Importing OBJ+MTL+JPGs

guy1

How would I go about using a model like this in Daz 3d? https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/free-obj-model-ladies-shoes/787513

I've downloaded the OBJ, MTL and 3 JPEGs

Is there a certain folder structure I need to follow to put them into Daz 3d?

I'm new at this obviously and have found people asking similar questions but no step-by-step guide. I'll be happy to write one and post it here if I can figure it out!

Richard Haseltine

Does it line up with the base figure in a zeroed state when you import it? If not your first job would be to make each shoe do so, in a modeller or using the DS tools then export that as a new OBJ and reimport so that it lines up be default. You can then use Edit>Figure>Transfer Utility to rig it (Source set to the figure, target to the imported OBJ) - but the heel will almost certainly bend, so you are going to have to do a lot of tidying up with the weight maps and additional morphs. Another option would be to get it placed on the heels, but then pose the feet to fit inside the shoe and just parent the shoe to the nearest joint; that requirs less work, but it won't adjust at all to poses (not entirely bad as shoes like that are fairly rigid) or shape changes.

lilweep

To answer your question:

1. Drag/drop the obj into daz, popup dialog will ask you some questions, generally i would untick the 'Read Material Library' option.  Essentially this option just reads the .mtl file and applies the settings to your model, but they are often wrong, so I don't use it.

2. If you cannot find your imported object in Viewport, then click the Frame button to locate it. Scale it under Parameters if need be to get to correct size.

3. In Surfaces tab, open up the surfaces and drag/drop your  .jpeg files into the relevant slots

• Albedo/Base Color/Diffuse map -> goes into Base Color slot
• Roughness map -> goes into Glossy Roughness slot (also change the Glossy Roughness dial from 0.0 to 1.0, and may also need to increase the Glossy Layered Weight)
• Normal map > goes into Normal Map slot
• Bump/Height map -> goes into Bump Map slot (also change the dial to non zero value, usually need to go quite high)
• Opacity/Alpha map -> goes into Cutout Opacity slot
• Displacement map -> goes into Displacement Strength (or can put into Bump Map).  Displacement needs SubD on the Parameters tab to be set to high value, or can change it on the Surfaces tab using the Displacement SubD setting instead
• Ambient Occlusion -> this is a 'baked lighting/shadow' map and is usually used for game engines so not really useful in Daz Studio iray, so often no point using it. You could use it at as a mask for one of the other settings if you want. 
• Specular map -> Depending what map looks like, can use in Dual Lobe Specular Reflectivity (will need to dial Dual Lobe Specular Weight to see this parameter).  Will depend what map looks like though as there is not really a 'standard' specular map.  Specular Lobe 1 and 2 roughness should be changed from 0.0 to something sensible for your material.  Essentially, both lobes and value between them will be used for roughness value.

About your concern of where to put assets. Textures do not have to be anywhere in particular to be used in Daz Studio. So can theoretically just call them from your /Desktop or /Downloads folders for example.  However, if you are saving out your assets or using the Scene file again in future, it is probably best to store them in an appropriate location on your drive that won't change in future.  Again, this can technically be anywhere.  By convention, for content creation and distribution of assets, textures should be saved and called from your Content Directory in a subfolder: /Runtime/Textures/Your Name.  But again, that is a convention, and technically can use them from anywhere on your drive for personal use.

crosswind

If you just wanna use it as a Prop in DS, just follow the above process of obj import and texture maps assignment. If you wanna make this pair of shoes conforming to the figure as a Wearable, suggest you skip it.. I checked them while they were not designed based on any of Genesis figure, so there'll be lots of work to do... and not easy.