The next step was to convert the supplied AutoCAD R14 model into a format suitable for display on web pages. Fortunately, I had several tools capable of performing such as conversion. Rhino 3D did a fairly good job at importing the model, but its exported files lost the colors of the original model components when I loaded the 3DS mesh output files into other programs capable of supporting this common format. Okino's PolyTrans, which supported a somewhat wider range of output file types, including 3DS, LWO, COB, OBJ and numerous other common 3D formats, had the same problem. The free DWG viewer maintained the colors, but lacked output capabilities altogether, so I loaded the model and took a few screenshots (by pressing PrintScreen, then pasting and cropping the resulting files in Photoshop) as a starting point for some visual examples of the model's interior and exterior vistas. Click here to see a sample of the DWG Viewer's not-particularly-great rendering quality.
I was finally able to save a 3DS model with all of the color information retained by using a tool called 3D Exploration. Upon careful examination of the output of the various programs, however, I noticed that some of the polygons were rendered invisible during the export process. This had the effect of creating odd effects such as a piano without a lid and a stove without a top in the color model. In some cases, inverting "normals" of troublesome areas with your 3D program can help. Fortunately, the client preferred the grayscale output, which loomed perfect. Indeed, the grayscale output does look classier than the color model -- more like a black and white photo or a shaded sketch. The color model, in contrast, has a rather garish "computer graphics" quality that tends to distract from the form. These aesthetic issues are not easy to overlook.
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