Exchange 3D Models with Mudbox

Use the Send To option to easily export and import 3D models to and from Mudbox.

You can export your work from Action and quickly import it into Maya or Mudbox using Contextual menu > Send to Mudbox. Send to exports from Flame using the Autodesk FBX file format.

The Send to options are designed to support a common, iterative, round-tripping workflow. It lets you start with a scene in one product, export the content to Mudbox for added paint or sculpting detail, then merge back to the original scene.

In this workflow, you refine content in Mudbox as needed. In particular, you can incorporate topology changes midstream in the sculpting or painting process, updating the active object in Mudbox when topology is modified in the content creation software (for example, to provide greater resolution in one specific area, or to support better deformation by the rig).

Sending to Mudbox

In Flame, you can send to Mudbox any Geometry object in an Action module (tool, Batch, or BFX).

1. In the Action node, select the Geometry objects to send.
2. From the Action contextual menu, select Send to Mudbox > Send Selected as New Scene.

   The Send To commands establish a connection between Flame and Mudbox. While the connection is established, the applications share data. To break the connection, simply close the scene or exit one of the applications.

   Important:

   You must have installed an equivalent major version of the other application to see the Send To command options. For example, the Send to Mudbox option is available if you are running Flame 2020.3 and Mudbox 2020 (Send To Flame became available in Flame 2020.3.)

When you send a geometry from Flame to Mudbox, consider the following:

• While you can send material and texture maps along with the geometry, Mudbox does not support Substance textures: the different maps end up baked in a single Mudbox material.
• Mudbox does not support PBR rendering: viewport rendering cannot look the same in Flame and Mudbox.
• If you plan on painting the geometry in Mudbox, make sure that you have a material node attached to the geometry in Flame.
• Mudbox works best with a triangular mesh. When loading one of the provided 3D shapes in Flame, import the shape from the PBS_TRIANGLES folder.
• Mudbox does not support animation: you are always sending the state of the current frame.

Sending to Flame

To export to Flame

1. Select File > Send To Flame, then select the export suboption you want:
   • Send Selected as New Scene

     Sends only the selected objects to Flame. (If nothing is selected, Mudbox sends the whole scene.) The selected objects are imported into a new Action node in the active Batch or Batch FX.

   • Update Current Scene

     Updates the matching geometry in Flame the current Action schematic.

   • Update Textures in Current Scene

     Updates the textures attached to objects and present in the Action schematic.

   • Add Selected to Current Scene

     Adds the selected object to the current Action schematic.

   Note: You can also select the Preferences option to open a Preferences window, which lets you set how you want any existing paint and sculpt layers handled in the export operation.
2. Mudbox exports the geometry to Flame.
   • If Flame is not started: Mudbox starts Flame and the scene is imported in a new Action node, in the last used Batch schematic.
   • If Flame is already started: The scene is imported in the active Action schematic. If there is no Action schematic displayed, the scene is imported in a new Action node, in the Batch schematic that you most recently opened.

   If Flame does not launch, see Troubleshoot file import and export.

Important: Mudbox sometimes creates a copy of the object, such as when it must generate a tessellation mesh. This copies the object and renames it using the original name+_Copy . This copy is the object you want to send back to Flame. Because the data link relies on the object name, you must rename the copy or you will end up sending back to Flame the wrong model. Before sending the object back to Flame:

1. Open the Object List.
2. Locate the original object (the one without _Copy ) and delete it.
3. Select the copy, and from the contextual menu, select Rename Object.
4. Remove _Copy from the object name and click OK.

If Send To Isn't Available

It is recommended to share data between Flame and Mudbox using the Send to Mudbox feature. However, if you are attempting to share data between differing major versions of the software, for example, Flame 2020.3 and Mudbox 2019, the Send to Mudbox feature is not available. Instead you must manually export and import the model as an FBX file.

• In the Action schematic: From the contextual menu select Export....
• In Mudbox: Select File > Open or File > Import, and select the model you exported from Flame. You can set options for import in the Preferences > File Preferences section.