Corona Proxy in 3ds Max: lighter scenes
To reduce the viewport load of heavy furniture in 3ds Max, save its geometry as a Corona Proxy and choose Point cloud or a bounding box. The detailed model stays in an external .cgeo file. A proxy simplifies scene display and storage; conversion itself does not make the final render faster or improve its quality.
Prepare only the intended model parts
After importing furniture with Merge, select the required item and hide the rest of the scene with Hide Unselected. This prevents walls, decoration and neighboring objects from entering the attachment accidentally. Save a separate scene copy before changing the model structure.
If the furniture consists of several objects and you want a single proxy, select its main part, convert it to Editable Poly and attach the remaining parts with Attach. Include only components of that item in the list. Selecting the entire list is safe only after you have actually checked its contents.
Attaching parts supports this method of exporting a complete item; it is not required for every model. A simple separate bedside table can remain ordinary geometry. Judge how manageable your particular scene is: there is no universal polygon threshold for every computer.
Create CProxy and pick the source geometry
Open Create → Geometry → Corona and choose CProxy. Create an object beside the furniture. In its settings, click Pick from scene… and select the prepared item.
CProxy is an object that references external geometry. At this stage you choose which model to export; the shape of the helper box you draw does not replace the shape of the furniture.
Save the geometry as .cgeo
In the dialog, choose a clear filename and save a Corona Proxy (*.cgeo) file in the project folder. Wait for export to finish. Once saved, the proxy is placed at the original object’s position.
Before deleting the source geometry, check that the proxy was created and references the saved file. If the original remains in the scene, remove it from the working version after verification: you do not need the original and proxy overlapping each other.
Choose a lightweight display mode
Select the proxy and find Viewport Display → Method. Point cloud is usually useful when arranging furniture: the points show its silhouette, making it easier to recognize than a box alone. If only the bounds matter, choose Solid Bounding Box or Wire Bounding Box.
Full mesh displays detailed geometry in the viewport. It helps when checking the shape, but a complex object brings back the load of displaying that geometry. Return to a lightweight mode after checking.
Changing Method affects the viewport representation; it does not turn the render model into a set of points. Visible points or a box therefore do not, by themselves, mean the final image will lose detail.
Place the item and retain its external files
Show hidden objects with Unhide All and position the proxy in the scene. Check its placement and real dimensions against the floor plan. For a test render, confirm that only the intended model is visible and its materials look correct.
The .max file stores a reference to .cgeo, so keep the proxy file accessible when transferring the project to another computer. Texture images must remain accessible too: exporting geometry does not replace collecting the project’s dependencies.
To use a previously saved proxy, create CProxy and choose Load from file…. If the proxy does not load after a move, first check the .cgeo path and whether the file exists. Keep a working source until you have confirmed that the transferred scene opens and renders correctly.
Technical documentation: Chaos: using proxies in Corona · Corona Proxy: display modes
Related tutorials
- Where to Download 3D Models for 3ds Max: Choosing Models and Libraries
- PBR Materials in Corona: Map Setup in 3ds Max
Source of the article and frames: Специалист Дизайна — 11 Импорт Модели и Использование Corona Proxy для Облегчения Сцены в 3ds Max