Exported model is mangled when imported to Daz Studio?

dbdigital2

I have ran into a interesting problem.  A project I am working is half way done in Studio, but one scene needed a different window than I have.  I thought no problem, it is a small simple window, I could create it in Carrara, which I did.  However, when I imported it into Daz Studio it gets managled:

But it looks fine in Carrara:

I tried exporting to obj and dae, and I tried a bunch of different settings, but always the same result.  It also looks fine when imported elsewhere such as Hexagon.  Anyone have any ideas?  It seems like this must have come up before, but several searches didn't come up with anything.

Stezza

ngons!!

make sure in the modelling room you create all quads... use the crease edges tool to define edges or make more edge loops..

just did an example here... the window isn't a good round one as I did it quickly... but I had to fix the ngons and add the creases.

dbdigital2

*slaps forehead* Gah!  I thought I had so I didn't consider them.  Thanks a million!

dbdigital2

I have come to realize that this "simple window" is far from simple.  It has went from quick and easy (or so I thought) to nightmare.  I tried your method but for some reason I couldn't get anything close to what you have (I must be missing something).  I used the remove ngons option and of course that added a lot of triangles, and the surface of the wall doesn't look right due to it.  At least I think that is the problem (texture wise anyway).  It looks FINE in Carrara, but when I import it into Daz the textures don't come over either at all or badly.  I gave up on that and just applied Daz shaders I have, but like I said the wall has these odd facets no matter what I do.  Again, I assume it is because of the triangles.

I am about to the point of pulling out what hair I have left. :/ Modeling in Carrara is FUN but when you are trying to import it into something else it becomes a world class nightmare. :(

I attached the car files.  The first is before I used the remove ngons, and the second one is after.  Since the only shaders I am using are the default ones that come with Carrara, I didn't save them internally to save on file size (only122k for both).  Stezza, if you or someone else could take a look, or tell me what I am missing, I would appreciate it.  If not, no problem I am still thankfull for your help thus far.

 

Stezza

booleans will do that every time lol.... here you go

for you to play around with.. I exported it to obj and imported to DS no probs..

it's the car file so import it into your scene after extracting it from the zip file 

I only spent a little time on it while the missus went to the shops... but it's a start for you to see.. 

 

dbdigital2

Stezza, I can't thank you enough.  And it amazes me you did something while the wife was shopping and I am still struggling with it!  But I *think* I am getting there.  Part of my problem I think was I didn't start with enough subdivisions thinking the project was a lot simpler than it was (well if you don't want to triangulate everything anyway or that exporting to Daz makes it a whole new ballgame).  I think I could do it faster if I started over with a lot more subdivisions/complexity, but at this point I am fixing it (and getting there) instead.  If I hit another wall (no pun intended) I will start over.

One question I have, I see you have each part seperate (window, floor, wall) and put together in the assemble room.  While I did it all in one object.  Since this was a simple project (or again so I thought orignally) I thought just have it all in one instace of the modeling room.  Could that cause me a problem?  I didn't think so, but I thought I would double check. :)

TangoAlpha

The other reason it'll look distorted when imported to DS is that it hasn't been UV mapped. A UV map determines how a texture image gets displayed on the model, ie, what parts of the image appear on what parts of the mesh. Carrara often doesn't bother with a UV map, especially when you're using the built-in procedutal shaders, so you won't necessarily notice a problem until you export to something like DS that does need them.

I've attached a version of Stezza's mod that has been UV mapped.

I made a few simplifications at the same time:
- Removed the end caps from the bar cylinders. These always default to ngons, so they always need to be converted to quads or tris, but in this case, they will never be seen, so there's no value in keeping them.
- Reduced the number of sections in the bars. Unless you need to (say) bend the bars, the extra mesh doesn't add value
- Reduced the floor to single-polygon sides. Again, unless you actually need them (e.g. for displacement painting, uneven flooring), the extra segments have no value. You could potentially reduce the floor to a single plane if the other walls are going to be present.

To some extent, whether you have the model as a single vertex object or split it is a matter of personal preference. But there are some advantages to splitting the model: each vertex opject will be saved in the obj file as a separate "group". These groups can be used in DS as bones for rigging, allowing you to make windows that open etc.

Diomede

Thanks for the tips, Tim.  

 

When using the standard photorealistic render option, additional mesh density can be wasteful.  In the unlikely event that you intend to use the Non-Photorealistic Render option in the render room (renders with brush strokes), mesh density does affect the appearance of rendered objects.  Discussed in more detail in the following thread.  https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/314001/revisting-carrara-s-powerful-npr-renderer/p1

Again, for most people, not an issue.

Stezza

great to see such community involvement in helping out how to achieve something in Carrara 

 

so many resources made available for those who just simply ask for a bit of Carrara help and give it a good crack 

@dbdigital2 you'll be modeling a whole ship before too long 

dbdigital2

First thank you ALL for the help. :)

Tango, I was wondering if UVMaping might be a factor as well, THANKS for confirming that and the example.  And I agree the extra mesh doesn't add value, however, I think it is what tripped me up a lot in the first place as I went in with way to little mesh to work with thinking it was simpler than it was lol (well if I wanted to keep it as quads anyway).

Diomede, Again I agree go with as simple as possible.  In this case though it is such a simple scene I am using that it doesn't matter.  Still, it is a always a good idea to start with best practices.  Thanks for the info and link, I will definitly read it.

Stezza, I thank you for the vote of confidence (and all of your help) but I REALLY doubt that lol.  I am still getting a bit tripped up, but continuing to make progress I think.

 

Now for a couple of questions.  First off, can I split a single model into different vertex objects or merge them at some point?  I figgured how you did it was personal pref (unless you are doing windows that move or such).  But it got me wondering if I can seperate or different objects merge into a single vertex object.  EDIT: Never mind, of course there is, just as I figgured.  And simple too: just cut and paste the bits into a new instance of the vertex model room *slaps forehead*.

The second question is I ran into a problem with the file I was working on.  Tried to open it and I get: ""An object destription is missing in the file.  Do you wish to continue (a cube will replace the missing object)?"  If I click yes my work is a simple plain cube lol.  Now thankfully I have a old habbit I started back in the True Space days where I always use save as and name it different every time.  I didn't lose too much but what could have caused this?  When I was saving everything seemed to be going fine.  Although, at one point I was trying to link a few newly added vertexs and they wouldn't link.  I think I ended up losing everything after that point.  Though I am not certain.

 

 

dbdigital2

Success!  I didn't get the textures/shaders to import properly but I had Daz Studio shaders that worked fine.

And Stezza you didn't say what kind of a ship so here we go, the Stezza challenge:

It is bad I know, but there it is lol.