First, thank you for taking the time to read this question. Ok I created a simple 28 x 28 x .8 rectangle with edges that had been rounded with a 1. radius in 3DStudio Max 3 which i then exported out as a 3ds file. I imported it into Poser and poof! The flat surface is no longer quite flat...instead it has an obvious crease down the center of it on both sides.... what has caused this? Is it a problem with 3dstudio max or with poser? Is there a way around it? Thank you very much for your time, Michael

Its poser render, an all so something with max. Best export your model using Obj, should help this problem, however not exactly sure. Exporting using 3ds, does not work well with poser.

Thanks..i will give that a try..i will have to locate my max2obj plugins and reinstall them.

Hmmmm...nope that hasn't fixed it either. Guess my street sign will have to be pointy on the ends instead...

2 things: First you'll have to increase the poly count where the round edges are, second It's always better to use "Quads" instead of "Triangles", when your mesh is going into Poser... It's not Mas's fault! Poser does this!! It's smoothing algorythm is not up to par with MAX's smoothing groups... Maybe in Poser 5, this will be fixed... It just takes a little bit of preplanning before you do your mesh... Personally, i only work with Patches & primitives in MAX. Nurbs are Ok, but have a tendency to give unpredictable results! My 2 cents! :-) Good Luck! Marco

Oh! I Hope you are using Harbware's MAX2OBJ plugin?? In the export dialog, you have an option that says "Faces:" Use "Quads" And at the bottom of this dialog Box, you'll see a "# of Digits:" Make sure it's at 9!! Otherwise, you loose info in the transfer... Marco

Thanks, I made the quad and '9' check, but it didnt fix poser's problem. I will give increasing the # of polygons near the rounded corners a try it feels like it should help. I am relatively new to 3d-art (about a year's worth of not-so-serious dabbling up until now) but I had thought that making something like a street sign would be easy (well it is as long as i dont export it from max).. converting these files to other formats seems to add an extra bit of complications, eh? Again, thanks. Michael

If you export the file as obj you can use uv mapper to fix this problem. Open UV mapper and select all then use the tools and press fix seams, I guess this could solve your problem.

Well UV mapper could not fix the problem, as attempting to select all and then fix seams only yields a "no normal vectors error". Adding more polygons does help fix the problem, but not enough to make continuing on this course viable for me. I am going to give the chamfer box a shot and be content with sharp-edged poser street signs... Thanks again, Michael

Try using the line tool, then use the Bevel modifier, to Extrude shape. That's if your sign is flat. I use these settings in Max2Obj Export, IN BOX, Group and Material: Group By: Object, Use material. IN BOX, Geometry: Rotate model, Faces: Polygons, Testure coordinates, Vertex Scale: 0.001. IN BOX, File, # of Digits: 10. Applied UVW mapping, in max. Importing to poser unchecked everything before importing. This is what I got. I hope this helps.

It is difficult in this picture to tell... to mimic an actual construction sign the corners will need to be have a 1.5 radius curve to them. I will give this a shot (but probably in the morning my head is hurting!) and post back if i have had any luck. Thanks again. Michael

Could you post a mesh view? I think I know what the trouble is but I don't want to ramble on if I'm wrong.

Ok here is a poser pic with the mesh highlighted. It looks the same on both sides. Thanks again.

Yup, exactly what I thought. And you are correct the mesh must be fixed in max. It is not nearly as horrible as you think though. This thread probably should be in the Max forum, but it's here, so let me try to solve your problem. Open your object in max and if it is not an editable mesh, add that modifier. In face edit, delete the faces from the front. (EEK!) Use the create tool to create the faces in a more orderly manner, like you said the corners need to be something like your picture. (Not as bad as it sounds) Repeat for the other side. THE BONUS ROUND.... You may want to bevel the edges to get a smoother render in Poser. Select all the edges around the edge of your sign. Use the bevel tool to create a beveled edge around the sign. This will make it render much better in max. FINALLY If this all seems a bit over whelming, send me the file and I can fix it for you in abuot 10 minutes flat. Then you can see what you are trying to accomplish and will have less trouble next time. nerd@nerd3d.com

Thank you very much for the response. I will give it a try (I would rather do it myself - if I sent it to you to fix, I will just cheat and use it instead and I wont learn anything :oD ). Again thank you. Renderosity rules! Michael

Well it worked!!! Thanks everybody for all of your assistance. Even the things that didnt help taught me valuable information about UVMapper. All this time and I only used it to make texture templates. I had no idea you could manipulate the model from it! Guess it pays to just read the documentation :oP

That looks like a really good mesh. Once you've done it, it is much less daunting isn't it?

Yes it is! Another hurdle overcome. I have a tendency to expect that I should just be able to get the hang of something within a few hours of opening up the box. My 3D programs have been the same way. I cannot count the number of times I have been frustrated by not being able to adapt to 3D immediately, but every little hurdle I cross really feels awesome! Again, thanks!