Best way to export models from Bryce?
dbdigital2
Posts: 270
What is the best way to export models from Bryce? I have a few models I am trying to export to Carrara, or another modeler. I have tried OBJ but then it loses all textures in Carrara. Now if I take that exported obj, it loads ok into Daz Studio (some loss such as changes to windows which is to be expected), then export from Studio into COLLDA then Carrara can import it with the textures. Is this the best way? Is this the best way? I assume I am missing something. 3ds export crashes Bryce. Other formats give me the same results, if I can get it imported the textures are missing. Auto CAD format looks about the best mesh wise.
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I'm assumimg the models you want to export were created in Bryce from primitives? And I'll also assume that you understand boolean modeling procedures and have managed to collapse the meshes and export them with some degree of success? The only issue being the textures themselves?
Firstly, Bryce's procedurals will never look the same outside of Bryce. So basically, any texture that is created from the DTE will be reduced to a single 500x500 or so jpeg upon export. It is then up to the user to use tiling functions in the target application to get a look that is similar to what it appeared to have in Bryce.
The problem is that models created from boolean operations don't have any proper UV mapping, and Bryce lacks texture baking functions, which means there is no way to recreate the exact look of these models outside of Bryce.
My suggestion, depending on your patience and skill: Export the boolean models from Bryce as you've been doing. Export them to OBJ. Open the model in a modeling application like free UV Mapper. Apply a simple Box UV scheme. Save out the model and leoad it into a 3d painting program. Then use the texture swatch Bryce exported to paint your model such that it begins to again appear similar to the way it appeared in Bryce.
NOTE: All obj models should be UV mapped before they are imported into Bryce. But be aware; For some reason there is a bug where the UV mapping is flipped 180 degrees upon Export from Bryce. You'l nned to flip the UV back arond to normal in your target application for textures to fit properly.
Actually, since your target is Carrara, you can do all the painting and UV map assigning from within Carrara, no need for the free UV Mapper. Best of luck!
Actually, I am sure they were created in other programs and imported into Bryce. They are products that use to be available in the Daz store via a PA. Yes I guess I could paint them, but not sure if I have the time for that now. I had hoped that I was missing something but I guess what I am doing is the best method available. Exporting to OBJ then to COLLADA in DAZ studio and finally import that into Carrara seems to be the only way to get it over with the textures intact at all.
Based on the information you've provided I'd say you're already on the best track.
After much testing I found a way to import the models I mentioned from Bryce. If I ungroup (click on the model then click the U button on the right) then hold ctrl and click again a menu will come up with the different sections that are now possible to select. Select one, go into the materials lab/editor and on the far right (in the A B C or D texture channels), click the tiny circle to the left of the texture name to open the texture source editor.
From the texture source editor, click the little copy link below the texture box on the left. Now open a paint program such as Photoshop or anything that can accept pasted textures and paste. You will get the texture in its full resolution (in my case 2000x2000), save that with the original name to a folder you can find later (a good place is where you are saving the exported object in the first place). Repeat this for each section of the model and textures, making note where each texture went. You may need to ungroup further if there are subsections of the model that have unique textures. Most of the time, only a handful of textures are used but repeated several times. At least with the objects I am converting/exporting.
Now either regroup or better yet reload the object/model and export it under the file menu as autocad dxf format.
Open Carrara and import the dxf file you just made (leave 3d face separation as layers and colors NOT grouped). It will import in a few seconds untextured, but the various groups/sections of the original model will be intact. Now you can apply the textures you saved out earlier. There are likely to be more sections than in Bryce so you may need to apply the texture more than once and it might need a little adjusting to look the same. But this is a LOT easier than having to repaint the whole thing. The names for each part may have slightly different names but it should give you the general idea of what goes where.
If you find you don't have a texture, go back to the original model in Bryce and grab it out of the texture source editor using the method above. Or to check if you aren't sure which texture goes where. One nice thing about Bryce, on a modern machine you can keep it running and hop between Carrara and Bryce as needed. This method should also work for say Blender or another modeler.
These are the Carrara import dxf settings I used:
Autoposition ON
Disable Auto Scaling OFF
Smoothing Angle 30
Show Backfaces
import and extrude 2d objects OFF
3d face separation: Layers and colors
Import only 3d face entities OFF
coordinate system to use: WORLD
In summary:
-Load model into Bryce
-Click on model and click U to ungroup
-Hold control and click model to get a menu of ungrouped items and pickone
-Go into materials lab and go in the source editor for each texture in each materials, click copy on the left texture
-Click paste in any good image editing program (Photoshop etc) save it with the original texture name and make note where it came from.
-Repeat the previous two steps for each sub group. And some of them you may need to ungroup further to find all the textures.
-Reload the model and export it as AutoCad dxf format
-Open Carrara and import dxf model
-For each section/subgroup of the object apply the textures you saved out earlier.
-Save in the format you want.
Of course these might need to be adjusting (smoothing in particular) depending on the model. This method isn't as easy as export to obj -> import into Daz Studio -> export as Collada -> import into Carrara, but you get a much more detailed model for your efforts.
I'll have to try that out! I remember asking years ago for a Bryce to Carrara bridge. Just always seemed to me that all the Daz softwares should bridge to one another. This workflow proves that it is possible to do in some way. thanks for finding this!
Welcome. I wish Daz gave a bit more love to Carrara such as a bridge (although I doubt they will considering Bryce hasn't seen an update in many years), space navigator support, and I am sure a lot of people would like Genesis 3 support (although I am not using it much myself currently). Not to mention swat a few bugs while they are at it. Ah well.
dbdigital2, a very useful topic for Bryce users.
One small clarification. It is not necessary to ungroup the object to copy the texture. It is not necessary to allocate the desired part, hold down the Ctrl key. In complex objects it is inconvenient. Right at the bottom of the interface has a drop-down list of all Mesh objects in the scene. You can highlight them all one by one and copy the texture in the "Edit Textures". I use this technique to reduce textures, for example, from 2000x2000 to 256x256. This saves memory and prevents Bryce collapse in complex scenes.
However, for your purpose recompression to JPG reduces texture quality. It is better to get the original texture on the disk, if you have it.I for these purposeful use simple viewer IrfanView.
Actually, it is. Or at least in my case it was. Perhaps I had a glitch at the time because now I can select via the tiny down arrow at the very bottom right of the interface window to select the individual meshes/bits I couldn't when I was testing. But always good to have more than one method available. As for the textures JPG, I never saved to JPG and as I understand it the original Bryce preset format is lossless which is where the said objects were that I was trying to export for use in Carrara. If I am wrong and Bryce uses JPG for its preset format, by all means correct me. But judging by the size of the preset files, I very much doubt it.
Curious, where are you guys getting procedural texture outputs in the 2000 pixel range? The largest I can get is about 640 x 480 or so pixels. Can you please indicate with an image exactly what you're clicking on that delivers the textures at such high res. Thanks in advance guys!
Rashad! It is about raster textures which you can copy in the editor of textures, then insert into a photoshop and keep on a disk. I, however, don't understand why it is necessary.
Aha. I understand now. Thanks for clarifying! Possible uses? Sometimes if you have a bryce preset material that someone else generated that includes photos then the only way to extract the photos is by copying them.
The selection palette can be toggled to the animation palette, click the little caged sphere in the bottom right corner. You may of have had the animation palette active at first.