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In this tutorial, I will show you how to import your models into the dim3 Animator. Just follow the steps, and you should have no problems.

Step One—What You Should Know:

The dim3 Animator can import 4 different model file types. The file types are:

OBJ (.obj)
Lightwave (.lwo)
Meshwork (.mesh)
Cinema 4D XML (.xml)

These are the only file types you can import, so don't try to import .wings, or .blend, or .c4d, it just won't work.

NOTE: Your model must be UV mapped, and contain no more then 32 materials.

As there are restrictions for model file types, so also are there restrictions for texture file types. The Animator accepts only PNG (.png) formatted textures that are a Power of 2 (2,4,8,16,32,128,256 .ect)

NOTE: The restriction is for a "Power" of 2, not a "Multiple" of 2. Remember this. Also, the texture does not have to be square, as long as both sides are a power of 2, it doesn't matter what their dimensions are.

Now that you understand these things, let's get on to the next step...


Step Two—What You Need:

In order to import a model, you must have the following items ready:

Model File (.obj/.lwo/.mesh/.xml)
Texture File (.png)

Example:
mymodel.obj
mytexture1.png

If your model uses more then one texture, it might look more like this:
mymodel.obj
mytexture1.png
mytexture2.png
mytexture3.png

NOTE: Try and give your UV maps and textures names that will be easy to work with, so you don't have to guess which texture "UV Map 1" is supposed to have.

IMPORTANT: You cannot import more then 1 model file at once. So while you might have several texture files, you should have only one model file.

Now that you have the necessary files, let's get on to the final step...


Step Three—Importing Your Files:

You have the files you need, so let's import them.

First, open the Animator application.


When you open Animator, a window will appear, asking you to select a model to open.



However, we are creating a new model, and not opening an existing one, so click the cancel button.

After hitting cancel, go to File>>New, or type Command-N. A new window will appear.



Here you can name your model. Make sure you use a name that is obvious, for example, if you are importing a crate model, use something like "crate1".

Name your model, and click "New". The animator will create a blank workspace window for you to import your model.



From here do Mesh>>Import Mesh, and select the file type your model is in.

The Animator will now ask you to find and open the model you wish to import. Select your model, and click "Open".

If the model is a valid file, the following window you appear:



Click "Okay" and then find and select the texture that goes with the stated UV map.

NOTE: Animator will require you to select 1 texture for every UV map.

After importing all your textures, a new window will appear, asking you to specify—in map units—the size of your model.


I usually just go with 10.0 and resize later, but you can choose whatever works for you.

Click "Okay", and your succesfully imported model will appear in your workspace, which is my case is an ugly blue box. :-)

Like so:


Your model has now been successfully imported! Now save!

This concludes my tutorial, I hope you have complete success with it. If you have any problems, please tell me, and I will include any fixes in this tutorial. If anyone sees any errors, please notify me immediately.