Importing models from Cinema4D to Unreal Engine 4

Development Rendering
1

So… I am new to Unreal Engine 4, after a lot of learning and watching videos, I now can create simple games with Unreal Engine!

But instead of using pre-made assets I want to create my own, I can create models in Cinema4D, and I am O.K. at it. But now I want to import those models into Unreal Engine. I know how to export a FBX file, but now I want to bring the textures with it. I have tried searching any tutorial online, but I couldn’t find the answer. I am new to asset/model creation, which means I don’t really know the terminology. Though I think its called ‘baking’ where you get the UV mapping and the bumps or something like that?

Maybe an external 3d model painting program is better? I’d actually like to use a painting program more than Cinema4D. But I don’t want to pay money for it, since I am a starting game creator and I don’t really know how it is going to work out… So does anybody know any free program?

Anyway, thanks to anybody who could help me! :wink:
(sorry for bad English)

2

Your thread titel is missleading.

You’re not having issues with the import process, you’re asking about ways to texture your Models.

Since you are allready “O.K.” at Cinema 4D, you could try to learn BodyPaint, it’s the built-in Texture painting tool of the program.

No matter what Programms you use in your Pipeline, you not only need to be able to somehow build something in 3D,
it also has to be useable in a realtime enviroment aka Game Engine.

So my first advice would be to really learn modelling the right way.
If your topology is bad and unoptimized, the next steps will be even harder.

After that learn how to UV unwrap your model, because this step is vital if you ever want a working texture on your model.
No matter if you’d like to paint or bake a texture, if your UVs are messed up, it will never look right in any realtime 3D Enviroment.

Next up is the painting and/or baking Materials to texturemaps.
I’d recomend you to learn the baking first since it will speed up your texture creation process a lot.

To make it clear, i’m not exactly talking about the normalmap transfer from highpoly to lowpoly objects.
That is an entirely different and more advanced topic, you should learn later on.

Right now you need to learn how to combine several materials with different material projections into a single texturemap.
In order to do so, you need to know how to work with polygon selections and how to appy a material to them.
Furthermore you need to have a basic understanding of materials and how to use their projection (cubic, spheric, zylindric, etc.) on a model.

If you also learn how to use cinemas shaders in multiple material channels, you might be able to do a lot of texturing without even touching the painting tools.
I once did a rusty pipeline with snow cover only by using some layered shaders and applying them to a cylinder.

Long story short: you have a lot of learning ahead of you.

3

Thank you a lot for your information!
I will start looking more into the topology, and baking things, also I will try to do searches on your suggestions. Maybe more tutorials will pop-up.

But for now on, thank you.