Answered: Mixer, 3DS Max/VRay 3.6 Workflow

VCrew

Please, is anyone in a position to help me with the following, Quixel Mixer to 3DS Max/VRay 3.6 workflow issue, I have recently subscribed to Mixer and worked through their tutorial, 'Quixel Mixer-Workflow Primer', which is very good. So I have created my own material in Mixer by blending together several scans until I got a decent looking material in the viewport of Mixer. The settings I used were a Working Resolution of 4096 and a Specular PBR Workflow.  Then in the Export section I exported six maps, Diffuse, Specular, Gloss, Normal, Displacement and AO,  I did not add any maps or delete any from the export map list, these were the maps that were there by default when I hit on the export button (Roughness was there as well, but it wasn't enabled). So I just hit the 'Export  6 Maps' button, and I ended up with a folder with 6 maps in. This is where my problem starts, now I take it you have to assign these six map to the appropriate maps on the VRayMtl. Now obviously (I think) the exported diffuse map gets assigned to the VRayMtl diffuse channel, and the exported displacement to the VRayMtl displace channel, and the exported normal map to the VRayMtl normal map, but the other 3, Specular, Gloss and AO don't seem to have any direct connection. (you can now see my level of knowledge about this). I have spent countless days assigning exported Mixer Maps into VRayMtl Channels, but cannot get anything that looks like the material I created in Quixel Mixer.
I realise I'm obviously not doing something right, I've possibly missed out a complete step (or two) as I seem to be completely wide of the mark at the moment, so if any one would be able to confirm to me where the 6 exported maps from mixer live in the VRayMtl I would be most appreciative, maybe I don't have to use all the maps at the same time, I'm not sure. There doesn't seem to be any info out there, for beginners at least that bridges that gap between Mixer and VRay. So if any kind folk can assist, that would be really fantastic.

Many many thanks

V Crew

Synaesthesia

Hi VCrew!

Try exporting from Mixer to Bridge, then use Bridge to export your mixed surface to VRay - let me know if this helps!

VCrew

Hi Jonathan
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, I really appreciate it,  I'm a little new to this so the answer you gave has thrown be out a bit, you say export from Mixer to Bridge, I'm trying to do this but are a little baffled as to how to accomplish this, perhaps I'm looking to deep into this, but is there any way you could give us a few pointers as to how to do this...........I don't wish to seem ungrateful for your kind help but this seems to me like a bit of a work-around for something that could be and should be a lot easier, because basically I'm just looking for somewhere in  VRay 3.6's, VRayMtl  to home my six exported maps from Mixer, a simple enough task one would think and it obviously is for the vast majority of artists who use both these wonderful applications. Now it isn't through the lack of trying, because I have spent a long time trying to perfect this, just to see what I have created in Mixer, rendered out in VRay to be at least nearly the same. There has to be the definitive way of doing this. I've chosen the Specular Workflow and when I've finished creating and switch over to the Export Panel I Click on the three small Horizontals Lines in the Maps section and choose "Load Defaults (Specular) and that gives me the following maps, Diffuse, Specular,Gloss, Normal, Displacement and AO, now I know you know that, I just included it for clarity, that I was doing the right thing. So at this point in time I know things are good (I think, I hope so!) . Buy importing into 3DS Max/VRay's VRayMtl  is not good.    Again thank you very very much for offering up help and a possible solution. 
Richard Hoare

Synaesthesia

From Mixer:

File --> Export to Library

Open Bridge, look in your Custom group, export to VRay in 3DS Max. It should create everything you need to work effortlessly.

vyle

Hi, I am running into an issue when exporting to max. The workflow is extraordinary, and thank you so much for such a great tool.

Here is my issue: when exported, the material created only has HDR slots for vray as opposed to simple bitmaps. How can I change that setting to be a bitmaps slot? See image attached

Synaesthesia

I'm honestly not quite sure, you'd need to refer to the VRay documentation for that particular issue - assisting with VRay materials is beyond my scope of knowledge, unfortunately.

VCrew

VCrew

Thank you very much for running that past me, it works beautifully, only one small hitch though my creation looks great when I create it in Mixer, it looks great after I exported it from Mixer (via Export to Library) and it appears in Bridge, but when I export from Bridge with the setting.....Application:Max, Renderer:VRay, Script:VRay(GGX)Surface, it arrives in the Max Material Editor as a Greyscale Surface and when I assign it to a plane in Max it still remains Greyscale. Now I've clocked your answer to the other post, that VRay Materials is beyond your scope of knowledge, so I would just like to thank you very much for the help and guidance you have given me already. Thank you

vyle

Synaesthesia said:

I'm honestly not quite sure, you'd need to refer to the VRay documentation for that particular issue - assisting with VRay materials is beyond my scope of knowledge, unfortunately.

Sadly, the manual is very limited and only offers a very basic run through of the script installation. Thanks for taking the time to answer me though. If you have any contact at quixel to debug that issue it would be great.

VCrew: is it possible that your library repository path maybe wrong? I know that both my custom library and megascan path were not in sync originally and it created issues. Have you been able to locate the textures by hand? Or are the textures not properly exported? Could it be a metalness vs specular issue? 

Synaesthesia

@Vyle I'd recommend checking into a Facebook group dedicated to VRay support, or visit VRay's official support center and toss a ticket their way - they're pretty responsive from what I've heard, so you should be up and running in no time at all.

@VCrew If you keep running into issues with the toolset, feel free to run a ticket by support@quixel.se outlining what you're experiencing and I'll have our Bridge developers put in touch with you ASAP.