Skin/surface Saver

dash2128

I have recurring problems with- even after saving characters- having character skins and surfaces, not reloading.  I get 'Files Missing' messages.

I have resurfaced figures repeatedly, and then they don't load up.  Is there some kind of product that will preserve what I created, so that I don't have resurface characters repeatedly?  Some type 'bank' or 'archive' that will restore them? 

felis

If the textures are saved (preferably in a Runtime) you should be able to save a material preset and work.

What is the full error text from the log, Help > Troubleshooting > View Log?

dash2128

The Missing Files box comes up.  Asks me to Search or Skip.  Or Skip All. The characters load up, but are often missing skins that I just set up an hour earlier.  Then i have to go to a Figure, and set up a new one.  This used to happen, ocassionaly, especially after significant time had passed, before reloading.  But now it is happening a lot even after i just set up the figure.  I can try and duplicate the problem, and screen shot it, if you like.      

felis

I was asking for the log text, to see which path DS was looking for the textures.

dash2128

Sorry, i just got back!   I opened the log, but I can't locate any immediate fails.  There may be some there.  But...you're looking for 'which path DS was looking for textures'?

Say, i think that lately, i have been saving duf-files to a exterior hard drive.  But tto bad you can't acgtually have a look at  the log.  Do you need a few screenshots of it, near the end of it, maybe?  

crosswind

Firstly, what have you saved with your customized character ? A Character Preset ?  Scene Subset ? Persona Preset ? All of them should be able to correctly save the materials of the character ~~ Or you can post your full DS log.

dash2128

I was away a bit.  A 'scene subset is usually what I save in, even if it is a lone figure I am saving.    

Here is my log:

 

crosswind

You defined some make-ups or something in Layered Image Editor and then they were reported as missing ? That's what I found in your log related to figure's skin texture...

For trouble-shooting purpose, better keep your DS lot shorter and more relevant AMAP without other redundant data..., i.e.
1) Clear the scene firstly;
2) Open DS log via Help > Trouble Shooting > View Log File... Ctrl + A, Delete, Ctrl + S.
3) Load the problematic Scene Subset, then save DS Log as a TXT file. Or, directly attach log.txt from: %appdata%\DAZ 3D\Studio4

dash2128

Yes, the skin, actually.  ...or rather, the skin around the head and face. Oh, I'll give it a try!  Thanks for replying!  Didn't expect it so fast!  I'll see what I can do, when I bring up the figures again. Which...may not be tonight. But I'll see what happens!  

chris-2599934

I've been caught out like this before. When you use the Layered Image Editor, it combines the various source images in the manner you specify, and saves the result in a temporary file like this: C:\Users\Home\AppData\Roaming\Daz3D\Studio4\Temp\d2_orginalfilename.jpg (you can see the filename if you hover over its thumbnail in the surfaces tab). That way it doesn't have to re-do the LIE process every time you render the object. When you close Daz, the temp file will be deleted, and it'll be rebuilt the next time you open that scene.

This works fine for a Scene or a Scene Subset, but if you save as a material preset (I think) it's dumb, and it just stores the temp filename as the image for that channel. The next time you need it, it's gone.

The solution is, the next time you adjust a surface using LIE, to copy the temp image file to somewhere else (give it a better name too) and change your surface to use it. That way it won't be deleted, and your scene will load slightly quicker too as it doesn't have to re-ro the LIE process. The thing you'll lose is the ability to go back and edit the LIE settings to change the look of the surface. If that's important to you, maybe save the figure with it's LIE & temp file intact as a scene somewhere so you can adjust the settings and make a new tem file to copy.

I tend to make my own character skins now, starting with a PA's skin and adding stuff using LIE and regular image editing software (for my own personal use only, obviously). I give the resultant character a new name, and store all the skin images in a new folder (even if I haven't changed all of them). Then I can make suitable presets.

Richard Haseltine

chris-2599934 said:

I've been caught out like this before. When you use the Layered Image Editor, it combines the various source images in the manner you specify, and saves the result in a temporary file like this: C:\Users\Home\AppData\Roaming\Daz3D\Studio4\Temp\d2_orginalfilename.jpg (you can see the filename if you hover over its thumbnail in the surfaces tab). That way it doesn't have to re-do the LIE process every time you render the object. When you close Daz, the temp file will be deleted, and it'll be rebuilt the next time you open that scene.

This works fine for a Scene or a Scene Subset, but if you save as a material preset (I think) it's dumb, and it just stores the temp filename as the image for that channel. The next time you need it, it's gone.

If that were true it would not be possible to use presets to apply layered images, which it obviously is.

The solution is, the next time you adjust a surface using LIE, to copy the temp image file to somewhere else (give it a better name too) and change your surface to use it. That way it won't be deleted, and your scene will load slightly quicker too as it doesn't have to re-ro the LIE process. The thing you'll lose is the ability to go back and edit the LIE settings to change the look of the surface. If that's important to you, maybe save the figure with it's LIE & temp file intact as a scene somewhere so you can adjust the settings and make a new tem file to copy.

I tend to make my own character skins now, starting with a PA's skin and adding stuff using LIE and regular image editing software (for my own personal use only, obviously). I give the resultant character a new name, and store all the skin images in a new folder (even if I haven't changed all of them). Then I can make suitable presets.