Guide to import C4D Materials

[zoomer]

If you,

for example, bought some C4D Material Libraries, imported in C4D's Content Browser

or deal with your Materials and Textures Sources in any other unconventional way.

VW Import will only work satisfying if all needed Ressources reside in a "tex" Folder,

beside your C4D File.

 

 

In C4D :

 

1.

Make sure all Materials you want to exchange are already in C4D's Material Manager.

Drag also all needed Preset Materials from Content Browser into your Material Manager.

 

2.

"Save File with assets" and give it a proper Name.

That will be also the name of the RW Texture Resource Folder that VW will create later after

import in your Resource Manager.

"Save File with assets" will create a Folder including the C4D File (same Name) and that important

"tex" Folder with all Image textures that will be needed later for VW import.

 

If you don't do so, all Materials that have missing Textures will come into VW totally BLACK !

That also is the case for all preset Materials that by default save their Textures in a comressed

Preset File - unavailable for VW.

 

 

In VW :

 

3.

Import > "Import Cinema 4D Textures"

(Materials sic!)

Search for your Assets Folder and choose the C4D File inside to open.

 

4.

After import go to your Resource Manager and search for a Ressource Folder with the C4D File Name.

Here you will find all imported C4D Materials as VW RW Textures. (Materials sic!)

 

5.

Edit each Material and set the correct Texture Size.

These Sizes will come in arbitrarily as C4D hasn't such setting in their Materials System, as all UV

or Projection Mapping Sizes will be stored on a per Object base, in the Material Assignment itself.

 

Done. *

 

 

* So far that works great.

But I wasn't able to show any Reflection after import. Even when I tested basic C4D Legacy Mode Reflection (!?)

so :

 

6.

Also switch Reflection Channel in VW from "Imported" to any appropriate VW Reflection Setting for all

your reflective Materials.

 

Finally Done.

Enjoy.

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by zoomer

[barkest]

The material size is interesting. I thought there was a way around this so I mapped the material in C4D then imported the .OBJ into VW 'assuming' that the texture size would be set fine. It is for the imported OBJ and carries a Map Type of imported. Unfortunately you cannot then use the material on other objects at the correct texture size as it will carry a default size of 10 and then you are back into the same situation as importing the texture directly

 

 

Edited April 19, 2017 by barkest

[zoomer]

Yes, for Mesh imports VW seems to keep something like an UV Map to control

size and position of the material.

Normal VW geometry has its strange mapping options per object where it seems

to start tiling at a corner of each face. And there is sometimes Perimeter available

which works nearly to a standard cubic projection mapping.

(Which I mostly use)

This, and maybe some of the other methods also use the texture size which is set

in the Material definition.

 

In your case I would create a duplicate of your material.

Original for the UV mapped OBJ import, the dulplicate with a proper new Texture size

for your geometry created inside VW.

[barkest]

It was only a test its not usually something I do.

 

In fact I go the opposite way and back which may seem a bit odd but generally it works. So the object I want to texture I export to C4D, then I unwrap it and texture it and then send it back to VW. 

 

There is a need for the work to be completed in VW.

 

It would be nice to be able to Send to C4D > Map and texture > In VW associate the original object with the UV Map created in C4D (set map type to imported and then navigate to the UV map).

 

Honestly I can't see why this cannot be done as currently the imported OBJ has access to the UV Map currently.

 

Think of C4D as an external mapping tool.

[zoomer]

I think their roadmap is to improve C4D compatibility and bring two-way VW-C4D Exchange one day.

That would be great.

[barkest]

5 minutes ago, zoomer said:

I think their roadmap is to improve C4D compatibility and bring two-way VW-C4D Exchange one day.

 

I guess commercial politics would stop this

 

Maybe too much blurring of the separate applications

[zoomer]

Ha, I see no problem at all.

 

Exchange makes having both Licenses mandatory.

Or someone else to collaborate who has the second product.

 

If the exchange is so more phenomenal over other packages

it will even prevent from going elsewhere.

 

On contrary, adding a complete UVW System and all render features

to VW or architectural moedelling features to C4D would cannibalize

both Licenses.