Mudbox into 3ds Max - Texture problems

#1

Whenever I import my 3D seagull model that I made using Mudbox into 3ds Max, I get these horrible black lines around the UVs whenever I view the model in the viewport or at a distance when I render:

Also, when I create a normal map from the model whilst in Mudbox, this happens. setting it as a bump map rather than normal appears to fix the issue however:

This might not seem a big deal, but it is causing me a great deal of anguish as I need it for a college assignment. I would be thankful to anyone who can help me. :frowning:

The model only has one UV tile as far as I know. I tried looking online for guidance but found absolutely nothing. Transferring paint layers has also been impossible, as all I get is a black mesh with no material. :cry:

#2

Hi C-Rex,

It looks like you don’t have enough padding in your texture. Try increasing the edge bleed under Windows>preferences>paint.

Not sure about your second image. Have you checked for overlapping UVs? Perhaps try deleting and recreating your blank normal map channel in the layer list before extracting the normals.
Failing all that you could try xNormal instead of Mudbox to create the normal map.

#3

If you’re gonna use a viewport shader for normal maps, do not use the horrible broken ones in 3d max. Use the free version of 3 point studios
http://www.3pointstudios.com/3pointshader_lite.shtml

There is a modifier that comes with it called “quality normals”. For best results i suggest baking your maps in 3d max, as i’m not sure if mudbox and max have synched normals.

Show the unwrap of the low poly model too.

#4

Thanks for the replies, GrahamMac and Psyk0. :thumbsup:

To be honest, I think the problems with the normals/texture could be caused by Mudbox itself; I retopologized my model several time whilst working on it and consequently had to rebuild the UVs, but from what I’ve gathered the UVs in Mudbox are useless (the ones for the seagull model are displayed below, created by flattening the model in Mudbox to UV space)

Would I be better off unwrapping my low-poly model in 3ds Max, importing it into mudbox, and then painting the texture onto it? Also, I try and avoid sculpting multiple objects in Mudbox, as even if it is a low-poly mesh, it lags like crazy when I pose it using bones. :banghead:

Also, is there a way to avoid running out of polys in mudbox without retopologizing the model? I don’t want to run into the same problem should I decide to sculpt another character or something.

Edit: Tried the edge bleed setting in Mudbox, didn’t work. Neither did the normal mapping.

#5

Yes that auto UV layout looks quite impractical. It should still be working for painting in Mudbox but it would make things difficult/impossible if you ever needed to tweak things later, in Photoshop for example.
Your issue with the normals in Mudbox is a bit of a mystery to me, but, as you say, it must have something to do with the retopologising process in Mudbox.

Unwrapping the low-poly mesh to a user friendly layout before starting with Mudbox would normally be best.
When you say you rebuilt your UVs, did you do this in Mudbox? (which version are you using?) or in Max? (I haven’t used Mudbox in a while, so not sure of latest features)

In your original post, in the second image, I assume this is in Mudbox, so what happens if you ignore the problem there and see if the generated normals work OK on the final model back in Max? If you look at the normal and the diffuse maps do they appear to be using the same UV layout?

If you run out of polys in Mudbox, as far as I know your options are to subdivide (may end up with overly heavy mesh), or retopologize.
It is always better to plan ahead, so you make sure to include the mesh detail required in the low poly model to support the features you want before even going into Mudbox.
I think a good hand sketch(s) helps a lot with this.

#6

I rebuilt my UVs in Mudbox, and I’m currently using the 2015 versions of both software.

Regarding the normal map issue, the same thing occurs when I apply it in 3ds Max. Below is an image of the normals. I thought they were meant to be a different colour?

The problem with normals seems to go away if I place them in a bump map channel and choose “Normal map for bump”. Weird.

Also, I had this extremely irritating problem with an ant model I also made in Mudbox (pictured below). I did not retopologize it at all, but it still got these crappy white lines (look like they’re outlining the edges of the UVs) when I imported it into 3ds Max. I hate Mudbox. :banghead:

#7

There must be something in your workflow that is confusing Mudbox. Either that or there is a bug in Max or Mudbox 2015!

I don’t have access to Mudbox 2015 so I can’t suggest anything specific for you other than to refer to some online tutorials for a workflow resembling your own. Run through them to discover anything that you may be missing or something you shouldn’t be doing.

#8

-The white lines means you need more padding between uv shells, and also use a background color on your texture that is close to the colors of the subject…never use pure black or pure white.

-You have not baked any normals because i don’t see any shown in your images. That’s the problem with your normals / bump. Once again i advise you to bake maps in 3d studio max and use a proper shader, not sure if they fixed normals synching in max 2015.

-Never use auto tile unwrapping for your final low poly object, always unwrap it in a way that minimizes seams. Place seams where they won’t be too apparent or a “material change” occurs.

#9

Surely it should be more straightforward than this? Shouldn’t I just be able to sculpt something in Mudbox and then send it to 3ds Max without worrying about this texture nonsense? Eurgh. :sad:

Thanks for the help, anyway. :slight_smile: