Model files can contain a variety of data, such as character and terrainThe landscape in your scene. A Terrain GameObject adds a large flat plane to your scene and you can use the Terrain’s Inspector window to create a detailed landscape. More info
See in Glossary Meshes, Animation Rigs and Clips, as well as Materials and Textures. Most likely, your file does not contain all of these elements at once, but you can follow any portion of the workflow that you need to:
Note: This workflow assumes you already have a Model file to import. If you don’t have a file already, you can read the guidelines on how to export an FBX file before exporting it from your 3D modeling software. For guidelines on how to export Humanoid animation from your 3D modeling software, see Preparing Humanoid Models for export.
No matter what kind of data you want to extract from the Model fileA file containing a 3D data, which may include definitions for meshes, bones, animation, materials and textures. More info
See in Glossary, you always start the same way:
Open the ProjectIn Unity, you use a Project to design and develop a game. A Project stores all of the files that are related to a game, such as the Asset and Scene files. More info
See in Glossary window and the InspectorA Unity window that displays information about the currently selected GameObject, Asset or Project Settings, alowing you to inspect and edit the values. More info
See in Glossary so that you can see both at once.
Select the ModelA 3D model representation of an object, such as a character, a building, or a piece of furniture. More info
See in Glossary file you want to import from the AssetAny media or data that can be used in your game or Project. An Asset may come from a file created outside of Unity, such as a 3D model, an audio file or an image. You can also create some asset types in Unity, such as an Animator Controller, an Audio Mixer or a Render Texture. More info
See in Glossary folder in the Project window.
The Import Settings window opens in the Inspector showing the Model tab by default.
The options that are available for SpeedTree Models vs. other Models are very different. For example, the SpeedTree Model tab provides options mostly for setting up transitions between LODThe Level Of Detail (LOD) technique is an optimization that reduces the number of triangles that Unity has to render for a GameObject when its distance from the Camera increases. Each LOD level has either a Mesh with a Mesh Renderer component (Mesh LOD level) or a Billboard Asset with a Billboard Renderer component (Billboard LOD level). Typically a single GameObject has three or four Mesh LOD levels and one optional Billboard LOD level to represent the same GameObject with decreasing detail in the geometry. More info
See in Glossary levels.
Character and animated Models provide more diverse options on their Model tab, which allow you to:
If your file contains Animation data, you can follow the guidelines for setting up the Rig using the Rig tab and then extracting or defining Animation ClipsAnimation data that can be used for animated characters or simple animations. It is a simple “unit” piece of motion, such as (one specific instance of) “Idle”, “Walk” or “Run”. More info
See in Glossary using the Animation tab. The workflow differs between Humanoid and Generic (non-Humanoid) animation types because Unity needs the Humanoid’s bone structure to be very specific, but only needs to know which bone is the root nodeA transform in an animation hierarchy that allows Unity to establish consistency between Animation clips for a generic model. It also enables Unity to properly blend between Animations that have not been authored “in place” (that is, where the whole Model moves its world position while animating). More info
See in Glossary for the Generic type:
Note: SpeedTree Models have neither a Rig nor an Animation tab.
If your file contains MaterialAn asset that defines how a surface should be rendered, by including references to the Textures it uses, tiling information, Color tints and more. The available options for a Material depend on which Shader the Material is using. More info
See in Glossary or TextureAn image used when rendering a GameObject, Sprite, or UI element. Textures are often applied to the surface of a mesh to give it visual detail. More info
See in Glossary, you can define how you want to deal with them:
Finally, you can import the file into your scene: