Sketchup to 3DSMax Workflow

[nomeradona_cg]

Here is a tutorial from SketchUp to 3DS Max and finally using Vray MAx by Edward Castro http://bit.ly/pzMTcW
This is actually the winning entry on our Facebook Group page which are mostly Filipinos and other Asian guys.

[Neilg]

I'm not sure why he exports to .3ds - max 2010 on can import sketchup files. It's much cleaner than doing a .3ds

[Morne]

I'm not sure why he exports to .3ds - max 2010 on can import sketchup files. It's much cleaner than doing a .3ds

Agreed.
There's no need to mess up a model any further than what it already is, by using 3ds.

Just do a straight sketchup import to max, much cleaner, less hassles and smaller file size.

[nomeradona_cg]

agree, that was the same question, but he told me its easier to pick the material because in his workflow, everything has been grouped already.

[flino2004]

In my opinion 3ds is better workflow, when yoou import the model directly brings multi-subobject materials, so update the model after you work in max you waste a lot time...if you import the updated model into 3ds again the material ID might change
3ds format brings standard materials with object in groups by material.
Because sketchup works with faces, once you create the model if you have a curve you can't change it, so exporting from 3ds or directly from sketchup it doesn't matter because both model has/had the same triangulation( this what i got when I did my test several months ago).

Fernando

[nomeradona_cg]

what flino2004 said was actually the main reason why the author preferred 3ds workflow.

[Morne]

hmmm ok so what do I do if I have a 52mb sketchup file? If I import it directly to max and save, the file is suddenly 350mb. If I try and export from Sketchup to 3ds, it crashes everytime.

What to do?

Tried with different computers, with same results

Withing Sketchup, can I select/split objects by material? So that I can one by one try and export it to 3DS?

[flino2004]

52MB is super big for a SU file....when you use Highres maps SU binds the textures inside the file so it gets bigger and bigger....if this is the case I would create a small version of the map and replace them
purge everything, if you import DWG for backgrounds, delete them and purge/delete all the extra layers. ( I usually clean my files before import them into SU).
If you want send me a PM with a link to download the file and I'll take a look at it to see if I can reduce it.

Fernando

[Morne]

No that is not the case. There are about 18 materials in the scene and the maps are only 256X256. It's an entire sloped site, with bridges, roads, parking, shopping mall etc. I'm having a hell of a time to get something that is managable. There are various groups inside groups etc. It also doesnt help that there's plenty double faces, faces with wrong material, flipped faces etc.

I'm going through it now exploding all the groups, selecting all object by material, and putting that each on a seperate layer.

Any way to select all groups in the scene? (if I select all by ctrl+a and then explode, sketchup hangs and doesnt respond)

That's the problem with sketchup people, they think they can model in 3D and all looks awesome in sketchup (never used ANY other 3D app), but when you break it all down, its just one big messed up model

[trixian]

There is another issue with importing SU files directly, which I hoped would be fixed in 2012 but wasn't, and that is the normals of your model are "locked" and if you edit your meshes you will see this as weird smoothing etc. To remedy this one converts to poly, add a edit normals, select all normals and hit reset (they turn from green to blue). Then collapse\convert back to mesh if you so desire. This is a real PITA. Regardless, the models I usually receive from others in SU are a mess topology-wise and also tidyness-wise, so i often end up rebuilding outer walls and such my self in max to get the cleanliness I prefer. I have an ongoing crusade to get people to tidy as they work so the mess is tolerable, and one of those ways is getting them to actually use the outliner in SU. Do you guys use it or am I the only one that finds it handy?

Oh and btw, I most often get SU files in the range of 50-100+ megs, even without large textures (mostly massive landscape models). One of the reasons for this is that a lot of people make components instead of groups of their models, and everything inside tham regardless, and it just so happens that SU stores a master copy of each component in the file, resulting in massive bloat sometimes. Making them groups (unless they need to be instances later on) and then purging the component\in model view clears them out.

[Neilg]

I just checked an we've got a 90mb sketchup file just for one building and a little bit of siteworks next door. no maps, just horrible geometry.
Wasnt pleasant to work with but i could.

[flino2004]

As I said before in other threads regardins SU, the problems that you have are "user errors". When you know that you will export the model, your workflow change too. I have built huge models I never got more than 35Mb.
I usually split the model in pieces like I would do it in Max or AutoCad using Xrefs... so the site is one file, one file per building.... having all together never works well if you want to update the model later.
I always purge the model before save it, low amount of layers, checking normals all the time as well as materials, textures maximun 1024 pixels, delete all the hidden geometry especially after importing DWG backgrounds and modeling close to 0,0,0 ( I keep the same origin point between SU, Max & AutoCad.

Fernando

[nomeradona_cg]

Excellent idea you brought there Fernando.

[Macker]

I never import the .skp file into max unless I really have to (generally when someone else has produced the model I will do this). If I've made the model within sketchup I know that when I export as .3ds it will import perfectly into max every time, with no dodgy multi-sub material assignments etc.

Grouping things within sketchup is absolutely essential, otherwise it will import as one enormous mesh... Not fun.

[WIEGERINCK_ARCHITECTEN]

I have tried importing sketchup > 3ds-files into max, and i have a problem i have not yet seen before.

When assigning a vray-glass-material to sketchup faces / volumes i have very strange behavior while using IOR.
I receive sketchup files drawn in millimeters, my max setup is also millimeters, but i am under the impression that there is some kind of scaling-factor just in the IOR-values. So i have troubles creating nice and realistic looking glass while working with sketchup-files. All other units, UVW-values and more works just the way it is supposed to, but using IOR (reflection and refraction (but i think the most noticable is refraction)) other then 1.0 gives me strange behaviors....the glass will react like a mirror.

Thanks in advance for any help !!! my own workflow is Autocad to Vray/max, here i never have any problems....

Greetings,

Joost
is this something common ? does anyone have a tip for this kind of workflow ?