Unity – Fix the FBX import of models from Blender

No Material

Object without a material after the import in Unity


Another issue we faced during the GlobalGameJam was, that the fbx files / external models we imported sometimes did not show the colors or the materials. We did not fix this during the jam, but here is the answer why this happens and also how to fix it in the future.

In Unity 2018 (or maybe already in one of the 2017 versions) they have changed the way to import models from 3rd party animation software like Blender or Maja.
The websites we used and the Asset packs we imported might have been effected by this issue. So the correct way of importing the files into unity now contains also the (additional) import of the material…

Material Button

The new Material Button in Unity on the fbx file.

Update – Mixamo:
So I wanted to retest the things I said a few sentences above. But it seems, that at least the mixamo models work like expected. (Material / color is shown in Unity) But maybe this is due to the special “export to Unity” feature they offer during the download process?! However – Animations from Mixamo seem to work. 😉 Have to find another example to verify the fix fbx import. Maybe it’S a Blender only thing?

SHORT:
Check the new Materials tab in the Inspector (Click the fbx file first)
Check the Shaders if the model still looks odd.

Long:
https://docs.unity3d.com/2018.1/Documentation/Manual/class-FBXImporter.html
https://www.udemy.com/mastering-3d-animation-in-unity/learn/v4/t/lecture/9190100?start=0

PS: Also the Animation Window is now NOT in record mode immediately. We found the solution during the jam – but it also took some time to find the solution. So here a reminder… Press the record button before you edit your animation 😉