Recommendation for saving freebie OBJ as a Prop
3dOutlaw
Posts: 2,470
I've got some freebie OBJ's (with mtl, png material and alpha for opacity)
After I load them, I want to save them out as a prop for personal use. (ease of loading in the future)
Is there a good way to do this, so that everything get's "put" into a good location. For example, when I download and load them into DS, they are sitting in the downloaded folder on my desktop. Well, I am not going to leave them there, so if I save a prop, I assume my references will point there for materials and such.
Any pointers on a good process for this?
My only idea was to
1) take the obj/mtl/png/alpha and save them in a folder,
2) move that folder into Props in my Runtime
3) import it in, and get it setup
4) save out as a prop into that same folder
...then all references would be within that folder. (and I could move it around later)
Only thing is this is different than the typical Runtime->textures library setup.
Any thoughts?
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My advice is is to make a new Content folder, refering to your existing content folder for the names of the folders needed.
I suppose you could do it your way but just moving them won't work so you would need to do something like this.
Becasue your desktop in not a mapped content folder in Daz Studio the paths to the textures will be fixed and not relaitve http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/7829/
Map your new content folder in Daz Studio http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/11176/#160953
Place the obj in to Runtime > Libraries > Geometeries of your new folder
Place Textures in Runtime > Libraries > Textures of your new folder
Open Daz Studio "Import" the obj from Runtime > Libraries > Geometeries and load the textures from Runtime > Libraries > Textures
Save as a Scene Subset in a folder of your choice.
Done
Or just put the textures in the |Runtime\Textures folder in one of your content directories, so they load with relative paths (just the bits from Runtime on), import the OBJ, set the materials and save as a Figure/Prop Asset (File>Save as>Support Assets).
(File>Save as>Support Assets). OH so that is what that does Richard...cool I shall remember that, much easier than my suggestion. So much to learn still.
Thanks, I'll give it a try
Hope I read the above exchange right. So if I wish to import a mapped Obj to make a prop, I need to
1. Make a new folder in Runtime/Textures/New Prop Name
2. Save the Obj's textures/ bump/ opacity maps into that folder.
3. Import the Obj, apply maps from that folder, set materials etc.
4. Save as a Support Asset>Prop Asset.
5. Make sure I assign metadata (content type, category, compatibility) in the dialog
Geometry, Parameter, UV seem to be ticked by default, so no need to create new folder in Runtime/Geometry?
I also noticed during tests, if I just textured the prop Obj with image maps from anywhere on my hard drive, and save, the new prop will still load with texture maps. It seems the prop.duf "remembers" the non-Runtime images path. Yet I read that it is not recommended to save material maps anywhere else other than Runtime/Textures.
Or am I making a simple process more complicated than it is? :red: Thanks for any advice...
The Issue is you might forget the image is used and remove it. The item also could not be shared as a free item in DS or Poser format if default folders are not used for items made to share with others.
No my Post you should omit and it would go like this.
1 make a new texture folder in Runtime > Libraries > Textures and place all your maps there
2 Import OBJ into Daz Studio
3 load maps on the obj
4 save as a Figure/Prop Asset (File>Save as>Support Assets)
5 done
Your saving the item in DS4.5+ native file formats (DSON) so there is no need for anything in the Poser Geometries directory, the mesh and UV will be saved into the data folder in DSF asset files.
Jaderail - got it. So to be organized and to avoid image file duplicates, better have them all in Runtime. Thanks for that.
Szark - thanks for clarifying. Still testing why some mapped objs import with textures auto-loaded, some don't. But things are getting more coherent step by step...
Bejaymac - Err ok DUF is a DSON, right? Data = Geometry+UV. Not the actual UV, but the UV name, right? If I made new UV set with texture atlas for a new prop/genesis I still need to save the new UV set as a custom asset? Thanks for your help.
UV's are coordinates in the obj file (or daz equivalent if using duf I assume.) I think you are mixing up texture files with UV's.
I guess I should explain a bit more.... UV's are coordinates within a mesh data file such as obj, etc... to provide hooks so to speak for the texture files to be mapped to the mesh file. The texture files themselves are separate files to be mapped to the mesh according to the UV coordinates. Hopefully that makes sense.
Gedd thanks for responding.
I know the basics of UV mapping. Not advanced, but enough to export Genesis in a single map using Texture Atlas, or make a Zbrush obj complete with multiple maps.
I just need more clarity as to saving new Texture Atlas generated UV *within Daz*.
Daz has very specific ways of saving files, into specific formats, I have learned it is better to be pre-emptive.:wow:
For example, I created a new "consolidated" UV for V5, to make a low res dummy actor, call V5-dummy. I recolor her new texture maps with new UV etc, then save her as a Character, now with her material/maps embedded. I'm just not sure if I need to save this new UV set so that when I load V5-dummy next time I won't have issue with UV.
And if I do need to save this UV, what Save As format to save it to, and where to. Possibly Preset/something. The idea is to have it auto-loaded as one of the few UV options under Surface pane.
There's a Runtime/Texture Atlas folder but I think that's for V5_dummy-diffuse maps.
Hope my issue is clearer...
Yes, that is a different question, saving an alternative UV set, and I don't remember the exact steps necessary myself. Someone here should be able to answer it easily enough though :)
Why do you feel you need to make an alternative UV set? Texture Atlas is aimed more at game makers wishing to create a compact and unified texture better suited for game engines.
well one scenario would be if an object has textures mapped to the object that match the current UV set but that UV set is not optimized for a given person/environment for mapping new textures. In that case one might wish to add a UV set rather then replace it. In another scenario, different UV mappings lend themselves to different texturing options or different efficiencies for particular texturing functions much like Canary3D's Sculptural Genesis Ultra Fun Kit does for Genesis. Then of course there is the reason used in DS itself where there are two similar but different meshes and one might want to have a UV set that maps textures made for the one mesh to a second without having to remap each new texture. If none of these are the case and one simply wants to map new textures to an object, then you are correct, simply replace the current UVs with new ones.
Another note separate from this particular situation but related, some people don't realize mesh files may actually have UV mappings that can be taken advantage of even if there are no materials currently bundled with the mesh. It is a good idea to take any object into a 3D package and look to see if there is UV data already and if so how decent of a job it is for the intended use.
Another item with DAZ Studio in particular (totally unrelated but significant when importing meshes) is that DS smoothes all objects somewhat by default and this can mess up the look of some meshes where they look non-functional when all that they might need is to turn off smoothing for that object. I deleted a number of objects I was attempting to import before I figured this out.
As for products like Texture Atlas, they can be helpful in any environment where the total number of textures that can be worked with at one time has a limit that one might go over, which I believe might also be the case of Oxygen and complex scenes depending on the video card used, as iirc, it needs all textures in memory and many video cards have limits as to the number of textures that can be held in memory at any one time. I haven't been following this closely lately (and my brain is like a sieve on details like this) so anyone can correct me if I'm wrong.
3doutlaw,
Did you want to save the OBJs as Poser compatible prop files or DS only props?
If Poser prop files, do you have a copy of Poser and if so, do you plan to use the props in Poser as well or JUST in DAZ Studio?
I'm aware of the game engine application, jestmart, but as Gedd mentioned above there are many uses to Texture Atlas. I want to make a single-map character and export it to Zbrush for easy painting. Loading multiple Genesis textures in Zbrush is hell, not going to go through that for my actor "extras".
Freebie Objs and Fbx with single material and too many material zones can also be unified for the same export for re-texturing purposes.
Typically the fewer maps to load per scene object, the faster the render... probably applies for 3delight, but that's another topic...
OK, I am trying to do something similar but with a product i modeled myself in Wing 3D. It has several parts but is not rigged with 'bones', if you know what I mean. Rather I have rigged it using the Joint Editor tool to set the origin points, and then I went into parameters to set limits on the appropriate parameters of each part. After that I parented the additional parts to the main body part of the product. All of that is working as i wish it to work. Now I want to save it in a DAZ Studio formats hierarchy with the textures only saved in the Runtime/Textures/Product Name folder.
The problem arises when I save such a product as a Figure Prop asset. Even though I put the Geometries in an appropriate folder, and then save the articulated prop to the proper folder, Getting it to load and work properly is eluding me. There must be something I'm missing in the procedure, and I cannot figure what that is. I would like to have step by step instructions on how to make this a DAZ Studio Product that can be offered for sale or for free. I seem to be having trouble finding that info on my own, and will certainly appreciate help doing so. If not posted here as a short tutorial, I would accept links to such tutorials so I can learn all I need to know.
The OBJ file is not referenced by the saved file, though to use Figure/Prop you would need to save each part separately. You could use Scene Assets instead, or just save as a Scene Subset (which will embed the geometry and set up).
Saving an imported .obj as a Figure/Prop Asset will save one (1) selected object in your scene as one (1) completely D|S-format Support Asset. However many parts there are to your articulated whatsit, you'll have to save each one individually. Then, if you want to have it as a load-in-one-click prop, load all the bits back into a cleared scene, make sure they're parented the way you want them, then save as a Scene Subset, making sure only the parts of your whatsit are ticked in the selection dialog.
Note that it's important to do the final Scene Subset save using your newly created individual props, not the original imported .obj — the new props are properly linked to the new completely D|S-format /data/ files (the D|S equivalent of the original /Geometries/ files, which are no longer needed by D|S), the original imported props aren't.