New User - Trouble at Basic Level

Prince Wao

I'm brand new to DAZ Studio (and don't yet speak the 'language') but had a trial by fire lasting a month just getting the basics set up, the basics being the free DAZ Studio 4.6 Pro and the paid for Getting Started with DAZ Studio 4 and Genesis. I expected I'd therefore have 2 items to download so my first surprise was finding 6 downloadable items on my order confirmation email; but as there were no instructions re procedure for first time customers it took awhile before I even located the page I download from, and there to find even more files to download. As I'm used to installing programmes and knowing zilch about DAZ, I ignored the Install Manager and opted for manual, whereupon lo, I finally found I had a massive 17 files in my download folder (that's not including separate items in the zip folders), some of which appeared to be totally irrelevant to DAZ 4.6 Pro (in short PDFs and .exe files re DS3), but which begged the questions: do I need these or not? and if not, why have I been given them?!

To cut a painfully long story short, I finally got all but the DS3 .exe files installed by trial and error, but I'm still baffled about the apparently pointlessly included latter files. These are:

DS3_FBXExporter_2.0.8.25_Win32.exe
DS3_TextureAtlas_1.0.1.7_Win32.exe
ds_ap008_Fbx_win32.exe

I also have PDFs for Content Creator Toolkit, FBX Exporter DS4 and Texture Atlas DS4 installation guides, all of which appear to be telling me that I have no need for these guides or .exe files (duh?) as they're now included in the DS4 installation.

I've therefore assumed they're all 'illogical or pointless downloads' (which is a baffler in itself), but I'm still left with one question. Having spent a few hours experimenting with the basics that I have - I've particularly enjoyed the amazing things one can do with facial expressions - I've been surprised that there is no skin texture for the Genesis Basic Male, Female and Child models, or for the Genesis 2 Female. All I get is the basic bronze colour. Thus the question or actually 3 questions:

1 & 2: Do I have to purchase skin texture/tones separately? or could it be I have them, but just can't find them (though I've checked every menu and sub-menu I can find)?

3: Could it be that this or these are contained in Texture Atlas (re which I have no clue about) but that despite the PDF stating it's already included in DS4.6 Pro, it actually isn't? (I have seen 2 other Forum threads where newcomers have asked why the Texture Atlas won't install – I also get the same error message [path can't be found] – and the replies that it is already installed).

....
I'm an author/self-publisher with 5 ebook titles on sale and I've designed my own covers; in the past I've also customised and partially reprogrammed 2 PC games; my average IQ score on 3 tests taken in the last 20 years is 156; and I'm also extremely creative; ie: I'm by no means dumb. But so far just getting DAZ Studio 4.6 Pro installed and running has been the equivalent of completing a number of PC games at grand master level due to the lack of basic instructions. When through trial and error I finally figured out how to begin, I discovered that all I needed were 2 basic instructions which aren't there for first time customers: where and how to download the order; and how to register the serial number. I'm still a little stunned that Daz Studio is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle (some supplied pieces not even necessary!) when I have other complex programmes which are installed in one operation.

Scott Livingston

Hi princewao, and welcome! If you've gotten DAZ Studio, Genesis Starter Essentials, and Genesis 2 Female Starter Essentials installed and set up, then I'd say you're off to a good start. Content Creator Toolkit, FBX Exporter, and Texture Atlas are indeed included in DS4, so the pdf downloads are kind of pointless, I'd agree (I think the reason they exist is that those things used to be separate add-ons, and people expected there to be separate downloads for them).

Genesis Basic Female, Basic Male, Basic Child, and Genesis 2 Female base all come with a single skin texture. Additional textures (and characters) are available for purchase from the store. You can also adjust the skin color yourself: go to the Editor tab of the Surfaces pane, select the skin surfaces, and adjust the diffuse color. (Let me know if you need more details on how to do this)

Additionally, you can find some freebie skins on sites like sharecg.com (anything made for Victoria 4, Michael 4, or Kids 4 will work on Genesis; freebie skins that work with Genesis 2 Female might be harder to come by).

Prince Wao

A gazillion thanks for your reply, Scott-Livingstone! It not only answers my questions but tells me where I can now venture - I'm so grateful for your feedback. I've just had a brief glance at sharecg and it looks like it will take a couple of days just to browse the freebies. It also looks like Daz Studio is going to be my full-time winter hobby - I'm very enthusiastic about illustrating some characters from my ebooks, plus working on new book cover ideas. A new day dawns! :) Thanks again, Scott, your feedback is much appreciated.