Hi Everyone,
A friend of mine is an artist who models and textures using 3D Studio Max. What we want to do is convert his creations so they can be used in Poser and hopefully sell them here. I don't know much about Poser yet, as my background is in games, so I'm planning to start with simple props like sunglasses and shoes.

Can anyone tell me what needs to be done to prepare models (like the ones I mentioned) for use by Poser? Do they need to be prepared for animation in some way? Also can you tell me how much work is involved? Do you need to buy anything in addition to Poser to do this?

Hopefully it's something simple that most people could learn and then I could do it myself. Otherwise it might be easier to hire someone to do it.

Message edited on: 01/10/2006 18:53

Poser can open .3ds files. Just go to File, and Import, and pick Studio Max, then browse to the file you want to open. Then it can be saved as a prop to the props folder.

Message edited on: 01/10/2006 19:21

I got a PM from someone that told me that you cannot use 3D Studio Max files in Poser. I did it earlier today and it worked. I downloaded a plant file from Planit3D that was in .3ds format. I imported it into Poser and saved it as a prop file. I made several renders of it too. Here is a screenshot of my Poser and shows you what to pick in order to import .3ds files into Poser.

One thing I'm not sure of is the shoes. Will they automatically flex and conform to the mesh when the figure's foot moves. Or do you have to do something special to give them that capability? I've seen mentions of something called morphs. Is this what the shoes need to make them work?

Message edited on: 01/10/2006 19:41

I think if you are wanting to achieve more than a plain object, you have to do much more to get it to conform and give it morphs and stuff.

if your exporting from max you should use .obj format wherever possible

.3ds can be imported into Poser
.max (3dsmax scene files) can't be

any rigging made in Max wont be recognised by Poser so you'll need to do all rigging outside of Max

I'll let someone else explain the in's & out's of making it work in Poser.. making the model is the easy part :)

Cheers
Stefan

Message edited on: 01/10/2006 19:58

Max 7 and 8 have obj export capability, but earlier versions require a plugin to do it.

Attached Link: http://trillium36.com/Downloads/download%20pages/3D%20Studio%20Max.htm

There seems to be some confusion here with regard to the differnt file types. A "3D Studio" file (.3ds) and a "3D Studio Max" file (.max) are not the same. The former can indeed be imported into Poser but the later cannot.

Search "max" in FreeStuff if you want to experiment with trying to import a Max file into Poser - or try the ones from trillium36 (some small files) at the link above.

"Need a 3D Max user to 'splain the dif tween ..3ds & .max"

The difference between the two is simple really. .3ds is nothing more than an object file format (much like the .obj we are familiar with in Poser). The .max file format is a proprietary scene file that can contain lots of other information, like cameras, shaders, particle systems, animation, render settings, etc. that are specific to the 3dsmax application (just like a .pz3 file contains proprietary Poser scene information). Message edited on: 01/10/2006 21:13

Thanks maxxxmodelz Is it still true that there are no third party apps that can extract meshes from a .max file - without having a copy of 3DMax?

"Is it still true that there are no third party apps that can extract meshes from a .max file - without having a copy of 3DMax?" There are none that I know of. DeepExploration by RightHemisphere can open a .max file and convert it to various other formats, but even then, you do still need a working copy of 3dsmax in order for it to work. It's mostly a licensing issue I presume.

Quote - There seems to be some confusion here with regard to the differnt file types. A "3D Studio" file (.3ds) and a "3D Studio Max" file (.max) are not the same. The former can indeed be imported into Poser but the later cannot.

There is no confusion, so I'm not sure why you are bringing up .max extensions. The original poster mentioned making models (IE: sunglasses/shoes) and textures and using them in Poser. He didn't ask about whole scenes: > Quote - ...models and textures using 3D Studio Max. What we want to do is convert his creations...I'm planning to start with simple props like sunglasses and shoes. ...what needs to be done to prepare models (like the ones I mentioned) for use by Poser?

When I replied I was very specific and stated that Poser can open .3ds files and then save them as props.

One thing you'll probably have to play with is getting the scale of objects right. I'm guessing you'll probably need to import some of the standard Poser people into Max and scale your objects accordingly so that they look right. Most of the utilities you might need are free. There are some hardcore Max gurus here and you can also utilize the Max forum to help you get started.