VNTANA supports FBX conversion. This means that VNTANA Platform converts assets to optimized GLB, USDZ, and FBX.

We’ll walk through an overview of the optimized FBX, supported and not supported elements within the FBX, importing the FBX into various software, and finally a quick FAQ.
Let’s dive into the details of the optimized FBX.
FBX Conversion Process
Optimized FBXs generated from Platform are intended for Unity but will also work within other software. If the model is textured, additional import steps need to be followed to relink the model’s textures (see the ‘Importing the Optimized FBX’ section below).
Platform performs one of the following processes to create the optimized FBX:
GLB is uploaded, then optimized to the user’s settings as a new GLB, then converted to an FBX.
OBJ/ FBX/ etc. is uploaded, converted to a GLB, then optimized to the user’s settings as a new GLB, then converted to an FBX.
Note: We only optimize glTF/GLB, so if the file that is uploaded is not a glTF/GLB, we first convert it to GLB. After optimization, we convert back to USDZ/FBX. Some data loss could occur through the conversion processes.
Supported within the Optimized FBX
Platform’s optimized FBX contains all of the data that the optimized asset has, including the PBR materials, texture maps, and skinning. There are some limitations to this and those are listed below as well as in the ‘Not Supported within the Optimized FBX’ section.
PBR Materials
FBX doesn’t support PBR materials natively, so materials are exported under the “Maya” property in a similar fashion to Maya. This workflow is supported by Unity, but unfortunately not in Blender and other software. Blender will import the asset and textures, but textures will not be connected to materials. Users will need to manually reconnect the textures to the materials (reference the ‘Importing the Optimized FBX’ section below for more details).
Texture Maps
Textures (images) are copied from the glTF and embedded into the output FBX file without any editing. Reference the ‘Importing the Optimized FBX’ section below if using the optimized FBX in another software than Unity.
Skinning
Skinning is only partially supported and may not produce correct results across different importers. Geometry instancing is not supported when skinning is present, so geometry will be duplicated in this case.
Draco Compression
Draco Compression can be selected as an optimization setting because the optimized model will be converted to FBX before Draco Compression is applied.
Not Supported within the Optimized FBX
At this time, the below items are not supported within the optimized FBX:
- Multiple scenes
- Multiple UV layers
- Primitives other than Triangles
- Mirror repeat
- glTF extensions (including KTX)
- glTF extensions are for the most part just ignored, and it is not expected that any data stored by extensions and extras will end up in the optimized FBX.
- KTX textures will be ignored when converting to FBX, so selecting the KTX Compression as an optimization setting will result in an optimized FBX that is missing textures.
Importing the Optimized FBX
Importing the optimized FBX generated from Platform may require additional steps for a successful import depending on the software. We’ve outlined the import steps below for Unity, Unreal, Maya, 3DS Max, Blender, Keyshot, Clo, and Browzwear.
Unity - Optimized FBX Import Process
Optimized FBX’s will import into Unity with textures and materials linked properly however, the asset will need the textures unpacked so they will appear successfully. Don’t worry, the textures can be unpacked within 3 easy steps.
Note: If using Unity Forma, we recommend importing in the GLB.
Let’s walk through them, please see below.
- Unpack Textures: Select the model in the asset Browser, then select Extract Textures within the Asset Inspector.
- The asset should display correctly and be ready for use after the above steps are completed.
OPTIONAL – Unpack Materials: If you want to make any edits to the materials within Unity, it is recommended to complete this optional step.
If you experience issues with materials or textures once the optimized FBX is imported, you may want to follow the below import workflow instead. We’ve noticed that Unity requires a unique name for each material. If you have materials with the same names, they get combined. For example, Mesh 1 with material A is the driver, Mesh 2 with material B has the same name but is a different color. When this example is imported, Mesh 2 will get material A applied to it since material A (has the same material name) appears first on Mesh 1, the driver mesh.
Using Unity’s High Definition Render Pipeline will resolve this issue. One of the key advantages of the HDRP is the shader graph materials. This will allow us to connect the textures correctly.
Let’s walk through the process below.
Install Unity’s High Definition Render Pipeline: If you have this installed already, skip to the next step.
To install the HDRP, navigate to Windows -> Package Manager.
- Search for High Definition RP.
- Adjust the HDRP configuration by navigating to Window -> Render Pipeline -> HD Render Pipeline Wizard.
- Once the Wizard window opens, select Fix All at the top of the Configuration Checking section to fix the configuration.
- You will receive a message to Create or Load HD Render Pipeline Asset. When this appears, we recommend selecting “Create One”.
- The Render Pipeline Wizard should be all set up and look like the below after the above steps are completed.
- Once the Wizard window opens, select Fix All at the top of the Configuration Checking section to fix the configuration.
- Import the optimized FBX: right-click within your Asset Browser and select “Import New Asset”.
- Unpack Textures: Initially, the asset will come in with no materials or textures. To fix this, the textures will need to be unpacked.
- Select the asset within the Asset Browser.
Select Extract Textures within the Asset Inspector.
The textures will be unpacked from the FBX file into the Unity project.
After this process runs, a window may pop up requesting to fix the normal map import settings. We recommend selecting Fix Now.
- After this process is completed, the asset’s textures should be available in the Asset Library.
- Select the asset within the Asset Browser.
Create a new HDRP material to assign to the asset: a new HDRP material needs to be created to ensure the ORM texture map is applied correctly to the asset.
Right-click in the Asset Library and navigate to Create -> Shader -> HD Render Pipeline -> Lit Shader Graph.
- A Shader Graph will be added to the Asset Library. Double-click it to open the Shader Graph.
- Drag the textures into the graph.
Connect the textures to the shader:
ORM (Occlusions Roughness Metallic):
- Normal Map texture RGBA output to the Normal (Tangent Space) channel of the material.
Select “Save Asset” at the top of the graph to save the shader.
Go back to the Asset Library and create a new material:
Apply the material to the mesh:
- The optimized FBX should appear with the correct materials in the scene now.
Unreal - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Unreal requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to relink the textures, and this can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
NOTE: The optimized GLB generated from Platform will successfully import into Unreal without as many additional steps if imported via the glTF Importer Plug-In. You will need to make an adjustment to the normal map by adjusting the compression setting from dxt11 to dxt5 in the texture settings, then change the sampler type from linear to normal in the material, and then connect the normal map to normalize in the node graph.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Create New Folder: To help remain organized and easily unpack the model’s textures, it’s highly recommended to create a New Folder within the Content Browser.
Drag and drop the FBX:
Import Options: another window will open with the FBX Import Options.
- Successfully Imported FBX: after steps 1 – 3 are completed, the FBX should be imported, and the assets will appear in the Content Browser.
Import FBM Folder: To successfully unpack the textures associated with the model, Unreal must detect a FBM folder and that will need to be imported. This should be nested within the New Folder created in step 1.
Relink textures to the materials: unfortunately, the textures are not linked to the materials. You will need to manually relink the textures to the correct materials. Please follow the below steps.
Select one of the materials and double left-click on it to open the material editor.
- Select the correct textures from the Content Browser and drag them into the material graph.
Connect the textures to the correct channel of the material.
Select Apply from toolbar of Material Editor.
Repeat steps A – C for all materials.
- The optimized FBX model should be successfully imported with textures visible.
Maya - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Maya requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to relink the textures, and this can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
Note: Maya does not support importing the GLB format currently.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Import the optimized FBX: Navigate to File -> Import and select the FBX to import.
- Select the Mesh: Once the model has been imported, select all of the mesh components.
- Open the Hypershade window.
Show materials used: Open the material window.
Import textures for linking to the materials:
Create a Stingray PBS Material: The imported model uses PBR textures, but the default material in Maya does not support PBR. You need to replace the default material with a Stingray PBS material.
Link textures to the materials: Now that you have the correct material type, the textures need to be linked to the appropriate channels within the correct material.
Base Color: Link the Out Color of the diffuse texture map to the TEX Color Map channel of the material. Be sure to check the “Use Color Map” box within the properties panel.
ORM:
R Channel: Link the Out Color R of the ORM texture map to the TEX Ao Map X channel of the material. Be sure to check the “Use Ao Map” box within the properties panel.
- G Channel: Link the Out Color G of the ORM texture map to the TEX Roughness Map Y channel of the material. Be sure to check the “Use Roughness Map” box within the properties panel.
- B Channel: Link the Out Color B of the ORM texture map to the TEX Metallic Map Z channel of the material. Be sure to check the “Use Metallic Map” box within the properties panel.
- Normal Map: Link the Out Color of the normal texture map to the TEX Normal Map channel of the material. Be sure to check the “Use Normal Map” box within the properties panel.
- Geometry Node: Connect the Out Color of the Stingray PBS material to the Geometry node the default material is connected to. This will apply the Stingray material to the geometry in the scene.
Repeat step 6 for all of the remaining materials within the scene.
The optimized FBX model should be successfully imported with textures visible.
3DS Max - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into 3DS Max requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to relink the textures, and this can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
Note: 3DSMax does not support importing the GLB format currently.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Import the optimized FBX: Navigate to File -> Import and select the FBX to import.
Turn on material view: Within the viewport navigate to Standard -> Materials -> Realistc Materials with Maps. This will allow you to see the materials applied to the mesh within the viewport.
- Select the Mesh: Once the model has been imported, select all of the mesh components.
- Show materials used: Open the Material Editor window.
Select a mesh component and focus the Material Editor on it:
Import textures for linking to the materials:
Link textures to the materials: Now that you have the textures imported, they need to be linked to the appropriate channels within the correct material.
Base Color: Link the Base Color texture map to the Base Color Map channel of the material. Note, if an Ambient Occlusion map is included you will adjust this setup when linking the AO map.
ORM: This packed texture will need to be split by its color channels before connecting to the material channels.
Ambient Occlusion: You will need to add a RGB Tint node and Multiply that with the Base Color map.
RGB Tint node: Add a RGB Tint node to the material graph by searching for “RGB Tint” within the Material Browser. Select it to add to the material graph.
Adjust settings of RGB Tint node: You need to isolate the color of the channel you want to display by changing the color of the RGB channels to white or black of the RGB Tint Parameters within the properties panel.
Multiply node: 3DS Max does not have a dedicated Ambient Occlusion channel. You can add the AO map to the Base Color via a Multiply node.
Roughness: Similarly, you will need to add an RGB Tint node.
Metallic: Similarly, you will need to add an RGB Tint node.
Normal Map: You will need to add a Normal Bump node before connecting this map to the material.
Repeat step 5 for all of the remaining materials within the scene.
The optimized FBX model should be successfully imported with textures visible.
Blender - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Blender requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to relink the textures, and this can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
NOTE: The optimized GLB generated from Platform will successfully import into Blender (textures linked to materials) without additional steps required.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Delete existing scene content: When opening Blender, by default a cube, camera, and light at present. Delete these components because they are not needed.
Import the optimized FBX: Navigate to File -> Import -> FBX and select the FBX to import.
Open the Shading mode: Toggle to the Shading mode by selecting “Shading” from the top toolbar.
Select a mesh component: Select a mesh component to focus on either in the 3D Viewport or from the Scene Collection outliner.
- Link textures to the materials: Blender successfully imported the texture maps but did not link them to the correct materials. You can see the texture maps within the Image drop-down field of the UV Editor. You will need to manually link the texture maps by adding Image Texture nodes to the material graph.
Base Color: Add an Image Texture Node and link to the Base Color channel of the material.
Within the Material Graph, add an Image Texture node (from the Texture node options).
- Toggle to the Base Color texture map within the “Browser Image to Be Linked” icon.
- Connect the Color output of this node to the Base Color channel within the material. Note, if an Ambient Occlusion map is included you will adjust this setup when linking the AO map.
- ORM: This packed texture will need to be split by its color channels before connecting to the material channels.
Ambient Occlusion: You will need to add a Separate RGB node and a Mix node to add AO to the Base Color map.
Add an Image Texture node and assign the correct ORM texture map.
- Add a Separate RGB node to the material graph (from the Converter node options).
- Connect the ORM texture map to the Separate RGB node.
- Add a Mix node to the material graph (Mix RGB from the Color node options).
Adjust the connection of the Base Color texture map to connect to Color 1 of the Mix node rather than the Base Color channel of the material.
Connect the R Channel of the Separate RGB node to Color 2 of the Mix node.
- Change the blend mode to Multiply within the Mix node.
- Connect the output of the Mix node to the Base Color channel of the material.
Roughness: Similarly, you will connect the Separated RGB to a channel on the material.
Metallic: Similarly, you will connect the Separated RGB to a channel on the material.
Normal Map: Add an Image Texture Node and link to the Normal channel of the material.
Within the Material Graph, add an Image Texture node (from the Texture node options).
Toggle to the Normal texture map within the “Browser Image to Be Linked” icon.
- Connect the Color output of this node to the Normal Map (this node should be included in the material graph by default). The Normal Map node should already be connected to the Normal channel of the material.
Repeat step 5 for all of the remaining materials within the scene.
The optimized FBX model should be successfully imported with textures visible.
Keyshot - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Keyshot requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to separate the ORM texture maps, and then assign textures to the materials once the FBX is imported into Keyshot. This can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
NOTE: The optimized GLB generated from Platform will successfully import into Keyshot (textures linked to materials) without additional steps required.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Ensure the ORM step has been completed following our Separating an ORM Texture – Optimized FBX Import Process guide below.
Open Keyshot and import the optimized FBX.
- Keyshot will fail to load the source textures. The textures need to be manually reassigned to the materials.
- Select a mesh component by double-clicking on it in the 3D viewport. The property panel will change to the material properties.
- Open the material graph by selecting Material Graph from the material properties.
- Change the material from a generic material to and advanced material by toggling to “Advanced” within the Type dropdown menu of the Material Properties.
Drag in the correct textures for the material into the Material Graph from the FBM folder.
Connect the textures to the correct material slots.
Base Color map texture to the Diffuse slot of the Advanced Material.
- Ambient Occlusion map texture to the Ambient slot of the Advanced Material.
- Roughness map texture to Roughness slot of the Advanced Material.
Metallic: The Advanced Material does not support a metallic channel. A Metal Material should be added and we’ll use the Metallic map and the opacity.
Right-click in the material graph and navigate it to Materials. Select Metal to add a Metal material.
- Connect the Metallic texture map to the Opacity slot of the Metal material. Since this material is fully metallic, we can use the metallic map as a mask when blending with the Advanced material.
- Connect the Base Color and Roughness textures to the Color and Roughness slots of the Metal material.
- Connect the Metal material output to the Label 1 slot of the Material node. This will apply the Metal material to the Advanced material.
- Normal texture to Bump slot of the Advanced Material and Metal Material.
Adjust settings of the Normal texture map to ensure it displays correctly.
The material is set up! Close the Material Graph and review the material in 3D.
- Select a mesh component by double-clicking on it in the 3D viewport. The property panel will change to the material properties.
- Repeat these steps for all materials within the scene.
Clo - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Clo requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to separate the ORM texture maps, and then assign textures to the materials once the FBX is imported into Clo. This can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
NOTE: The optimized GLB generated from Platform will successfully import into Clo (textures linked to materials) without additional steps required.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Ensure the ORM step has been completed following our Separating an ORM Texture – Optimized FBX Import Process guide below.
Open Clo and import the optimized FBX.
- Clo will fail to load the source textures. The textures need to be manually reassigned to the materials.
- Select a mesh component in the 3D viewport. The property panel will update to properties for the selected component.
- Scroll to the Material Section and plug in the texture maps.
- Select a mesh component in the 3D viewport. The property panel will update to properties for the selected component.
- Repeat these steps for all mesh components in the scene.
Browzwear - Optimized FBX Import Process
Importing optimized FBXs generated from Platform into Browzwear VStitcher requires additional steps beyond just importing the model. You will need to separate the ORM texture maps, and then assign textures to the materials once the FBX is imported into Browzwear. This can be time-consuming depending on how many materials are used.
NOTE: Browzwear VStitcher does not support GLB files currently.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Ensure the ORM step has been completed following our Separating an ORM Texture – Optimized FBX Import Process guide below.
Open the VStitcher project you’d like to add the optimized FBX to as a trim.
Navigate to the Materials -> Trims section of the Library panel.
Position the 3D trim and adjust the Connectors as needed.
- Relink the texture maps to the 3D trim.
Diffuse texture map to the Diffuse image slot.
Roughness texture map to the Roughness image slot.
Normal texture map to the Normal image slot.
Metallic texture map to the Metallic image slot within the Advanced Options of the material properties.
- The trim should have all textures reassigned correctly now! Adjust it as needed on the garment.
Separating an ORM texture - Optimized FBX Import Process
The optimized FBX from VNTANA outputs a packed ORM (ambient occlusion, roughness, and metallic map). Unfortunately, not all 3D applications allow you to separate the packed texture within their material editor. We will need to manually separate this texture prior to importing the optimized FBX into applications like Keyshot, Clo, and VStitcher.
Let’s dive into the import process below.
Import the FBX file into Keyshot, Clo, or Browzwear.
Note the location of the FBM folder.
Split the RGB Channels into separate images within Photoshop.
Open Photoshop and drag an ORM texture map into the application.
- Open the Channels tab within Photoshop.
Save As Occlusion map:
Toggle off the eyeballs/ view icon on all channels except for the Red channel.
- With the Red channel select, press ctl+A to select all of the information in that channel.
Copy the selected information by pressing ctl+C.
- Select Clipboard as the document size since and press “Create”.
- Paste the copied channel information into the new document by pressing ctl+V.
- Save the Red channel by navigating to File -> Save As Copy.
Save the image in the same FBM folder as the rest of the texture maps so all maps associated to that file are organized together.
We recommend the below naming convention for organization purposes as well:
Repeat those steps for the remaining channels of the texture map (Roughness and Metallic).
Roughness map: save the image with the prefix “_Roughness”.
Metallic map: save the image with the prefix “_Metallic”.
Repeat the process (step 3) for the remaining ORM textures within the FBM folder.
Once all ORM’s are split into separate channel maps, the optimized FBX can be imported into Keyshot, Clo, or Browzwear. Additional steps are required once the FBX is imported, please reference the Keyshot, Clo, or Browzwear Import instructions above.
FAQ
If you’re experiencing results that are not intended with the optimized FBX you may be asking yourself some of the below questions. We hope that our answers to the common troubleshooting topics resolve any issue, however, if we did not resolve the issue please reach out to support@vntana.com.
Why did Platform fail to generate an FBX?
If the glTF/ GLB uploaded included Draco Compression a FBX will not be generated. We do not support Draco Compression on input for any file.
Why is my optimized FBX generated from Platform missing textures?
Textures are probably there but the importing software doesn’t know how to connect them to the right properties. Please reference the ‘Importing the Optimized FBX’ section above.
If KTX textures are present, FBX will be missing KTX textures. It will still be available on Platform and it’s still possible to import it somewhere, but there will be no way to connect textures as those will be lost.
Why does my optimized FBX look incorrect in Blender after the glTF to FBX conversion?
Blender is not the target for the converter and may import incorrectly. If textures are the issue, textures should also be available in Blender, however, they may not be connected to the material properties. Please reference the above ‘Importing the Optimized FBX’ section.
Why is my optimized FBX so much bigger than the original glTF?
If the original glTF contains skinned meshes that are instanced this could be the cause of a large optimized FBX file size. FBX doesn’t support instancing on skinned meshes. If the original glTF does not contain skinned meshes that are instanced and the optimized FBX is larger, then this may be a bug that should be reported to support@vntana.com.
Why is my skinned mesh animation missing/ broken after glTF to FBX conversion?
This is currently not supported.