Creating a new material

jaxprog

I have been using the photoshop bridge to modify a skin map for a temporary change to an actor however I have realized that i don't want to keep doing this every time I want to create a character. How can I save the change I made in photoshop, which gets export back into Daz Studio, into a reusable material so all I have to do is double click it to apply it.

I see there is a Save As Material Preset however how does that menu command know what I am wanting to save from the changes I made in photoshop?

Jaderail

It will save the File in use at the time you save. So yes it does know to use all that is applied to the figure.

But a better way would be to save the edited Texture to a Texture folder in DAZ Studio then Load it to the figure from that folder befor you save the Mat file. That puts the texture in a proper DS folder path.

jaxprog

Jaderail, I hear what you are saying and I can see it conceptually but I am not making leap to understanding.

There is more than one material applied to the model. There is skin, eyes, and makeup. I modify the skin of the model. I am not sure how DS reconciles what photoshop has done, other than it gets it back from photoshop and displays it, in order to save it as material preset when there are other materials present. I here what you are saying but its like hearing it and taking a leap of faith rather than having tangible knowledge to understand what is taking place.

The texture you are making reference to and to place in a texture folder, the only thing I can think of the jpeg file which import/export feature recognizes in the bridge and if I am to load that before saving it as .duf file, how does DS reconcile that since the jpeg is not a duf file to begin with.

There just seems to be a disconnect. Its like photoshop provides a workaround to create a fake texture by painting over a copy of original file, used as the project file. When in my current train of newb thinking is that a material that applies over another material are two separate things which must be created independently from each other, then eventually placed together to work as one. So I am trying to figure out how do get this fake paint I did in photoshop to become its own identity to be saved as DS material preset.

I appreciate your patience and understanding. ...and if anyone else can offer insight please do.
...again Thank you in advance.

jaxprog

Wow! I just figured this out. Jade's response is correct but it was too high level for me to make intellectual leap to having a comprehensive understanding.

The intellectual glue to understanding came from this video from DAZ Wiki Doc
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/userguide/surfaces/videos/surfaces/start

I will describe what I did so that other may benefit should they wonder how.

1) Load morph of interest into the design environment.
(Example: I loaded the Victoria 4.2 base)
2) Load other materials made for base. This is optional, but for me I loaded the Barliecorn product.
This included shapes for her head and body and materials such as her skin tone. Barliecorn is not a morph she is a of set shapes and materials created from Aiko 4 morph, which in turn was created from Victoria 4 morph.
3) Edit the file which will become the new material. So what does that mean and how is that done?
Go to "Surfaces (Color)" tab under activity Actor, Wardrobe and Props.
Select "Editor" from tabs within the "Surfaces (Color)" tab.
A Simple Way:
When you do this you are presented with a list of different areas of the body you can modify using various ui control sliders. The modification using these in my opinion are very rudimentary, therefore I don't really need make modification in this manner, but if you did this where you would do it.
A More Entailed Way With Greater Design Opportunities:
I use a more complex method because the editor in Surfaces (Color) does not meet my design needs (no offense to Daz and I don't mean to be snob). Instead I load up the photoshop bridge and import the map(s) I want to change. For example, I if wanted to give Barliecorn a new face paint design I would load diffuse map for her head or if wanted to modify her body hair by giving her pubic hair or armpit hair I would load the diffuse map for body. Once the map in is place use the photoshop brushes to paint over the areas of the body which require change. Once you are satisfied with the change, then export it back to Daz using the Bridge in photoshop. When this happens a new file is created with your changes in the same folder as the product. This new file is also selected in the Diffuse Color ui control within the Surfaces (Color) tab.
4) Save As Material Preset
In the file menu save your new material as a material preset, however you must be very careful about how you are going to create this new material preset. A dialog appears showing a list of body areas that are to be impacted with your save. This important because if you only changed one area of the body you don't necessarily want every body area selected because when you go use the new material you do not want to inadvertently overwrite a previous materials in place that have nothing to do with the location of you new material.
As an example of practical application, if I photoshop pubic hair onto Barlie's Hip using Nagel Series brushes I don't want the whole skin to overwrite the entire body, only the hip. Because what if I created a paint material which colors her chest and i applied it to her chest and then clicked to apply her publc hair? The pubic hair material would overwrite the chest design or vice versa. So when you go to save these materials only apply to the body area where it will have an impact.

I hope this helps someone.

Oh yeah and remember the strict code of handling nudity on Daz site. Just because you have the power to enhance it or pose it don't mean you can show it, or at least without some grace and finagling.