I'm a little unclear as to how we can use Diffeo to import Daz animation into Blender, I've tried 'Import Action' but this often seems to give quite funky results where the figure is tangled.

The official bridge (for all its limitations) seems to import animation no problem with the simple check of a box, so I'm wondering if I've missed something?

I too think that a Stable Diffusion plug-in for DAZ would be a fantastic idea. That way we can use DAZ's cameras and lighting to compose our Stable Diffusion images.

I love Photoshop but truly see no advantage to the PS Stable Diffuse plugin.

I find it much easer to render an image via Automatic 1111's local install of Stable Diffusion then export the image as a png or jpg, and open the image in PS.

I love the Blender plugin for Stable Diffusion as I can take advantage of Blender's camera and lighting.

BUT I have too many issues with materials when I export a DAZ model and materials and  import them into Blender.

The Blender plugin for DAZ is a nightmare to install unlike other Blender plugins which install easily. The Blender plugin for DAZ is simply too buggy and cumbersome.

@pwhitacre To avoid the "daz picky guys", you may want to change the title into "how to import obj hair in daz studio" and place the discussion in the daz forum. Again, there's nothing specific to blender in that, and honestly I'm not an expert of morph loader and the various editors in daz studio that you need for rigging and surfacing. I rather do the opposite to import daz in blender.

I found critical render problems with this last beta (Daz Studio Pro BETA - version 4.21.1.13.)

I loaded a Genesis 3 female scene subset that I use to test new Beta releases; the subset has nothing special; it is just a custom G3 female with a skin builder skin wearing a modified mischief outfit.

The G3 subset renders like it is supposed to render, but the moment I add an OOT hairstyle the rendering goes crazy.

Here is the log:

"2022-11-05 14:15:34.457 [INFO] :: Finished asset load (merge): 0m 0.38s - /People/Genesis 8 Female/Hair/OOT Linda Ponytail Hair/MATS/Iray/Linda Ponytail Hair Base Color 09.duf
2022-11-05 14:15:34.663 [INFO] :: Unlocking viewport redraw...
2022-11-05 14:15:34.663 [INFO] :: Viewport redraw unlocked.
2022-11-05 14:15:36.884 [INFO] :: Rendering image

...

2022-11-05 14:15:37.209 Iray [INFO] - IMAGE:IO ::   1.0   IMAGE  io   info : Loading image "Documents\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Library\SkinbuilderCreations\SaraBase01--Genesis3FemaleFull--Arms_1004.jpg", no selector, pixel type "Rgb", 4096x4096x1 pixels, 1 miplevel.
...

2022-11-05 14:15:37.542 Iray [INFO] - IMAGE:IO ::   1.0   IMAGE  io   info : Loading image "Documents\Custom Daz\Runtime\Textures\outoftouch\!hair\OOTHairblending2\Linda\09OOTLindaHair.jpg", no selector, pixel type "Rgb", 4000x4000x1 pixels, 1 miplevel.

...
2022-11-05 14:15:37.959 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating LPE labels
2022-11-05 14:15:37.959 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating geometry
2022-11-05 14:15:37.959 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating geometry.
2022-11-05 14:15:37.959 Iray (Scene Update) : Retrieving geometry
2022-11-05 14:15:37.959 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Importing scene graph.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.039 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Auto instancing compression ratio 1.00 (Full instancing compression ratio 1.00)
2022-11-05 14:15:38.041 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Importing geometry for motion time 0
2022-11-05 14:15:38.114 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Geometry import (1 triangle object with 2 M triangles, 0 fiber objects with 0 fibers (0 segments), 1 triangle instance yielding 2 M triangles, 0 fiber instances yielding 0 segments) took 0.073 s
2022-11-05 14:15:38.114 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating motion transform data
2022-11-05 14:15:38.114 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating motion transforms.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.116 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating section objects
2022-11-05 14:15:38.116 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating section objects.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.116 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating materials
2022-11-05 14:15:38.116 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating materials.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.287 Iray [INFO] - MATCNV:RENDER ::   1.0   MATCNV rend info : Material instance 'DS_Linda Ponytail Hair Genesis 8 Female__Front2_23e6_1694' uses MDL JIT compilation.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.290 Iray [INFO] - MATCNV:RENDER ::   1.0   MATCNV rend info : found 143 textures, 1 lambdas (1 unique)
2022-11-05 14:15:38.293 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating volumes
2022-11-05 14:15:38.293 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating compiled code.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.293 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating volumes.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.293 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating environment
2022-11-05 14:15:38.293 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating environment.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating lens data
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating lens.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating lights
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating lights.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating instance topology
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating flags
2022-11-05 14:15:38.303 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating object flags.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.305 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating backplate
2022-11-05 14:15:38.305 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating backplate.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.307 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating portals
2022-11-05 14:15:38.307 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating caustic portals.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.307 Iray (Scene Update) : Updating decals
2022-11-05 14:15:38.307 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Updating decals.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.311 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Using iray core convergence estimate.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.313 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Allocating 1-layer frame buffer
2022-11-05 14:15:38.318 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Using batch scheduling, caustic sampler disabled
2022-11-05 14:15:38.318 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Initializing local rendering.
2022-11-05 14:15:38.319 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\pluginsource\DzIrayRender\dzneuraymgr.cpp(377): Iray [ERROR] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend error: No device specified or usable
2022-11-05 14:15:38.321 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Rendering with 0 device(s):
2022-11-05 14:15:38.322 Iray [INFO] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend info : Rendering...
2022-11-05 14:15:38.322 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\pluginsource\DzIrayRender\dzneuraymgr.cpp(377): Iray [ERROR] - IRAY:RENDER ::   1.0   IRAY   rend error: No worker to render with: aborting render
2022-11-05 14:15:38.322 [ERROR] Iray :: Internal rendering error."

After that, it doesn't recognize my RTX 3090 GPU any more; it says no cuda device found or usable... I mean, the RTX 3090 is still listed in Daz but it says 0 cuda devices found or usable when trying to render.

I'm using NVIDIA 517.40 studio drivers.

Rolling back to the previous beta.
 

Reinstalled and the problems are still there. I have also noticed I cannot import any .obj files or any image files

Daz has worked fine since I downloaded 4.21 but has in the last 2 days started to glitch badly. The main things I have noticed are:

any new windows open behind the main Daz page and I have to move the main page out of the way to see them. In fact it is somehow in front of everything else on screen including the status bars

I cannot import /open any image files in the windows within Surfaces (so I can't use any surfaces other than presets or saved shaders)

I cannot save any scenes properly; by default they save (ignoring my renaming) elsewhere on the hard drive and if I manually try to get them to save in "scenes" they are lost

I have tried to download a Daz again but the links to it only seem to download the install manager and not Daz itself.

Not sure what is going on

felis said:

thedoctor said:

dijitul said:

Some key notes here: Exporting clothing from MD to DAZ, ensure two things.  First, export as thin mesh, not thick.  Also, export as quads as these smooth and collide better in DAZ.  The transfer utility is helpful for initial setup, but you'll need to edit weight maps to get things moving just right.  Last, design the clothing on the default pose.  Export the figure from DAZ as an OBJ and import as an OBJ avatar.  There's a good tutorial in one of the recent threads, so scroll or search through this forum.

Curious about your recommendation to export as THIN mesh and not THICK. I've been exporting THICK meshes with no issues for a couple years. Am I missing something? 

If you're not applying dForce to it and simulating, you're fine. dForce can't handle doubble-sided meshes. 

Sure it can.

If I use MD to create an item, I import into Studio via Blender, manking any adjustments I want first.

Hi,

Let me present here my little worklfow to make Kitbash3d kits easly usable in DAZ.
Please share your ideas to improve it!

Prerequesite = Blender ,Daz studio,something to rename your textures (bulk rename utility will do it), multi-map-loader daz plugin (and read the manual)
and any Kitbash3d kit (downbload the blender version)

Optional = environment-set-splitter daz plugin

Good news, at the moment their is a very good free Kitbash3d  kit (mission to minerva) on their website. GO GRAB IT NOW!

STEP 1 rename textures so multi-map-loader can use them.
this have to be done once per kit

this part is stolen from this post by thd777 (thanx to him)

- make a copy of the texture directory
- open bulk rename utility
- select all files in the diretory
- replace all _ by - (image1)
- replace the first part of the names by putting back the _
    ex: KB3D-MTM- back to KB3D_MTM_ (image2)

Done! 
STEP 2 export a group of object as individual OBJ, without losing their position

- Open the kit in blender
- Select your object group AND the objects that it contains (image3)

- go object properties and check that the selection is on the _grp object (image4)

- set location x & y to 0 (so the object will be centered in scene when loaded in daz)

- Adjust rotation and scale if you need
 

- go to Scripting/Template/Python/BatchExport
- replace the "fbx" words from the line 29 by "obj" (image5)
    bpy.ops.export_scene.fbx(filepath=fn + ".fbx", use_selection=True)
become    
    bpy.ops.export_scene.obj(filepath=fn + ".obj", use_selection=True)
- run the script, the obj files are saved in the same directory as the source .blend files
- Clean your mess, move all the new files in a proper directory (image6)
- you can also remove the files for the _grp object (it's an empty object that represent the group... yes it's totaly abstract)
You can repeat part 2 for each group you want to export

STEP 2.1 in case you want to only export some loose objects (very useful with environment set splitter)

- select your objects, then right click on the list and select Unlink (image13)

- press SHIFT + A and select parent to empty . (image14) It will create a single group named OBJECTS with all your objects. You can now proceed like ususal using this group instead of the _grp

STEP 3 import the group into DAZ Studio

- create a new scene
- select all the OBJ files from a group you want to import and drag them all at once inside your daz window (image7)

- in the OBJ import option pop up you'll have to tune the scale to your liking ( 10000% should do it )
- click on accept and repeat that for each other pop up (once per file imported). The scale stays at 10000 so just click!

- in the scene panel remove the _grp object if you imported it (image8)

- select all object and group them!
- select the group and drop it to the floor (ctrl+d)
- place the group at the middle of the scene if needed

STEP 4 Load texture!

it's time to use Multi Map Loader (thanx again to thd777)
- Configure Multi Map Loader(have to be done only once)    
    configure a filename format like this (image9)
    complete you texture map like this (image10)
- Now, for each object load the materials (image11)
    THIS IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BORING! but imagine doing it without Multi Map Loader...

- when it's done, you may want to adjust your materials (bump,normal, reflexions, replace glass material,etc.)

- It's Done ! save your work as scene and/or props.

STEP 5 BONUS ROUND
if you own environment set splitter you can use it on your newly saved scene.

Et voila! (image12) where you can see i forgot to fix the transparency of glass materials...

Have fun.

lilweep said:

felis said:

thedoctor said:

dijitul said:

Some key notes here: Exporting clothing from MD to DAZ, ensure two things.  First, export as thin mesh, not thick.  Also, export as quads as these smooth and collide better in DAZ.  The transfer utility is helpful for initial setup, but you'll need to edit weight maps to get things moving just right.  Last, design the clothing on the default pose.  Export the figure from DAZ as an OBJ and import as an OBJ avatar.  There's a good tutorial in one of the recent threads, so scroll or search through this forum.

Curious about your recommendation to export as THIN mesh and not THICK. I've been exporting THICK meshes with no issues for a couple years. Am I missing something? 

If you're not applying dForce to it and simulating, you're fine. dForce can't handle doubble-sided meshes. 

well, Marvelous Designer exports thick mesh unwelded... so i think that could also cause problems if youre doing content-creation and rigging/weightmapping and making morphs?

oh, and also if simulating in dforce it would just fall apart so not just the double-sided mesh issue mentioned.

I really appreciate the info. I'm not simulating with dforce or doing anything other than rendering so having a double-sided mesh isn't a problem (and can be a benefit in some situations). I'm glad to learn more and I am interested in doing some dforce simualtion so it has helped immensely to have these explanations. THANKS 

catmaster said:

It seems the HD meshes in UE5 still have the smooth problem when the fingers are moved, baked HD meshes are required to smooth base resolution Daz characters but can't smooth the skin deform. The problem is because the applied / baked subdivision doesn't smooth the skin deform.

To smooth this like in Blender the game engine needs to have its own smoother like the CatmullClark in Blender, because smoothers are application specified and can't be imported. There's SubDiv modifier for static meshes in UE5 modeling mode, but Unreal doesn't offer any tools for smoothing skeletal meshes, because the meshes are triangulated during import to Unreal, and smoothing modifiers can't be used during runtime for game performance. Modifying the skin weight of the fingers may be required to smooth the skin deform.

Thank you！

(Edited by mod to fix reply)

wolf359 produces a nice animation to explain the financial advantages of Daz over Poser.

Sadly, for Mac Users, Audio files will not import into Daz (acknowledged over 6 months ago and reported to the Daz Devs) which rather precludes a lot of the fun he shows.

Like wsterdan, I too would like to see a dev timeline. If they are using an Agile approach (which one would assume is the case) this should be all mapped out.

Do Mac users get Audio this year, next year or is it just too complex in the Mac environment?

I think we should be told.

It seems the HD meshes in UE5 still have the smooth problem when the fingers are moved, baked HD meshes are required to smooth base resolution Daz characters but can't smooth the skin deform. The problem is because the applied / baked subdivision doesn't smooth the skin deform.

To smooth this like in Blender the game engine needs to have its own smoother like the CatmullClark in Blender, because smoothers are application specified and can't be imported. There's SubDiv modifier for static meshes in UE5 modeling mode, but Unreal doesn't offer any tools for smoothing skeletal meshes, because the meshes are triangulated during import to Unreal, and smoothing modifiers can't be used during runtime for game performance. Modifying the skin weight of the fingers may be required to smooth the skin deform.

There's a hairstyle that I really want to use on my Daz model, but I can't find it anywhere other than in Blender.  Is there a way to import the hair from Blender to Daz and be able to shape it in Daz?  I'm new to all of this and want to learn as much as possible, but it's so confusing!

ShelLuser said:

So, I'm not 100% sure I understand the problem...  When I go over the G9 morphs I definitely see morphs for nipples and such. But I don't use G9, so that's probably inexperience on my end.

Let's get into Genesis + ZBrush, yah, I heavily rely on ZBrush to edit my stuff but it's tricky, as you seem to have noticed...   For the record: I'm now addressing editing Genesis 1 - 8, not necessarily 9, but hopefully this can help you anyway.

So the one thing to keep in mind is that Daz Studio, Genesis in particular, uses several textures for its figures, just check the surfaces pane when you have a Genesis (8?) figure loaded: at least the head, arms, legs and torso all use different textures. Of course some also share textures (ears, lips with head, fingernails with the arms, etc.). The problem here is that ZBrush can't use multiple textures on a mesh, only if the mesh is using sub-tools. So if you have Genesis 8 loaded then you can't tell ZBrush to apply a texture for the arms, and a different texture for the legs.

But we can somewhat work around this...

• Load a Genesis 8 figure, I'll be using Sukai 8 as my example but of course any will do.
• Open the surfaces pane and select, say, the torso.
• Check the "Base Color" 'menu' (the arrow icon); in specific: click browse and make sure to copy the folder where the texture(s) are located.
• Also check what texture the torso is actually using (in my example: "Sukai8TorsoD_1002.jpg").
• GoZ the figure over to ZBrush, make sure not to use the current resolution, but do export with deformations.
• Within ZBrush draw the figure ("tool"), and enable Edit mode.
• Check the subtool section and you'll notice that you got the base figure and the eyebrows.
• Now, expand "Polygroups" in the Tool palette, use: "Auto groups with UV", it's also recommended to use "Merge similar groups" afterwards.
• Press Shift-F and notice how the colors roughly match the surfaces in Daz Studio?
• Press control-shift and while keeping this pressed click on the torso, notice how everything else disappears?
  • This may be a good time to hide the eyebrows subtool, that can get annoying right now.
• Now expand the Texture section within the Tool palette, click the map and then use "Import" in the lightbox (browser).
• Point to the right folder, select the torso texture and either click load or double click.
• You'll notice your mesh to get darker, but it's still hard to see.
• Press Shift-F to disable the polyframe, then click the main material selection and switch from Red Wax to PolySkin.
• Now you should see a rough representation of your Genesis figure, ready for editing.

Just make sure to re-enable the eyebrows subtool if you have hidden it before, and also press control-shift and then click somewhere outside the mesh to unhide the rest of the polygroups (you may want to disable the display of the texure afterwards because that's going to look horrid).

After that you can GoZ your changes back into Daz Studio.

Hope this can help, this is roughly how I'm using ZBrush to edit my Genesis figures.

You only see the morphs for nipples because G9 loads with SubD by default.  Set it to base, they'll be completely gone. 

ETA: Normally I just use GoZ to send it over and back.  I normally haven't found the lack of textures to be an issue for making morphs.

tianxiangxiong said:

> Deleting will stop DS from knowing the product could be installed throyugh Daz Studio (so no square) as long as you don't go online.

Am I supposed to work offline if I want to remove asset references from products?

If you are not intending to install through daz Studio thereis no reason to have it online, but if it does go online it will refresh the metadata and will restore the entries for any deleted products

> Hiowever, I am not at all convinced that either of your methods are quicker than just uninstalling the files installed through Connect, so that DS will use the Install Manager/Daz Central version.

What is "installed through Connect"? I only install via Daz Central / Daz Install Manager.

Daz Connect is the installer built in to Daz Studio - the Daz purchases without squares, if Daz Studio has been online since their purchase, will have been isntalled though the application (possibly as well as your usual install, which means you will have two copies of the file since they use different locations).

felis said:

thedoctor said:

dijitul said:

Some key notes here: Exporting clothing from MD to DAZ, ensure two things.  First, export as thin mesh, not thick.  Also, export as quads as these smooth and collide better in DAZ.  The transfer utility is helpful for initial setup, but you'll need to edit weight maps to get things moving just right.  Last, design the clothing on the default pose.  Export the figure from DAZ as an OBJ and import as an OBJ avatar.  There's a good tutorial in one of the recent threads, so scroll or search through this forum.

Curious about your recommendation to export as THIN mesh and not THICK. I've been exporting THICK meshes with no issues for a couple years. Am I missing something? 

If you're not applying dForce to it and simulating, you're fine. dForce can't handle doubble-sided meshes. 

well, Marvelous Designer exports thick mesh unwelded... so i think that could also cause problems if youre doing content-creation and rigging/weightmapping and making morphs?

oh, and also if simulating in dforce it would just fall apart so not just the double-sided mesh issue mentioned.

thedoctor said:

dijitul said:

Some key notes here: Exporting clothing from MD to DAZ, ensure two things.  First, export as thin mesh, not thick.  Also, export as quads as these smooth and collide better in DAZ.  The transfer utility is helpful for initial setup, but you'll need to edit weight maps to get things moving just right.  Last, design the clothing on the default pose.  Export the figure from DAZ as an OBJ and import as an OBJ avatar.  There's a good tutorial in one of the recent threads, so scroll or search through this forum.

Curious about your recommendation to export as THIN mesh and not THICK. I've been exporting THICK meshes with no issues for a couple years. Am I missing something? 

If you're not applying dForce to it and simulating, you're fine. dForce can't handle doubble-sided meshes. 

RuudL said:

The fbx.dll file should be in the Contents/MacOS/Extensions folder of the Carrara 8.5 application folder.  It came with the installation app.

the File is 0k in my Install. 
i open it with TextEdit is empty.
i cant Import  FBX
the message is then: Fbx.dll failled to load.

I read here: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/266701/mac-fbx-import-issue

i read in older Thread  the File is in the Install broken.

dijitul said:

Some key notes here: Exporting clothing from MD to DAZ, ensure two things.  First, export as thin mesh, not thick.  Also, export as quads as these smooth and collide better in DAZ.  The transfer utility is helpful for initial setup, but you'll need to edit weight maps to get things moving just right.  Last, design the clothing on the default pose.  Export the figure from DAZ as an OBJ and import as an OBJ avatar.  There's a good tutorial in one of the recent threads, so scroll or search through this forum.

Curious about your recommendation to export as THIN mesh and not THICK. I've been exporting THICK meshes with no issues for a couple years. Am I missing something? 

Hi gang!

Some time ago I bought myself a license for Substance Painter + Designer 2022 from Steam to help me enhance my 3D setup. Before that I was using ZBrush as my main backup but although ZBrush can do a good job with texturing it also has its limits. Obviously, it's a 3D editor, not a doctor errr: painting tool perse.

Designer has already helped me to edit & enhance several of my props, but editing Genesis in Painter was still quite a challenge at first; also because of my inexperience.. and some confusion as well...  Important keywords: layers & channels!

Identifying your assets

So... in this tutorial I'll be using the awesome Sukai 8 figure, but of course any Genesis figure will do. Just keep some of the possible differences with materials in mind.

Load in your figure, enable the surfaces selection tool and click on the belly ("torso"). Open the surfaces pane and check the "Base Color" section. In specific: hover your mouse over the menu (arrow icon) to see what texture map is being used. Click the icon, select "Browse..." and then copy the current folder name. Also make sure to keep track of what texture was being used, in my example this is "Sukai8TorsoD_1002.jpg". Close the browser when you're done.

Now also take a closer look at some of the other settings. Notice "PBR Metallicity/Roughness"?  That's an important detail for later.

So... while you still have Sukai selected go to File => Export, and be sure to use the Wavefront OBJ format. Use the "Daz Studio" preset, but you can disable the "Write material library" checkbox. Now might also be a good time to save this preset.

Loading the Genesis figure into Substance Painter

So, start a new project (Control-N) and then... remember that PBR stuff? ;)

• Select the template: "ASM - PBR Metallic roughness".  (note: for Genesis 2 & 3 you probably want "Non-PBR Specular Glossiness").
• Then select your OBJ file (click "Select...").
• Document resolution: 1024, Normal map format: OpenGL.
• Enable 'Use UV Tile workflow' and be sure to select "Preserve UV tile layout....".
• Enable "Auto unwrap" and then select "Options":
  • Seams, UV Islands, Packing: Generate only missing data (default).
  • Margin size: small, UV Island orientation: unconstrained (default).
  • Max nr. of UV tiles: 4.
  • Don't enable any optimization options.
• Expand physical size: "Use mesh internal unit scale" should do... or select 1cm per unit, your call.
• Change color managerment to: Legacy.

Now load your figure by clicking OK. Now you should see a white-ish Genesis figure. Your texture set list should mention known Genesis surfaces such as "Arms",  "Legs", "Mouth", "Ears"....  but Genesis, what big ears you got?! 

Adding the textures to your Genesis figure

I'll only be demonstrating the torso because otherwise this mini-guide would turn into an essay. Just repeat the process for the other surfaces. Though I will mention some important details for general usage as well.

Press control+alt and then right click on the figures belly ("torso"). If you have both the 3D and 2D view you should see the UV map appear. If not: click on the 2D window, and press 'f'.

When everything looks fine its time to add our textures:

• Either go to File => Import resources, or use the + icon on the Assets browser window.
• Click "Add resources" in the pop-up window.
• Point your OS browser to the textures folder we copied earlier on.
• Let's be lazy: press control-a to select everything, then click open.
• Important: click on one of the entries, press control-a to select everything, then change "undefined" to "texture" for that one entry; this should change all other entries to "texture" as well.
• Import resources to: "Project".  You can also try "current session" if you're not sure about starting a whole project, but do not add this mess to your library!
• Click "Import", your assets window should now show you all the textures we loaded.

Now for some "Painter magic"....

With the torso still selected check the "Channels" overview; 2nd tab icon in the Texture Set Settings pane. To make it easier on ourselves remove the height, roughness and metallic channels (click the 'x' behind 'm)..  Now, there's a reason why I came to admire Sukai 8 so much... if you're also using Sukai 8 (or if you know that this will apply as well): add the "Translucency" and "Specular levels" channels. Optional but... yah, why not ;)  You do this by clicking the "+" icon after "channels".

Now open the "Layers" pane.

You should now see a "Layer 1". Remove it by clicking the trash icon. Then add a "Fill layer". Then go to the properties pane (shown below by default) and jump to the material section (2nd tab icon). This is where the fun begins...  You should see "Material mode" and below it ("Or") you should now see "Base color", "Normal", and optionally those other channels.

• Check your assets pane, be sure to have the textures visible. If not: click the small arrow icon on the left side and select "Project".. Then make sure you have "Textures" select (one of the icons on the right side).
• Then...  drag the texture for the torso ("SukaiTorsoD") using your left mouse button and drop it onto the "Base color" section in the properties pane.
  • You should now see the texture appear on the figure.
• Find the "Sukai8Torso02NM" ("Normal map") and drop it on...  yah: the "Normal" section.
• Find the "Sukai8TorsoSSS" and drop that onto "Translucency" (if you enabled that of course).

Now you can mess around with the figures torso if you'd like.  Repeat the above steps for the other surfaces like the arms, legs, face, ears.. don't forget the nails ;)

Some general Genesis tips....

Find the "Eyelashes" in the texture asset list and hide them, you won't need 'm. If the eyes don't show up properly then hide the "Cornea" as well.

When in doubt: go back to Daz Studio, check the surfaces pane to see what surface has been assigned with a texture map and which not, just make sure it matches whatever you set up in Painter.

This would be a good time to save your project, especially if you've already added all the other textures.

Tip: if you're happy with the current figure and don't expect to use any of the other textures then you may want to use: "File => Remove unused resources", in order to save some storage space. You can also right click on a texture in the assets pane and then click "Delete". Don't worry: it only deletes it from your project, not the actual texture in your Daz library.

But I still can't draw?!!!

It's all in the layers...  want to draw "over" the texture(s)? Couldn't be easier: Make sure you have the right surface selected (remember: control+alt and then right click somewhere). Then just add a default layer on top of your fill layer. Your drawing tools will become right available, happy drawing!

But... who wants drawings when you have cool dynamic generators?!!! ;)

• Select the torso (control+alt and then right click on the belly).
• Add a 2nd fill layer.
• Go to the channel list in the properties window, but this time click the color selector under "Base color", select...  I dunno.. something brownish? Make sure it's a dark color.
• Close the color selector window and see Sukai looking horrible, let's fix this!
  • With the "brown fill layer" selected click on the "Add mask" icon (see the toolbar of the layers pane, hover your mouse to see their names), add a "Black mask"; the texture becomes visible again.
  • Now click the "Add effect" icon, add a generator.
  • In the properties window you'll notice "Generator" and "No generator selected", what are you waiting for? ;)
  • Try adding a "Dirt" generator and watch the magic unfold!

Now, you may notice that the default amount of generators in Painter is kinda limited.. yah, that's why you'd want Substance Designer as well: then you can design your own generators!

Adding your work back into Daz Studio

Once you're done... in my example we threw dirt on Sukai's belly... then it's time to move our stuff back to Daz Studio. Easy!

• Press control+shift+e.
• I'd use "uncheck all" (see 'menu' icon in the top section) and then only enable what you need. In this example: "Torso".
• Then click on Torso; now you'll see which channel(s) get exported. Under normal circumstances you'll only need BaseColor (probably the first listed channel).
• Click "Export".
• Then click "Open output directory" in the top right corner.
• Copy this folder name just like we did before with the "Sukai textures".

In my example it would have saved "Sukai8_Torso_BaseColor.1002.png" which contains our texture layer + the dirt layer on top.

So now hop back into Daz Studio; with Sukai still selected go back to the Surfaces pane and make sure the torso is selected, click the "Base color" icon again and once again click "Browse". This time we want to go to our Substance export directory. Click the torso basecolor texture, load it, and watch the magic unfold!

You'll probably want to repeat this for some of the other surfaces as well, and then maybe save this full material preset.

This time we added dirt.. but we could have basically added anything we wanted!  

In conclusion

Sure, it takes a bit of effort to load a Genesis figure and its textures into Substance painter, and then also set it all up for editing. But once you did then the sky becomes the limit...  especially if you also have 'Designer' at your disposal! Not to mention that the "evil Adobe" also provides plenty of (free) community assets for us to use!

SO yah... it took me all night to figure this out and once I got my fingers behind it...  I had to share. My mistake was that I didn't associate the "Material" setting in the Painter viewports with actual texture maps. For that I was focussed on "Mesh maps" or maybe single channels? I also assumed that the Fill channel was "obviously" the same as the fill option in Photoshop.

I actually used Designer to get a better understanding about the different channels, with great help from the "Base material" node.

Seriously... In Painter all you really need to do is assign the right channels (also make sure to use the proper shader). Then add a fill layer and apply the right texture(s) to the right channels. The best part is that you can easily use the Surfaces pane in Daz Studio to get a good idea. Right now I'm experimenting with Genesis 2 ("Ginger") and well...  the texture map is located under "Diffuse color". So...  I probably need the "Diffuse" channel for this too ;)   (non-PBR shader!).

Once you understand that connection... once you get the link between the Daz Studio surface section and the appropriate Substance channel then... you're pretty much home free.

Thanks for reading, I hope this was useful for some of you!