Need Help with Textures - Blender props to Daz
Iracunningham58
Posts: 0
Hey there everyone! So recently i decided to start making props and cloths for my characters. The issue im running into is uploading the UV Maps to Daz. Here's how i'm doing it with the programs - maybe you'll catch something i missed.
Okay so i wanted a detailed Sword for one of my characters, so i opened blender and make the desired sword. Go through the long process of texturing it in Blender. With UV Maps.
Export the sword as a wavefile .obj - Import into Daz, scale to correct size. All is good except my textures didnt follow over. So been doing the research, and watching thousands of useless tutorials on youtube :/
Finally find a thread - Go back to blender remap my UV Map, Add texture.
I then go to UV's (In the UV Editor tab) > Export UV Layout > Save in desired location
First things first, i check the location - see the textures didnt save with the mapping... But hey, at least its grey and not white... so thats different?
Say okay, lets upload this into Daz.
Open Daz back up, click on my sword. Click Surfaces > Type "UV" in the search so i get the quick drop down. > Right click Surfaces > Load UV Set.. My file is no where to be found -_-
Do some more research - Finds out that Blender saves UV mapping as a .png file, Daz needs .obj which makes sense.
I tried to resave my UV Map as a .obj, but its still not showing up. I guess saving in Blender manually you cant type "SwordTexture.OBJ"...
Really lost at what to do, any advice?
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The initial uvs are read from the OBJ file, giving the default set. Additional sets are also loaded by exporting a remapped OBJ and using the Load UV Set command from the Surface pane option menu. So you need to make sure the OBJ is exporting with UVs and that DS is importing them. You will then perhaps need to reapply the maps in DS through the Surfaces pane.
.obj is not a texture format it's just the mesh "the sword".mlt holds the uv map information.png .jpg and others are texture formats
1.load texture on to ya sword in Blender.render make sure the texture is there.
2 make a empty folder on ya desktop named SWORD
3.in the desktop SWORD folder export your sword out of Blender as a .obj it will also make a ".mtl" automatically.put your texture in the desktop SWORD folder.use jpg format for your texture for now.
4.. run DAZ Not wireframe ,Have DAZ in texture shaded.import ya mesh you will see it textured.
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Iracunningham58 I would sugest you join
https://blenderartists.org/forum/index.php
They are very freindly and helpful and can teach you alot about every thing inclueding UV's n Textures.
Thanks Rorrkonn, I'll check that out!
I'm sorry it took so long to reply, been working on a few things. I figured out a way to get some textures into Daz... By Xporting as a .dae file. But that causes other errors :/ lol
Trying your way, but i think i'm missing something - When i click the view mode in Blender and click "Render" Its just black and white.. Why are my textures not even going to the rendering phase in Blender? O.o
Sorry i've very new to both these programs and doing my best.
I'm far from a exspert in DS or Blender.https://blenderartists.org/forum/index.php and youtube can help you out with blender a lot better then I can.
You know you half to load the texture in Blender right ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gRUUeFteQg
@Iracunningham58 - is there any chance you could post some screenshots of what you are doing? I have a feeling that you are using UV map and texture kind of interchangeably here and they are not the same thing.
Could you post pictures of your textured sword in Blender? I'm not clear on what you mean by this whole section:
Especially that "Add texture" part - what do you mean by that? What exactly did you do here?
Export UV layout will just export a template image showing the outline of the swords polys the way you unwrapped them. It's used to paint the textures in a 2D program like Photoshop. GIMP, etc.
Normally the basic process would go something like:
Materials created in Blender will show up in DAZ Studio as Surfaces but will not have any of the color/glossiness/bump/normal settings they had in Blender. You need to set all that up in DS after you import it.
I'm confused though, for the life of me i cant figure out how to do textures in Daz :/
Did you render your textured sword in Blender ? we half to follow step 1,2,3, can not skip a step.
Sounds like you never got it textured.if it's not textured in blender then DAZ will never work.
.obj is not a texture format it's just the mesh "the sword".mlt holds the uv map information.png .jpg and others are texture formats
1.load texture on to ya sword in Blender.render make sure the texture is there.
2 make a empty folder on ya desktop named SWORD
3.in the desktop SWORD folder export your sword out of Blender as a .obj it will also make a ".mtl" automatically.put your texture in the desktop SWORD folder.use jpg format for your texture for now.
So there should only be 3 files in you folder. a .obj,mtl,.jpg.
4.. run DAZ Not wireframe ,Have DAZ in texture shaded.import ya mesh you will see it textured.
Did you follow this ?
There recently was a very good webinar about this by Sickleyield https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-content-creation-with-blender
The UV map isn't an image at all; it's a data table that helps the renderer map texture images to the model. It sounds like you have textured your object in Blender, so exporting the UV as an image probably isn't necessary--you would do that in order to take the resulting "coloring book" image to Photoshop or something in order to paint a texture over it.
I suggest verifying that you have really unwrapped your model, then checking both your Blender export settings and DS import settings to make sure both sides know you want to transfer both UVs and textures.
If you have the budget, V3Digitimes's tutorial sold here is very good, and it comes with a PDF so you don't have to sit through the videos--you can learn whichever way suits you best. https://www.daz3d.com/easy-modeling-and-morphing-with-blender
Not to get sidetracked here, because I agree with you on the rest of it, but the part I bolded isn't exactly true. I believe the .mtl file just holds references to what texture files to load. The actual UV mapping is contained in the .OBJ, because I never export my files with a .MTL and the UVs are always there when I import in other programs.
If the OP could post more detailed steps on what exactly they are doing it would really help us troubleshoot. Screenshots would be immensely helpful too - especially of the textured model in Blender so we can see what they are trying to recreate in DS and of the export settings from Blender.
MDO2010 I did say I was far from a expert.If the app's make a .mlt ,.Blend1 ect ect .I guess there's a reason.
I think of CGI as females , I love them ,but I will never understand them ;)
Mmmmm... mutton, lettuce, and tomato...
Awesome typo.
But seriously, I get you - the list of things I don't know seems to be growing much faster than the list of things I do know.
Sorry about to wait on responce. Decided to make a new sword, since i learned some more tricks :)
So going to do your steps, with screen shot - Lets see if i can make it work :)
1.load texture on to ya sword in Blender.render make sure the texture is there.
(Screen Shot 1) - Made my sword, picked a texture just for the blade (This texture WILL Change was just a tester)
2 make a empty folder on ya desktop named SWORD
Did this, no reason to screen shot it :P
3.in the desktop SWORD folder export your sword out of Blender as a .obj it will also make a ".mtl" automatically.put your texture in the desktop SWORD folder.use jpg format for your texture for now.
So there should only be 3 files in you folder. a .obj,mtl,.jpg.
Screen shot 2 shows the export location, and type.
Screen shot 3 Shows the export of the texture and location
Screen shot 4, shows the file after.
4.. run DAZ Not wireframe ,Have DAZ in texture shaded.import ya mesh you will see it textured.
Screen Shot 5, shows daz with imported sword from the SWORD file. :'( Didn't work.
Now my next thing is, okay - So ik that you should be able to import a UV - (Screen shot 6), but the issue is it will only seem to take .Obj files through that option and my UV map is a .PNG, how do i change that. I ask because i'm a huge fan of photoshop, i would love to take my UV Map into photoshop; texture/paint it in there to get exactly what i want and i've seen videos of people altering UV Maps for daz but i'm not sure how it works.
I cant figure out what im missing :/
Again, sorry for the long respance, and thanks so much for the help! :)
Can you do this ?
I got the texture from https://freestocktextures.com/texture/concrete-stone-wall,23.html
Your export screen shot is useless since you didn't show the export options at the bottom. If you choose the right export options the UV mapping and materials are part of the object file. A complete screen shot of Studio's import would be helful to know whether you are choosing the right options there. Once in Studio open the Surface pane and with the sword selected in the Scene see whether the material zone(s) are on the sword (in Surface pane). If the material zone(s) are on the sword add the texture the appropriate channel, bump in this case. You may need to change to a different shader first that is designed for the render engine you intend to use.
I think you have a terminology issue here - you seem to be mixing up your 3D vocab.
The "UV" is part of the OBJ file data. All it does is tell a program "take this part of a texture image and show it in this spot on the model." When you import your model into DAZ Studio it already has the UV (or should, depending on your Blender export settings); what it lacks is a texture, or texture map, which is the image/picture file you want to show up on the surface of the model.
The PNG you exported from Blender is not a "UV", it is a "UV Template." That is what you would open in Photoshop to paint on. Then you would export your final painted texture, and finally you would load that texture inside DAZ Studio in the surfaces pane (see jestmart's post above).
Actually changing the UV of the object is a slightly more advanced topic and I don't think it is what you are trying to do. If it is really what you want to do, then you need to unwrap your model in Blender to create a different UV layout (template), then export that changed model (don't actually change the model itself, just the unwrapping) as a different OBJ. That new OBJ is what you would load where it was previously asking you for an OBJ. The result is that in your surface options you would have a drop-down with a default UV and your new UV and you could switch between them. Note that textures made for one, would not work for the other.
It sounds like you (a) created a model, (b) picked a texture, and (c) exported. You didn't indicate that you ever UV unwrapped the model, so I suspect you did not. DAZ can't apply the textures as you want it to until you do the unwrapping to make the UV maps, which are data tables held inside your .blend and .obj files. Don't be distracted by .png or .jpg or .mtl files--they're not going to help you solve the lack of UVs.
I believe that tutorial product I mentioned would be extremely helpful to you.
EDITED TO ADD:
On the other hand, if you aren't applying any textures of your own, and just the plain shaders that come with DAZ Studio are all you need, then you can do without UV maps. As @jestmart said, you can define material zones as part of your model in Blender, then when you import into DAZ, apply one of the predefined shaders to each material zone.
@Inkubo - you might be correct, I did just assume that the OP had indeed done some sort of unwrap operation on the model; he does say above that he exported a UV template using UV > Export UV in Edit mode and I think (I could be wrong - I'm not at my computer to check right now) that option is greyed out if there are no UVs at all.
@MD0210, you're right, maybe he did unwrap it and just forgot to put that step in his list.
@Iracunningham58, nobody wants to talk down to you. But there's something you don't know, and we don't know what it is, so I'm going to ask about some basic things. Please don't be offended.
If indeed you really did unwrap the model, could you go back to just after Step 5 and:
I wonder if it could be that you have all the maps and textures you need, but perhaps you got the idea that "Load UV Set" would load all the textures in the proper slots, and because it didn't, you got sidetracked. While you're in the surfaces pane, if the sword expands and you see any material zones, select one, then look among all the boxes on the right for something like Diffuse Color. If your model is using an Iray shader, that may not be the right name...maybe it's Base color? I'm at work now and I can't remember. Anyway, when you find it, click on the little square depicted in my attached graphic. It will show a triangle if the slot is empty or something else if it is not. A menu will pop up. From there choose "Browse" and browse to select that .png you thought was a UV map. After you choose it, see if DAZ refreshes the screen and now the lines in the .png show up on your model. If so, it may be the only thing you're missing is to load your textures into all the proper slots of the material zones.
This is the video of what I did to get a texture in to DAZ.
Just click to play
@Rorrkonn, i followed your video to the T. idk why, but when you go to "Render > New Window > Click render, it doesnt show my texture. However, i finally got this some what solved. It seems that i have an older version (Probably would helped to start with upgrading... lol), cause when you put your texture on, it automattically went to the cube. For myself, i have to go back into edit mode, and Select all for it to show in the UV Image editor window. , then i have to select the image i want to use on the UV Image editor window as well.
@MDO, thanks for clearing my up on my terms! :) You also answered on of my questions in there - (Still haven't solved that one all the way - but working on it) Basically i understand to photoshop change my texture i have to open the Original JPG file that i downloaded as my texture, and color on that. However, that image doesnt have my unwrapped wire frame... which presents its own challenge. lol
For everyone, i want to thank everyone that helped me figure this out! I'm going to post a video of how i have to do it, and reply in this thread in a little.
Guess I need to upgrade my thinking .When we started CGI we just had mailing list now we have forums that we can put videos on .
Guess we've been able to do that for a while now.I'm sure you could tell buy the high quality of my video ,that was my first YouTube video.
Award winning wasn't it ;) I got to get so much better at that.
I do encourage to stay upgraded .If posable.upgrades my break plugins ,GoZ etc etc. and if your in a rush best to wait till the project is over to upgrade.
Since you got 2.79. beware Blender does not remove the old versions automatically.
Also go to File/Load Factory Settings. you might have something set wrong.
@ Iracunningham58 I won't confuse you with the details ,Delete all the materials and textures on your sword.then just make a stock material and reload your texture like I did in the video.see if it renders the texture now.
Iracunningham58 will be needing to know this also .so i'll ask here.
I got my mesh in DAZ ,What should I do now ?
Where do i save the mesh ,textures etc etc ?
What format for textures does DAZ use .PSD ,.JPG ,..PNG other ?
Feel free to suggest what shaders to use.
What else should I do ?
Thanks
@ Iracunningham58 I also thought may be texture size .
This is all the texture sizes .128 ,256 ,512 ,1024 ,2048 ,4096 ,8192. Don't think every one can use.8192 x 8192.
about anyone that would use this size would be phone games 128 ,256 ,512 maybe.
2048 x 2048.is a good testing size.
Exporting an obj from Belnder to DS is straightforward. You shouldn't meet any issue with it.
1) Model your sword and use Unwrap to generate a uv map
2) Export the uv template and paint it with GIMP or Photoshop to get your texture, then apply the texture to the sword. At this point you should see the textured sword in the viewport in Blender.
3) Export as obj and import it in DAZ Studio.
The only issue is that at this time the DAZ Studio obj importer can't read path with spaces. So textures may be missing for that reason.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/191091/
@Padone - that's really interesting. I didn't know the importer couldn't read paths with spaces. I wonder why that would be? PC/Windows systems have been able to use spaces in the path for like 25 years and I think (could be wrong, not an Apple guy) that Apple systems have always been able to - seems super strange to not allow for it.
It's a bug. Since it has been added to the tracker hopefully will be fixed in the next release ..