Hello,
The first question is difficult to explain, so the best solution would be to give an example. I’m basically asking, what is the best way to accomplish this task. I have recently been working on modeling some light sabers that i would like to bring into another document with some characters to hold them. However the sabers consist of multiple objects, one for example has 4 objects for the hilt, 2 of which have different textures than the others, and 2 objects for the blade. I would like to be able to bring the whole saber into the new document intact and as 1 object. how would i do that?
The second question is concerning .dxf CAD files. I have multiple projects that have been worked out in orthographic views in a CAD program that i would like to bring into blender. how would i go about doing so? I tried the regular import, however i recieved an error saying that it could not be imported. I also tried the Python import, and that seemed to work, however i was unable to located the imported file in the 3D view. Where would it load, and how would it load(a solid unchangeable object, or something similar to a plane with no faces but edges)?
Any help is appreciated, thanks.
VASIMR,
As for question 1, you can join the objects. Select the objects that make up the sword, and press Ctrl j. In your other file, use file…append to bring the sword into the file.
I have not used the dxf import / export scripts.
Your first problem is easy to get rid of. Simply join the Parts together.
In Object Mode select all Objects that belong to the Saber. Then hit Ctrl+J and confirm the Question. Blender will create Material indices if needed.
Your import problem is not so easy to get rid of. One thing is that there are a lot of variaties in the .dxf format. There are even a few versions for 2D-Vector drawings.
If i would be you i would try out a few converters that can handle dxf well to convert it into Wavefront .obj files or something else that blender can handle well. Can`t give you a link to a converter though becouse i usualy never use dxf files.
Hope that helps!
I think if you append an object, its materials and textures come along with it. The problem is getting all the objects to come over as one. You do this by assigning all the objects to a group, then append the group.
About the CAD file import, I haven’t used the dxf import, but if the import worked, the vertex, edge and face count, or the vertex face and object count (in object mode) would increase to account for the new vertices and faces. The count is shown on top, to the right, on the info bar. It may take a few seconds to update. To find the imported object, type a to select all, and then type . (NumPad period). This should center the view on the selected objects. If it is just edges, it might be hard to see, especially if you’re looking at it edge on. Rotate the view using the Numpad 4,6,2 or 8 key and it may be easier to see.
If i use ctrl+J will the textures/materials/effects be preserved? also just to clarify, .dxf is not a script file, it’s the standard format used by Autodesk drawing programs. I will look for a converter online to bring the dxf into an obj, however i have a feeling that it will not preserve the scale and vertices’s correctly(speaking from experience of CAD file conversions), and will import as a plane and not a lined object. Where i don’t want to be deleting the faces, some of the drawings would have upwards of 300 on one view.
Just tried that, the python importer said “done in 0.1 seconds” i exited that, the vertice count was 0, the face count was 0, the object count was 2, however the camera and the light were nowhere to be found. The numbers just updated and the object count is 0, somehow the camera and light were deleted.
I don’t think ctrl+j will preserve your materials, although I haven’t tried it in the latest release, so it may do so. It looks like the dxf import script isn’t working for your file.
If you do find a converter that gives you an obj file with faces instead of just edges, you can delete “faces only” and retain only the edges.
Only other thing I have to suggest is to try posting in Python & Plugins to see if anyone there has any insight into importing dxf files.
Wicked, I had no idea about the append thing, lucky, because I was about to start a new thread…
I just tried doing ctrl+J, and the material data was not preserved, in fact not only did it apply subsurf to all of the objects, it also applied the blade texture, giving me a halo on each vertex. I just tried grouping an then using append, it worked perfectly, the only problem is that it imports the objects separately. is there a way to connect them as 1, such as in illustrator when you group, all of the selected objects become one, and move as one, but you can ungroup them at any time? Also, is there a way to change the detail on an object? such as if you model something to extreme detail for close up shots, but you also want to use it for far away shots with multiple other elements, without redoing the model at a smaller scale?
VASIMR,
Halo is a bit of a different material. A halo material must be the only material of an object. You cannot have multiple materials if one of the materials is a halo. Halo materials must be the only material and must be the first and only material index. Also, halo materials only use the first texture slot.
In the case of halo materials, Ctrl j is (as you just found out) not an option.
You could add an empty and parent all your objects to the empty once appended. That way if you need to move the entire sword at once you can just move the empty.