beginner questions
henning_struksnes
Posts: 10
Hey! I recently dowloaded Daz3d, and I really like it. I am totally new to this whole 3dstuff, so sorry if my questions are silly. Also I dont know the lingo just yet, but I am watching a whole bunch of tutorials to learn more. However, I have downloaded certain things, which I do not understand how to import it. For example I downloaded a house. It came in a zip file with a whole bunch of folders. Where do I put this file? When I try to open said files with import or open, it will either not find the specific file because it may be a file that is not compatible. So overwhelming. Can anyone can walk me through the steps of importing such a thing as environment? Also I am wondering if it is possible to download a complete character, and import\open it with all the attributes. I dont yet grasp the whole meaning with polygons\actor\character\morph\model. Lets say I create a woman, with dark skin, long blonde hair, red dress and a voluptuos body. Will that "product" be referred to as a character? or model? or neither?
Since I do not understand the lingo yet, I seen some people presenting some things for free, and I think it is a whole character or model. But it turns out it is just a small part of the character, like the hair or a pose. Can anyone refer me to a place or video to learn the lingo and terms used?
Anyone know a good place to download free characters or models?
I feel like the shaping tool i easy to use, but I wish it was a little more detailed. For example if you want to make a different kind of butt on a woman, it is mostly just small or big, but cannot change the shape. If that makes sense. Is it a good idea to use blender for that, or is it a way to make more detailed shaping in daz3d?
I am currently learning Daz3d (4.12 pro) and Blender , since they are both free and seem to be great products. I am using a laptop with windows 10.
I really hope to learn this stuff, and also be able to contribute in return! Best Regards <3
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Comments
Which house was it? If we know that we might be able to give some specific advice.
As Richard said, we can't tell you much without knowing more about the files you're trying to use. Were they made for DS? What format are the files?
Again, that depends on what you mean by "environment".
You can save a preset (scene subset) that includes a character, hair, clothing, accessories etc.
Polygons are the building blocks of all 3D. Everything in a DS scene is made up of polygons, which make up the "geometry" of the objects. Character and actor are somewhat interchangeable in a Daz context, but the actor refers more specifically to the base figure in the scene, to which "characters" can be added. If you have the same character in a scene five times, you will have five different actors. A model is simply an object, whatever its shape or function. Morphs are changes that you make to a model, like increasing butt size, to use your later example. They are non-destructive in the sense that you can dial them in or out as much as you want, because they make no changes to the model's geometry.
Renderosity and ShareCG have vast swathes of free Daz content.
Installing additional morph packs will give you more control over your characters. The Daz base morph packs and Zev0's 200 Plus, Body Mixer and Shape Shift are what I would consider essential. There are even morph packs designed specifically for things like butts and breasts.
Thanks alot for your answers!
I do believe I now have a better understanding of the difference, but I will have to read through your comment a few more times :) But thank you very much for the explanation, it means alot.
When I ask for steps to import environment, I mean things like a house or a location, like an alley or such. If I download something like that, how to I import it? What kind of files should I expect it to be, and what do I do with them?
here is a link to the house
https://www.renderosity.com/mod/freestuff/medieval-hovel/85194
I do hope it is actually a house. As you can see in the download, it is several folders; daz studio, Obj, Poser and Documentation. In some of the folders are 50+ obj. files, in another folder are some png, pz3, pp2.
In the data folder, there is another 125 different folders. So for a person like me who doesnt know what I am supposed to look for, I have no clue. Do I move the data folder to a certain location for the daz3d to find it? Do I use import? To my understanding this link I showed, contains not only the house, but also some objects.
I will try to look for those morph pacs as you said, thank you :)
If you have obtained the files from the Daz Store, then you have options to install them in your content library in a very user friendly way. E.g., using Daz Install Manager.
If on the other hand you have obtained third party assets from elsewhere, these will most likely not be packaged in a user friendly way.
Daz43d isnt a modeling or sculpting Software. You can create custom sculpts/morphs in other softwatre but there are limits to bringing them into Daz. Daz users that aren't Published Artists (i.e., official Daz Vendors) cannot import any custom morphs of characters in HD, they can only make low resolution morphs.
I think the point of the Daz software and daz store is that it is a high level software and you dont have to make morphs yourself. You can find a variety of different morphs - often very detailed - in the store (these might be characters, body shapes, body part morphs).
Looks pretty swank for a hovel. Anyway, within the Daz Studio folder of that zip are three folders: data, Environments and Runtime. Copy those into your Daz 3D library, wherever that may be (you can find out by going to Edit -> Preferences -> Content, then clicking on the Content Directory Manager button at the bottom, then expanding the Daz Studio Formats header). I don't remember where DS installs content by default. By copying the folders (but NOT the Daz Studio folder itself!), the files within those folders will be copied to the appropriate locations, and you can then find the Daz-compatible files by going to your Content Library, expanding My Daz 3D Library, then Environments, then going to TruStyles.
Hello again. Wow, I am so happy with the answers! It really made a huge difference, now I can use so many locations as well as props.
I did download catwoman, see this link:
https://www.renderosity.com/mod/freestuff/catwoman/75325
when I try to load\import her (what is it really called??), I get an error saying "cannot find a file for blMilWom_v4b.obj". How do I solve this? I cannot find that file in the downloaded folder. Do I need to download something else for this to work?
Thanks alot guys, it really helps! :)
That is a character for Victoria 4, it requires https://www.daz3d.com/victoria-4-2-base
Make sure you check requirements on things you buy/download.
Hello again! Thanks, I will try to see more at the requirements for the downloads :)
So I am having some trouble importing some stuff. When it says "error, see the logfile for more discriptions." where is the logfile`?
Also I found a whole lot of nice stuff in renderhub. Downloaded a whole lot. But some of the things I had some issues with. for example this:
https://www.renderhub.com/emotionaldreams/alysha-for-genesis-8-female
To my understanding that is a morph of a gen 8 female, and that is everything that is required, right? So when I use the program, I load a genesis 8 female, and try to apply this morph but nothing happens. When I try to apply some of the files it says some files are missing. Am I missing something here? Is this also another character required? Or maybe I am just trying to apply the morph incorrectly? if so, how do I do it?
Same issue with this:
https://www.renderhub.com/batov3d/pop-body-morph-for-g3f
and this:
https://www.renderhub.com/bu-es/carlos-alberto-for-g3.
Does it mean I need this Carlos guy from before?
Also my generation 3 female character dissappeared. How can that happen? i tried downloading the genesis 3 starter essentials again, but still doesnt show up in daz studio.
The environments I downloaded works just fine, motel room and alley works perfect! One more thing, if I design a house in Sweet Home 3d, can I import that house in Daz3d?
Thanks again guys, you are making this alot easier for me. Have a nice day :)
What files exactly are reproted as being missing? How did you install?
Does Sweet home 3D export OBJ? Does it have an option to export textures/maps?
You can see the log through Help>Troubleshooting>View Log File. The error you report often means that you are trying to apply a preset of some kind without having the target object selected in the scene.
Are you referring to my missing gen 3 female? It does not say missing file then, I just cannot find it anymore. For example when I start up Daz studio, I can choose from scenebuilder, interactive tutorials etc. if I choose scenebuilder, then choose male character, I am asked to choose between gen 3 and gen 8. But if I choose female character instead, I am only asked to choose gen 8. Also in the library when I search for "female", it only shows gen 8 female, not gen 3. If you understand what I mean :)
When I am trying to add the morph of Alysha, as one of the links I shared, I get plenty of missing files. alysha_eyes ref.jpg, Alysha--legs__1003.jpg, alysha--faceb_1001.jpg, alysha--torso_1002.jpg and maybe 20 more. I really dont understand what I am doing wrong here.
When I access the area on the left, content library, some of the files\morphs or what they are called, have a small picture as a preview, while many of them have a triangle with an exclamation mark in it. For example Alysha Body, Alysha Face and Alysha nails have this exclamation mark, while Alysha skin and Alysha Eyes have small preview pics. None of them work when I try to apply them. There is no error code either. In the logfile it says: 2020-09-14 13:19:21.871 Loaded file: !Petra Head inj.duf. (this is a different morph, but has the same result)
I do not think so, I believe it exports in a .sh3d.
Thank you, helps alot. Now I saw through it, and I believe most of the times I am told to look at log file is when I try to apply a morph or pose without selecting the character. However, it did say many times : Could not resolve : "/Runtime/Textures/EmotionalDreams/Genesis8F/Ebony/Alysha/Iray/Skin--Alysha--LegsB_1003.jpg" repeatedly for similar jpg files. I have no idea what it means.
Also what does this mean: 2020-09-14 13:11:07.700 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(5617): Could not find modifier definition.
That sounds as if you have Genesis 3 Male Starter Essentials installed, but not Genesis 3 Female Start Essentials
When looking in the Content Library do you see the /data folder, possibly /content/data/? You shouldn't, having that (or Runtime) visible as a folder in the Content Library means that the product was unzipped with an extra sub-folder (usually Content) containing its files, in which case the fix is to take the stuff out of the sub folder and merge it with the matching folders in the main content directory (e.g. /Daz 3D/Studio/My Library/ in the documents folder).
That sounds like its native format - does it have File>Export as well as File>Save, and if so what formats does it offer?
That again sounds like a bad path - either in the file for the product or in the installation.
That may be another bad path, or for some other reason the content DS is reading says "go here" and Ds can't go there or the file it finds is in some way corrupt.
Hello Again! Sorry I dont really understand the whole quote mechanics here, not really big on forums :)
"That sounds as if you have Genesis 3 Male Starter Essentials installed, but not Genesis 3 Female Start Essentials."
I see, so I tried to uninstall and install daz3d sentral again, without any difference. I managed to download gen3 female starter essentials and put it in what I though was the correct directory, so I could use it, but it wouldnt find it where it used to be. For example at the startup, it wouldn't let me choose gen3 female, or even in the same folder as it used to be in smart content. I could however find and use it when I search for it in my library content.
"When looking in the Content Library do you see the /data folder, possibly /content/data/? You shouldn't, having that (or Runtime) visible as a folder in the Content Library means that the product was unzipped with an extra sub-folder (usually Content) containing its files, in which case the fix is to take the stuff out of the sub folder and merge it with the matching folders in the main content directory (e.g. /Daz 3D/Studio/My Library/ in the documents folder)."
Yep. I see like you say, all those folders. I tried "unpacking" them more, meaning I found the file in the deepest folder and removed the other folders. Then alot of the exclamation marks disappeared and turned into preview pics, so that solved that problem. Thanks alot! However, when I try to apply the morph, it doesnt work. I tried so many different ways, and I have no idea where the problem lies. I know that when I initially installed the app, it stopped many times. I had to click install again and again, because it would stop. And when I clicked install once more, it would continue where it left of. So maybe it wasnt installed correctly. I used daz central to install daz3d. Since I suspected I had made some errors in my installing and butchering the folders by mixing folders here and there, I decided to start over. First uninstalled Daz3d, then daz central, and reinstalled, but still when I installed daz central it would show many of the things I had formerly installed, it it showed as installed. For example the starter essentials. So I uninstalled once again, and went through my computer to find all the folders related to it and deleted it. Now when I installed it, it was really from scratch. Daz central did no longer show the assets as installed.
So now that I start over, before I download assets, morphs and stuff, could you please explain how I should go about this from start to finish. I am sorry to ask so much, but I really dont get this to work.
lets start with alysha morph:
https://www.renderhub.com/emotionaldreams/alysha-for-genesis-8-female
When I download this, what file should I put in which folder? I have daz3d library folders in c:daz3d, also in my documents\daz3d, and programfiles\daz3d, I believe. And I made none of these myself. Does it matter which of the library folders I use? And in the download are several folders and files, but how to you make it "tidy" in the app, so you dont have to go through way too many folders to get to your morph\prop etc.?
Also, after I have downloaded and put the files in the right place, how do I use a morph? Do I first load the gen8 female, then drag the morph to the selected female? Or do I go to open, in the top left corner? Could it be that it is working, that it is infact morphed but I cannot see it, as in the view mode is wrong? Sorry I am just trying to see the potential errors here.
Thanks again, you have really helped me alot!
About the sweet home 3d, I did find some export there, and it does export to obj. I tried to export a file and import it in daz3d, and it did somewhat work. i could find the "house" i had designed, but I could only view it from a distance. I could look over it and under it, but the zoom didnt work. So I could not look up close. not sure if it was just too far away, due to incorrect conversion numbers in the beginning. This I will try to look more into, but if you have any thoughts, please share.
Regards
C:\Daz3D should be where your content resides. Documents\Daz3D is for content that you create (for example, by saving a pose preset), and content downloaded through Daz Connect (if you install something within DS rather than through DIM/Central or manually). Program Files is just that: the files that DS needs to function. You shouldn't have any content there. For Alysha, follow the same steps I outlined above for the medieval hovel: copy the data, people, runtime etc. folders into your main Daz library, and the files should propogate to the correct locations and become usable in DS. If there are parent directories, like "content", "Daz3D", or anything of the sort, ignore those; you only want the content directories.
Also, it may be worth it for you to pick up Content Wizard, since that handles all the installation for you, and even installs Smart Content if you're into that sort of thing.
You don't "open" morphs. If they're installed correctly, they should be available in the Shaping/Parameters pane, and all you need to do is dial them in. If Alysha, for example, includes a character file, you can open that by double-clicking or dragging, and it will create a new G8F in the scene with Alysha's morphs and materials applied, or apply those same parameters to an existing character that you have selected.
One quick question. I am currently installing Daz3d again, through daz central. But it stops all the time.I click install, and it starts to install, and suddenly the install progression disappears and the install button reappears. and when I click install, it goes a few percentages back, before it continue from where it left off. I tried to leave it just to see if it would finish on it's own. After 30 minutes, I clicked install again and it hadnt progressed more then 10 percent since last time i clicked install. Could this be messing with the installation? Should I install from a website directly?
I am using a relatively good laptop, i5-6300HQ CPU 2.3ghz, 8gb ram. It may not be strong enough to run the program itself without any lag, but shouldnt be so hard to do the installation.
It does look as if there may be some download issues at the moment.
Okey I really dont understand this, at all.
First of all, the directory seems so chaotic. If I am going to put the morphs of Alysha in my library folder, the directory is as follows:
C:\Daz 3D\Applications\Data\DAZ 3D\My DAZ 3D Library
And in this folder is another folder named data, among alot of other folders. So for example Alysha's morph, where do I put the files for them to work? in the zip file there are first several folders. Should I take what is "deepest" in the data folder, and extract it to C:\Daz 3D\Applications\Data\DAZ 3D\My DAZ 3D Library\data? Or try to make the path as similar to the zip file as I can? Could you try to download the alysha morph to see if it works, or if it is just something I do wrong. When I am trying to apply the morph, I have already loaded a female gen 8, and selected her. Then I click on for example alysha body, and drag it onto the gen 8 female I have already created. Should she then immediately look like Alysha? Or should some other menu show up on the right hand side, where the shaping and tool setting menu is? I have no clue about this.
There is already a folder with the directory:
C:\Daz 3D\Applications\Data\DAZ 3D\My DAZ 3D Library\data\Daz 3D\Genesis 8\Female\Morphs\DAZ 3D
In here I find many other folders, like clone, base, body, head etc. Do I put it in this folder, or even deeper?
See how silly that directory is though, three of the folders inside each other are named daz 3d, and two data folders. I believe it is even more data folders deeper in there.
Thanks for your patience
Just follow my instructions. Copy the entire folders (data, runtime, etc.) to My Daz 3D Library, and it will automatically copy the contents from those folders into the corresponding folders within My Daz 3D Library.
I'm reading all the posts here and my advice is learning the software FIRST, figures or freebies won't go anywhere because you are not getting "now"
when you download freebies is a PITA to know where are located, because mostly of times the main folder have the name of the creator and branching in the asset name, not the category of the same.
you are not alone in that issue, even me using Daz since 2006 I still can't remember when some freebies are located because the issue mentioned later.
btw, Daz includes Ready to Render scenes with figures, study that scenes, see how textures and Surface settings works, because for your Medieval Home asset you will need how to apply lights and not rendering black images.
and thanks for the website RenderHub, never heard of...
Thanks Gordig, that helped alot. I was able to use several of the Characters\Models I downloaded, now that I finally understood how to unzip the files correctly. I was sure the folder would be replaced when one put a folder with the same name over another folder, but cleverly it merged them. Still a few issues here and there, but atleast now I feel like I can do somethin with the program. Thanks a whole lot :)
There was a couple other I downloaded that I didnt get to work, but they were not entire characters, just morphs, if I understand correctly. And when I "install\unzip" them in the same way, put them in the correct folder, I can't find it in the program. Can you tell if this is different?
https://www.renderhub.com/batov3d/pop-body-morph-for-g3f
Zilvergrafix, Thanks for the advice, I will check it out. I have been alittle uncertain where to begin, just watched a bunch of tutorials on youtube, some of those from daz3d also. I feel it is more motivating to make a scene that "looks like something", rather then posing or scaling a lifeless doll in the middle of nowhere. If you know what I mean <3 atleast that is how I feel. So now when I finally have some characters and houses and props to work with, it will be alot of fun. Renderhub has alot of awesome stuff, and so much for free :D
Gordig, is Content Wizard really good? I watched the video about it, and it seems really nice. I was thinking about doing most of this for free, since it is not work related for me, but if it saves me alot of time and it is really good, I will buy it.
Richard, you think the download issue was only on my side? Or was it something other people experienced as well? Thank you also for your help :)
good night people :)
I just downloaded that, and it worked for me. Try searching for "pop" in the parameters pane if you're having trouble finding it. It should be under Full Body.
I think it's definitely worth it. I got it after I'd largely stopped using free content, and I still consider it worthwhile.
Wow. That works :) I was thinking I would have to find it on the left hand side, among the content, and drag it out. But I found it in the parameter menu. Among alot of other morphs I had downloaded :)
I believe everything is working now, so I can finally start to explore this world. Thank you so much for your patience, you really helped me alot! Means alot to me.
Have a nice day!
Hello again :) I am trying to do some tearing of clothes, and I see there was something before named ragerator that would do this, but it is no longer in the store. Anyone have a suggestion for how to do this? I saw a tutorial where a guy used photoshop to do this, but I dont have that, so.... :)
This product can add tears to clothing. I don't know how it compares to Ragerator, but it's quite handy.