex scenes that KT can't handle due to ram restrictions.
I just started diving into 3ds max, but the workflow between SU and Max has got me confused. I have the Connection Extention mentioned in this post: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=26960. It works well for daylight settings and materials, but there is no documentation at all about importing artificial lights.
Is there a way to model lights/emitters/etc. In SU and import to Max the way SU2KT works for KerkyThea? It would be a nightmare to have to manually add literally hundreds of photometric lights in MAX after already placing them in SU.Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
-LP -
If their extension does not do it, then it will require a plugin of some sort. I am not familiar with any plugin that does that for max though. I am also not familiar enough with how Max works. There might be a way to just export the lights from SU and import them into your max scene. Then edit one of the light components in Max and add a light to it and have it update all instances of that light in the scene. There might be some others here are more well versed in Max (I have played with it a lot, but would not consider myself good with it).
Chris
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Thanks Chris,
What you are describing sounds about right, but there is a more fundamental problem. There is no such thing as a "light" in SketchUp. The "lights" I was using for export to KerkyThea were geometric cones that had properties applied by the SU2KT tools. They only became light objects after being imported to KT.
So there I am stuck again. There's a Max importer to bring in a SU model, but there are no objects that the importer recognizes as lights!
I hope this clarifies the issue a bit.
-LP -
What Chris says is that you export a set of geometry ( called "light") as a component and in Max, add a light to this component.There must be something that lights in Max, too. Like as if you were adding lights in Kerky (as you can do that there, too).
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Thanks Gaius,
I did misunderstand Chris' post. Unfortunately, there are still some wierd things going on. The components behave like they are supposed to, and if I manipulate the geometry of one, they all change. But if I try to add a light it only happens at the one instance. Additionally, the components do NOT come in as "groups" or "assemblies" in max, which is very confusing.
As I said in the OP I'm just now getting into max so I may just be doing something wrong. Any multi-platform users out there have a good resource for Max specific questions like this? Has anyone successfully transferred lights like I'm trying to do?
Thanks again,
-LP -
There is no way to do what you are asking. There are at least 5 different kinds of lights in Max so there would need to be a way to specify the type of light and settings ect., which would require a whole UI to be built as a ruby script. As of now, there is no SU 2 Max exporter. You are using the Connectivity extension which is solely an IMPORTER on the Max side. Last week I finally upgraded to Max Design 2011 with the built in SU importer and I don't like it. I prefer just exporting out of Sketchup as 3ds and separating my model by material as opposed to the multi sub-object materials that the importer creates. I'm loving the node based material editor and the built in Toxik though!
There are at least a handful of Max users here, so if you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.
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I was afraid of that.
All the research I've been doing was pointing in that direction anyway so I'm not TOO disappointed... So I guess its back to the issue at hand, which is workflow from SU to Max.Once you get all your meshes and materials exported and imported to Max do you then add all lights individually? What about for multiples of the same fixture type? In my example I am using lots of 2x2 florescent and 6" can lights for a building interior (each with IES files), which was why I was trying to use SU components for all light fixtures. How much of the light fixtures do you model in SU before export/import?
On a side note the KerkyThea folks just released a new exporter that allows instant conversion of all IES lights, which was a life saver until the complexity of the model started crashing things. sigh
Thanks,
-LP -
I would just make the fixtures in SU, then in Max you can add your lights to just one of the fixtures. Give that one fixture a name unique from the rest. I use a script from Neil Blevins called "Object replacer" from his Soulburn Script pack. Use the script to replace the fixtures with the one you added the lights to.
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Interesting topic! Thanks LP for starting this, and thank you Earth for pointing at Neil Blevins scripts (found the WonderHowTo tutorials page by that - just perfect for me)
As I started adding Max into my workflow just recently, I only understand so far that the concept of groups and components works very different. Not like in SU. Is the object replacer script the only way to handle this task?
(omg, there is so much to learn with Max;)Is the SU-Importer in Max2011 also available for Max2010, and how does that what it does differ from the SU import via 3ds?
(I have not been posting much here at SCF, but I want to say this: big "thank you" to everyone here for the most helpful and friendliest forum on the planet!)
alex
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Adam,
Thank you for the reference to Niel's scripts. It looks like a goldmine, although I'll probably have to get more up to speed with OOTB max before I can fully appreciate all the tools.
But of course
something wierd is happening with the script. I have a bunch of lights in a room, select them, select the new light I want to replace them with and hit apply. It deletes all my lights, and stacks a bunch of copies on top of the light I wanted to replace them with. I tried this with a bunch of different settings checked and unchecked including "position" but no luck.Alex,
the importer for max 2010 is called the Connection Extension. You can download free it if you are on subscription with autodesk. Here's the wet-your-appetite video:
http://download.autodesk.com/us/3dsmax/connection_extension/stretchup/3ds_max_stretchup_820x510.html
From playing with it briefly it looks like the big difference is in how well the materials come with the SU file. Of course since I'm just getting started with the materials editor in Max it's hard for me to give my own opinion on which is better. I've heard in other blogs that when imported directly from the SKP file they come in as Architecture & Design materials rather than "standard" materials if you export from SU to 3ds then open in max. Also the importer lets you choose where to put the extracted material image files, which is nice.-LP
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Thank you LP, looks like I have to wait until I can afford the subscription (currently on student version)
Btw, the materials are really fun to use, but I was struggling with navigation a lot before I discovered the "go to parent" button
Good luck with your learning!
a.
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