3D Modelling Tools

1. 3D Modelling Tools Week 9 File formats and exporting models

2. Last week - materials • Materials • Shaders • Rendering • Colours • Shininess • Self-illumination • Not textures, or bitmaps or maps 3D Modelling Tools

3. This week • File formats and exporting models • 3DS Max 7 Bible • Chapter 3 • Files types • Collecting resources • Saving your work • Exporting • XRefs • Other ways of viewing files 3D Modelling Tools

4. File types • 3ds Max has its own proprietary format • .max • But it does not save any extra files that you may have used • Archiving a Max scene makes sure that it includes all necessary files • Important for handing in your project work! • It will zip up your work and all associated files Murdock K.L., (2005) 3D Modelling Tools

5. Resource Collector Utility • The Resource Collector gathers the resource files used by a scene into a single directory • Bitmaps • Photometric distribution files (IES) • The scene itself, optional This is important for handing in your work 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

6. Lost work • Do not work over a network at Hope • Copy all work down onto a local drive • Lost or corrupted work is not a reason for an extension of time • Save your work regularly • Use a folder to organise it • An option with Max is to set Increment on Save option in the Preferences • May not work for you in the labs • May fill up your disc quickly 3D Modelling Tools

7. Exporting • There are many export file types, but we will discuss • 3D Studio (3DS) • Shockwave 3D • VRML97 (WRL) • M3G • TurnTool • Not a standard 3ds max export 3D Modelling Tools

8. Export to 3DS • The following information is exported: • Position, Rotation and Scale animation • Basic material color/parameters from the Standard material • Single maps with their amount, offsets, scales, etc. • Auto-cubics and Mirrors • Target cameras, target spotlights and omni lights. • Most "static" parameters for cameras and lights, and animation tracks for Roll, Falloff, Hotspot, and FOV • The following is not exported: • Composite and procedural maps • Grouped object transformations. There's no concept of group hierarchy in the 3D Editor • Global shadow parameters 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

9. Director • Export 3D scenes and animations in Shockwave 3D (W3D) format for use in interactive presentations in Macromedia Director • Bones require special consideration when being exported to Shockwave 3D format. • Hidden objects are not exported • The exporter supports specular lighting for light sources with Specular turned on in the General Parameters rollout > Affect Surfaces group • Some types of mapping distort or disappear on export 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

10. VRML • Virtual Reality Modelling Language • VRML is a scene description language • Simple ascii text files which can be parsed by a VRML interpreter • VRML browsers • Cosmo • Cortona • Flux • Exported from 3ds max .wrl extension • Being replaced with a new standard, X3D 3D Modelling Tools

11. Mobile • M3g files is native support for developing mobile games using the JSR-184 format • JSR-184 is a Java standard used to create 3D applications for mobile phones • Once you have exported your scene to JSR-184 format, you can preview the animation using the JSR–184 Standalone Player 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

12. Referencing external objects • You can also share scenes and objects with others working on the same project using XRef functionality. • The software allows you to use two kinds of externally referenced files (XRefs) • XRef Objects • XRef Scenes • Options for updating and protecting external files 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

13. XRef scenes • Use referenced scenes to bring in a file that cannot be selected or inadvertently changed. • An animator can bring in the environment or set as a referenced scene and won’t have to worry about mistakenly selecting walls and floors while trying to animate legs and arms • The file renders as part of the animation, but will not hinder the workflow • Referenced scenes can be bound to an object in the scene so you can scale, rotate, or reposition the scene if necessary 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

14. XRef objects • Referenced objects appear in the scene and can be animated • You may be able to edit the object’s modifier stack • You can add modifiers or transform animation to the referenced objects, but you cannot inadvertently change the model’s structure. • Referenced objects allow for the substitution of a proxy object, so you can animate a low-polygon version of a complex model and then render the polygon-intensive version 3ds max v7 3D Modelling Tools

15. Turntool • A plugin to 3ds Max • Based on a game engine • Free, but with a logo • Pay for no logo • Requires a plugin to Internet Explorer • http://www.turntool.co.uk/ 3D Modelling Tools

16. Activity • Export a model as • Max file with all the resouces • 3DS file • VRML and view • TurnTool model and view 3D Modelling Tools

17. Questions • What do you have to do to your files to hand in your work? • Describe how a team of modellers can work on a large project • Describe how you prepare a model for use in an OpenGL project • Or • Describe how you prepare a model for use in a Director project • Or • Describe how you prepare a model for display over the web 3D Modelling Tools

18. Impendent study • Directed reading 3DS Max 7 Bible • Cameras Chapter 26 • Work on model A 3D Modelling Tools

19. References • 3ds max v7, (2005) User Reference and Tutorials • Murdock K.L., (2005) 3DS Max 7 Bible, John Wiley & Sons Inc, ISBN: 0764579711 3D Modelling Tools