I had a problem with importing 3ds Max model into Toon Boom. Although .FBX works with Toon Boom Harmony 14, and I am able to get some of the materials from 3ds Max, it doesn’t import other things (see comparison between 3ds Max rendering and Toon Boom rendering in attachment). So I decided that the way to go about it is to import Toon Boom files .xstage into 3ds Max. Is that possible? Does anybody have any idea about how Toon Boom Harmony 14’s pipeline works? Thanks!
Harmony doesn’t work that way with 3D objects. You will need to have Maya if you want to do any real rendering from Harmony. You can import 3d models, but it’s mainly for reference in Harmony and if you render in Harmony, you will only get color shaded objects, no texturing.
Harmony uses Maya to round trip the final render through Maya for any 3D models.
And, there is no export FBX scene for Harmony to bring elements into a 3D program to finish. Hopefully, ToonBoom sees this real weakness in having to rely on Maya.
There are 2 other choices (3Delight and Pixie?) for 3D rendering, but, you’ll need TB support to help you setup, if I recall.
It’s not a real ideal situation. I’ve voiced my concerns to support on this issue to maybe open it up to use Lightwave or Blender or other 3D program. Lightwave’s new toon shading is going to be great and Blender has Freestyle line rendering. It’s a real pain to have to export out animated layers and then comp or combine in 3D program those layers.