Thanks for the chart Marco, that clears things up nicely, hopefully this will help too ...

KeyShot Pro version 5 Imports the following formats and supports these MoI object settings

fbx = no style - no object name
iges = style colour - no object names
obj = style colour - yes object names
sat = style colour - no object names
skp = no style - no object name
stp = style colour - no object names

KeyShot 5 Pro will import 3DM files from MoI but ignores ObjectNames however it will import the StyleName and StyleColor. But does not support multi-style solids.

Martin Spencer-Ford

Thanks Martin and MARCO

KeyShot 5, what's new:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEEQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lino.de%2Ffileadmin%2F_lino%2Fprodukte%2FKeyShot%2FKeyShot_5_WhatsNew.pdf&ei=55O7U8KoNY3xoAT-zYG4AQ&usg=AFQjCNEVpTrsatnkvsXOAcs0hEkESTswRg

Brian

Now, my question is: which file is the best to be imported into KeyShot? The goal is of course the performance-keeping object names and colors

Hi Gregor,

> Now, my question is: which file is the best to be imported into KeyShot?
> The goal is of course the performance-keeping object names and colors

I'd recommend OBJ format, use the option "Output: Quads & Triangles" when exporting it out from MoI.

That I think has the best support for object names and style colors coming through.

- Michael

If you want to keep StyleColours with ObjectNames then OBJ is the way to go. KeyShot can and does handle Billions of triangles very well, so you don't need to worry too much about the mesh densities generated. Personally the setting i find works best to go to other OBJ editing tools are Angle 40, divide all larger than 5, scale to 0.1 - That works well going into Zbrush and Modo and Cheetah on the Mac to be subdivided and to sculpt textured objects for creating render maps such as normals and specularity etc.

If you are doing models that are paint, plastic, glass you're ready to go into KS. Remember when importing into KS that you need to set the Z is up option and to set your units in the Size section of the importer.

This way you get two options for optimal export.

1. Develop a colour - material type regime which has been adopted by many over the years - e.g. Cyan = Clear Glass
2. Use object names that describe the object and material in one - e.g. DoorHandle_BrushedAluminium

Don't use punctuation or special characters in naming conventions. If you need a space use an underscore ... It's the safest way

Martin Spencer-Ford

Many thanks for your hints

If you will have chance to have the Next Zbrush 4R7 ;)

Keyshot can import 3DM already but you need Keyshot Pro version to be able to render NURBs directly :)

Martin Spencer-Ford

Martin - I have KeyShot Pro, but never tried importing 3DM from MoI.

Is there any advantage, other than it saves the step of exporting the model as obj?

Ed

Hi Ed - Render times are dramatically slowed down is the only disadvantage, but for extreme closeup work like jewellery rendering then you have the advantage of smooth NURBs surfaces, so i guess it's a case of swings and roundabouts. When importing 3DM from MoI you need to import the NURBs data

Martin Spencer-Ford

Thanks Martin - I just tried 3DM import into KeyShot. My PC has 12 cores and KS was indeed sluggish with the 3DM.

I wonder if the KS NURBs import is in response to other programs, because I've always had smooth output from MoI OBJ files, even with extreme closeups on curved surfaces.

Ed Ferguson

I have been using MoI and Keyshot together for a couple years. To render a MoI file in Keyshot, what I do is first create and save a MoI .3dm file. Then I save that file as a Keyshot .obj file, selecting the "quads and triangles" option in the MoI popup menu. Then I open Keyshot, and drag and drop the .obj file. When I drag and drop, an "import" popup window opens in Keyshot, and in the "Materials" section I always check the box that says "Keep individual parts" and on the drop-down menu in that same section of the popup, I select "Group by "Materials"." When I follow these steps exactly, I never have any problems.

Here is are images of some recent furniture designs...from my imagination, to MoI, to Keyshot:

Hi Max

Your models are good, but on all the curved surfaces i see the tell tale signs of polygon mesh and not NURBs clean curvatures, unless of course you modelled them that way. If you are more comfortable with OBJ that's fine, may I recommend you adjust the "Divide larger than" to produce a greater mesh density. Weld edges and, if you are only exporting to Keyshot then use Triangles only as KS will triangulate your mesh on import if it's a non triangular one anyway, so better to do it with MoI where at least you have some control over it.

Martin Spencer-Ford

Hi Ed, i have not asked the guys at Luxion what method Keyshot is using for 3DM support. On all other flavours of NURBs you get the tessellation option, with 3DM there is no such option, just the import Nurbs Data tick box, so i am wondering if they are using some sort of 'on the fly' tessellation routine with 3DM, I don't know if that's possible or not but would offer an explanation to why it's sluggish when rendering in the live preview screen. It might even be some kind of activity where KS is watching for live-updates from the Rhino plugin. Rhino does have the ability to redefine its meshing density without the user having to re-draw their object.

Martin Spencer-Ford

If I import .3dm with a lot of geometry viewport becom slow, but if I import the same geometry in .obj everything is good. So I prefer to import .obj.

In my renders, the material textures and the reflections of the HDRI environment may sometimes create a less than hypersmooth surface, which has nothing to do with meshes. That's what I suspect you're seeing, and mistakenly interpreting as hard edges that should be smoother. Thus I disagree with you on this, mostly because what I consistently hear is how fabulous all my designs and renders are.

And let's face it, most of us who look at CGI and CAD renders can always find some flaw or another, because we are the most observant in the field of what we do.

I won't bore you or anyone here with waving my credentials around, but let's just say [for starters] I'm an internationally exhibited artist, regularly published author, and I own a network of websites that get over 600K hits per month.

MaxEternity.com
ArtDigitalMagazine.com

I'm not in search of absolute [fool-proof?] perfection. I create things that are beautiful and inspirational to myself and others.

With that said, here's a link to a new story I wrote (the headline today at Truthout.org) about a guy who is working on a car that is 60% 3D printed, and is set to get over 250 miles per gallon of ethanol: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27430-the-urbee-3d-printed-car-coast-to-coast-on-10-gallons

And another render...of one of my [imperfect] super cars, which was designed in my mind, drawn in 3D in MoI, and virtually rendered in Keyshot, as prior described.

Wow Max, you seemed to have taken my advice personally as if i was attacking you in someway - I am sorry, I had no idea i was responding to someone that is so famous, and to think you would take such offence from some simple observations and an offer of guidance.

My apologies

Martin Spencer-Ford

PS ... Nice car :)

Thank you for the compliment on my car design. And while I have achieved a modest amount of recognition, I definitely do not consider myself "famous."

For those who know me personally and professionally, and if one looks at what I've written about the art and design of others, it is core to my belief and work ethic not to publicly criticize another artist's work. I might make unfavorable comments privately, amongst friends and colleagues, but never in a public space.

No offense - I disagreed with you, because I think you spoke without thoughtfully considering [or knowing?] exactly what you were looking at.

As someone who is often putting his work in front of the public, I know how easy it is for others to advise on something they themselves have not mastered, or to judge prematurely when they are not taking the risk of putting their own work before lots of discerning, and sometimes condescending, eyes and minds and tongues.

I have lived in several major US cities, and presently live in San Francisco. And one of the things I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that you never know who you are talking too.

I have been an artist and writer all my life. I'm almost entirely self-taught. I consistently work very hard, and I'm good at what I do.

Putting your work on a forum intended for learning requires one to be vulnerable to a certain amount of constructive criticism,
as well as the understanding that others aren't necessarily obligated to adhere to your personal ethical standards.

It isn't like you invite friends to your home to admire your work and everyone is expected to be polite
and if you are lucky, stroke your ego. It's better not to have a thin skin, but I know how you feel.
I guess the trick is to swallow your pride and try to learn from the experience, even if the comment
isn't on the mark.

I think you may be right about the HDR image causing pixelation on the tubular surfaces.

If you know a way to avoid that problem, perhaps this issue can be turned around
into something positive and used as a catalyst for learning for the whole community.