Importing Models

Model files can contain a variety of data, such as character and terrain 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:

1. Select the file in the Project view to see the Import Settings window
2. Set any Model-specific or general importer options
3. Set up options for importing Rigs and Animation (not available for SpeedTree Models)
4. Dealing with Materials and Textures
5. Drag the file into Unity

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.

Accessing the Import Settings window

No matter what kind of data you want to extract from the Model file, you always start the same way:

1. Open the Project window and the Inspector so that you can see both at once.

2. Select the Model file you want to import from the Asset folder in the Project window.

   The Import Settings window opens in the Inspector showing the Model tab by default.

Setting Model-specific and general importer options

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 LOD levels.

Character and animated Models provide more diverse options on their Model tab, which allow you to:

• Use the Scale Factor and Convert Units properties to adjust how Unity interprets units. For example, 3ds Max uses 1 unit to represent 10 centimeters, whereas Unity uses 1 unit to represent 1 meter.
• Use the Mesh Compression, Read/Write Enabled, Optimize Mesh, Keep Quads, Index Format, or Weld Vertices properties to reduce resources and save memory.
• You can enable the Import BlendShapes option if the Model file came from Maya or 3ds Max, or any other 3d modeling application that supports morph target animation.
• You can enable the Generate Colliders option for environment geometry.
• You can enable specific FBX settings, such as Import Visibility, or Import Cameras and Import Lights.
• For Model files that contain only Animation, you can enable the Preserve Hierarchy option to prevent hierarchy mismatch in your skeleton.
• You can set the Swap UVs and Generate Lightmap UVs if you are using a Lightmap.
• You can exercise control over how Unity handles the Normals and Tangents in your Model with the Normals, Normals Mode, Tangents, or Smoothing Angle options.

Setting options for importing Rigs and Animation

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 Clips 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 node for the Generic type:

• Humanoid-type workflow
• Generic-type workflow

Note: SpeedTree Models have neither a Rig nor an Animation tab.

Dealing with Materials and Textures

If your file contains Material or Texture, you can define how you want to deal with them:

1. Click the Materials tab in the Import Settings window.
2. From the Material Creation Mode drop-down menu, choose how you want to import the Materials from the FBX file. Unless you chose None, several options appear in the Materials tab, including the Location option, whose value determines what the other options are.
3. Choose the Use Embedded Materials option to keep the Materials inside the imported Asset.
4. When you have finished setting the options, click the Apply button at the bottom of the Import Settings window to save them or click the Revert button to cancel.

Drag the file into Unity

Finally, you can import the file into your scene:

• If it contains a Mesh, drag the file into the Scene view to instantiate it as a Prefab for a GameObject.
• If it contains Animation Clips, you can drag the file into the Animator window to use in the State Machine. You can also drag the Animation take directly onto an instantiated Prefab in the Scene view. This automatically creates an Animation Controller and connects the animation to the Model.