Baking Simplified PBR Shaders to Export via FBX

Procedure

To bake simplified PBR shaders to export via FBX:

1. Before starting, make sure that the model to bake has a UV channel defined, preferably with non-overlapping UV shells for better results.
2. Make sure to assign a material to the model that can generate PBR effects, such as the Physical material. Render the scene to validate that the material renders correctly.
3. Open the Rendered Frame window and choose Arnold Active Shade mode to validate that the material renders correctly.
4. Select Menu bar > Rendering > Bake to Texture to open the Bake to Texture dialog.
5. If the available maps are hidden, click Show Maps to show them in the left pane of the window.
6. With the object is selected, add the following Common Maps to create a PBR material:
   • Color
   • Metalness
   • Roughness
   • Ambient Occlusion
7. In the Output column, select Create a New Material as the destination, and choose PBR (Metal/Rough) simplified PBR material from the Material Browser.
8. Assign each map to the proper material input of the PBR Material as indicated below:
   • Ambient Occlusion to: ao_map
   • Metalness to: metalness_map
   • Roughness to: roughness_map
   • Color to: base_color_map

   You can adjust map settings like size, padding, and file type based on your needs.

9. Select an Output Path by clicking the ... button.
10. Click Bake.
    Note: You can follow the progress of different maps by selecting them from the RGBA dropdown in the Rendered Frame window.
11. After the baking process is complete, view the results by switching the viewport to High Quality to show PBR effects.
12. Note how the baked material is now connected to a Shell material and that the original material is preserved for any future iterations. This allow users to edit the original material and then bake again using the changes.
13. Choose Menu bar > File > Export > Export... and then export the file to FBX.
14. In the FBX Export dialog, select the following options to include in the file:
    • Under Embed Media, click the checkbox to enable.
    • Under Shell Materials, select Baked Materials.
15. Reset 3ds Max and re-import the FBX file. Note that:
    • The material has been preserved.
    • A new PBR material is now active for the model for use in 3ds Max and/or other viewing engines.