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DAZ doesn't read the normals, or "smoothing groups" of an FBX file correctly.

ElainiElaini Posts: 3
in Daz Studio Discussion

I have started to model jewelry in (an older version of) 3DS Max and export it as FBX so I could use it in DAZ 3D. I plan to do this more in the future. However, if I'm going to do it there's something I really need to solve first.

The FBX file itself seems fine – when I re-import it to 3DS Max all the normals are rendered exactly as they're supposed to. I have been googling for the older threads of the same problem and I do understand now that "smoothing groups" that I use are rather a 3DS Max feature. Still, I haven't either found a solution to my problem or I'm really missing something that's more obvious to others.

Here's what the groups are supposed to do: you can choose a group of polygons that are huddled together and if they share a number they will render as a single, smooth surface. Likewise if you group neighboring polygons they will render as a different smoothing surface and form a sharp line between the surfaces. If the surfaces share the same numbers somewhere in between then the line in that spot is also smoothened out.

Here's what the shape is meant to look like, it's made of clear ridges:

Here's how it imports as FBX into DAZ 3D. For some reason it works partially, while the other areas look like they melted in a forge:

Any ideas? I'd rather save my future jewelry from the forge heat. cheeky

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,833
    edited May 2022

    You can set, per-surface group, a Smoothign Angle that determines whether or not shading is applied to hide the angles, but I don't think adjacent surfaces can be smooth but join at a sharp edge. It may be that tweaking the angle would help, though, as I think that is the difference between the sharp and rounded areas in DS now - the sharp areas have a more acute join and so are not smooth-shaded, the softer areas meet at a shallower angle and are smooth-shaded

    You could apply SubD (Edit>Object>Geometry>VConvert to SubD), possibly using a lower-resolution version of the model, then use the Geometry editor (Tools menu) in Edge mode (right-click menu, or a radio button at the top of the Tool Settings pane) to weight the edges you want sharp (right-click menu).

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • ElainiElaini Posts: 3

    Hm, I knew I created the lower resolution version as well for some reason. I'll try your suggestion, thank you.

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