You want to upload an display/sell your work of art on the web. You have created it in your favorite 3D program and it is finally perfect. Now the problem is, the site you want to upload to doesn't like your file type or worse, the textures don't translate well when uploading. As with anything (if you're a control freak like me), it is nice to have the control of the files on your end rather than the other. I use .3ds files to upload content because I'm somewhat lazy, lol, and it is the easiest way for me to get the textures, etc to look right in the places that I use. I also convert to VRML for some sites
That is where a little, low cost program called Accutrans comes in.
.obj Model loaded into Accutrans
.3ds Model loaded into Accutrans
It is both a modeling program (Can't recommend it for that) and a awesome file conversion program. It is/was popular with people who create for the Virtual Reality chat platform called Active Worlds, but is useful for ALOT of other applications. It will accept, to name a few: .x Directx Files .3ds files 3D Studio exprot format .obj WavefrontFiles .lwo Lightwave files .cob Truespace Files .wrl VRML Files .x3d 3D Files (The new VRML based standard) Etc, etc, etc
AND it will convert and save out to these formats and more.
I use it for converting and pre-flighting files for upload. It will compel you to rename your textures (If need be), as 3ds files do not like long texture names. You can do some UV mapping in it also. and it does all this for $20 USD
This tutorial is geared for VRML Communities but can be applied to other uses.
Here’s your dilemma. You have a great looking item for uploading to the Mall in 3D Planets (Or Cybertown, etc.), but the interface only accepts one texture. You have 3 textures in your object. How do you get them all uploaded so your work of art looks as good as you envisioned it?
Here’s a little tutorial on how to pull this off. I am doing it in AC3D, but it can work in other programs.
First, a little background. I use AC3D because it only costs $90 USD and it is a very powerful modeling program. Higher cost programs like 3D Studio Max, Maya and Cinema 4D have options to “Bake” objects, which creates a multi texture file for the object. Unfortunately, I don’t have the multiple thousands of dollars needed to buy these programs. So I stick to the ones I can afford.
The number one thing to do is create the texture file. I have chosen 3 textures I want in this model. I am using Photoshop for this but other photo programs will work as well. First I open all the textures I want to use
Then I choose the widest one (The face of the stereo), an reduce the width to 512 pixels. I then create a new empty object and make it 512 X 512 pixels and rgb and give it a black background. Now I can start selecting the 3 textures, copying them, and pasting them into the new object. You will have to resize them a little to fit, once you are done flatten the object and save it out (I saved it as a jpeg) with a new name into the same folder you will save your model to.
To start, let’s create an object. I have one made (an 80’s 8 Track Stereo) for an example. This is a very simple model because I like to keep things simple. In figure 1 you see the model with no textures. I have added a color and transparency to the cover as I won’t be texturing it. The model is basically boxes with a few surfaces separated so texturing them alone will be easier. You can also do this by selecting faces but I chose not to here.
Select one of the boxes. I have selected a speaker box here. Go to the “Object” menu/Texture/Load Texture. Chose your texture file, and apply.
Hmmmm. Looks strange in the “Left View” window. Lets set our UV Mapping (How the texture is applied to a shape).
The UV Map tool allows you to apply the proper mapping to the shape. In this case, choose “Box”, and apply.
You might get a jumble of all 3 textures, but not to worry, we will cover this next. Go to the “Tools” menu and select “Texture Coordinate Editor”. You should see something that looks like this.
Merely drag the corner nodes so that ONLY the wood texture is covered by the mesh, and VIOLA!, The speaker box should now look like it has a wood covering. You can repeat these steps for all the box shapes.
Now we will do the face of the stereo. Go to the front view and select only the face of the middle wide rectangle. When you go to “Object/Texture” you will see your texture file listed below “Load Texture”. Chose it. Launch the Texture Coordinate Editor and drag the nodes to cover only the face texture. In your 3D view your model should start to look like a stereo!
Now, select the face of the speakers in the front view, and repeat the steps choosing the texture that looks like speakers. Now it is really coming along.
Once your textures are applied and you are satisfied you can then export it as a VRML2 file and depending on the size, it should be ready to go. You are ready with one model and one texture!
A couple of tips. Check the file size requirements for the particular community you wish to upload to. TAlso it is probably a good idea to name your files using all lowercase letters with NO spaces. There are several tools for making your model the right size for upload. One of my favorites is Chisel. It is free and written in java. You can get it at: http://www2.hrp.no/vr/tools/chisel/install.htm
Hope this helps. As I said, for this tutorial I used AC3D, but the principle works in other programs. I have included the model as a 3DS file and the texture file so you can play with it. I you have any questions feel free to message me on 3DP. Happy modeling!
I started exploring the free and low cost 3D program possibilities after one too many questions about where to get a "cracked' copy of 3D Studio Max, or other high end programs. Most of us that are amatures (by that I mean not making money at it), don't need that kind of modeling power to put out quality work. I have compiled a list of some of these free & low cost programs with 2 criteria. 1: I have worked in them at least a little. 2: They have a way of being utilized for VRML/X3D
I am sure there are others out there, so feel free to add them. We'll start with the free ones...
You cannot praise this program enough! There is something about the look and feel of it that keeps me coming back. It is very powerful. The interface is awkward and the learning curve for me is steep. There isn’t, however, much you cannot do once it is mastered. There are also very good sites and; message boards that you can get tutorials and advice from. Worth the effort IMHO. Will export in most of the common formats including VRML and X3Dand imports a lot of different formats, and plug-ins are being written as we speak to expand its capabilities. The best part of all this is that it is FREE, which, given all it can do, is simply amazing!
Another great FREE modeler. It amazes me that, considering the cost of some of these programs, some of the the free ones are so good. It is based on Nendo and Marai by IZWare. I have Nendo so it was semi familiar to me. Wings is also open source which means it is being developed by the users. That is one of the thing’s I like about this genre of software. It is an honest way of doing things. The truth is, Microsoft and the rest do the same thing, but they charge you lots of money and claim they do all the work. Anyway, sorry, back to Wings. It will import Nendo (.NDO) *of course. 3D studio (.3DS), Wavefront (.obj), and even Adobe Illustrator (.AI). It will export in the above, except Illustrator, plus VRML (.wrl), and Renderware (.rwx). It has a fairly good user manual and some good tutorials. There is a development forum. I strongly encourage using these resources with these programs.
Another amazing modeler. This one will animate, make models from scratch, and modify existing models. It will import 3D Studio (.3DS), Lightwave (.LWO), Wavefront (.OBJ), and it’s own (.an8). It Exports 3D Studio, Wavefront, and others and Hermetic Cab, a friend and a great creator, has written a plug-in script for it that exports to X3D. You can also use a conversion program like Accutrans to convert to VRML/X3D. The details for Herm's plug-in can be found at Cyworx
In a move that almost seems "too good to be true" Caligari has released the latest version of their excellent program for FREE! This program used to cost over $700 USD. It is a very powerful program that will model, render and animate. It imports VRML1 and exports VRML2. There are lots of tutorials and a forum for learning the ins and outs of this software. The only requirement is to create an account with them and then download the program and the learning videos & models. This is almost too good to pass up. A word of warning though, this one takes a little juice to run. Especially in it's default view mode. It also can be run as version 6 right in the program. Take a look.
A java based modeling program that pretty much will do all you need. It does subdivision modeling, textures, does boolians, animates and renders. I know two excellent modelers that use it and they do some great work with it. Their site has excellent tutorials and a forum. It is open source, so you can write your own plug-ins for it if you are so inclined. It imports .obj files, and exports to obj, povray and VRML. It is written in Java so you will need the latest Java runtime installed. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Well worth a look.
Another feature packed program. As the site says, "Seriously Cool Three Dee". It opens with 2 modules. A design module for modeling and an animation module for, what else? Animation. The latest version (2.0) utilizes hardware rendering. This program has alot of potential and of course, is free. It opens 3ds, dxf and stereo litho (stl) files and exports 3ds, dxf, stl and VRML.
