I have paid extra for PS "extended" since CS3 but have really never used it's 3D capabilities.  Now that I have CS6, I figure it's time to start getting some bang for the buck.

Very specifically, I want to use PS to help texturing Poser people, V4 and M4, in particular.  I have exported a textured V4 from Poser as an *.obj file and it loads fine into PhotoShop.

What I now want to do, but cannot figure out how to do, is to load a new layer of the skin textures (torso, limbs, face) in order to blend and layer mask areas over the original.  When I duplicate layer from the textures I want to add, they copy over as their UV mapped version, but are not "applied" to V4.  How do I get UV mapped textures on a new layer applied to V4?

Also use now CS6 extended and interested to the same thing

Hope someone can answer

Have you export the V4 character from Poser using the preset for Photoshop?

Quote - Have you export the V4 character from Poser using the preset for Photoshop?

No, I've just exported it an an *.obj with the associated *.mtl file it loads into PS fine, textures intact.  Just haven't quite gotten down how to load a second layer of textures yet.

Excuse me

I mean exporting from Poser using Collada format and using Photoshop preset at the top of Poser exporter windows

According to my tests it was the best way to export from Poser and retreive all your textures in Photoshop ,better than with obj and mtl

See

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2852830

If you think it is better, I will try it!

I use lithunwrap and create a 1map layout with the face, limbs, and body each in a quadrant. Then resize to 8192x 8192 in photoshop. This gives you 4096 px for each major map. This way you have all your maps on 1 page. you can use this in PS and Z brush this way to create a total body and head map. and allows you to create perfect seams. With the line map underlying the color maps pick a pixel that is positioned in an obvious spot and make a 1 pixel wide registration mark. Then when you break this back apart for Poser you have a way to line up your maps properly.

I use CS5 extended and when I load an obj file it comes in @ 1024x1024.

I resample it to match my map size.

Are you familiar with the curve's technigue of matching colors? Most of the time when you are pasting up new areas, the color will be off a little

Thanks, chris.  While I followed most of that, I am unfamiliar with lithunwrap.  I am also unclear on how displaying UV mapped textures in quadrants helps to display or modify them on a mesh.  Yes, I use curves for all of my color and brightness matching.

Chris, never mind about the lithunwrap -- I Googled it, found it, and downloaded it.  In that regard, at least, I will try what you say.  I have Z-Brush, but I am even furthe behind on the learning curve there.

All maps placed on 1 master page

I use lithunwrap because I find it far superior to uvmapper and its free

basically your remapping v4 into this confiquration. save both the map and the new obj. the largest map size lithunwrap will allow you to save is 4096 so resample it in PS to 8192. use the new remapped v4 to do your pasteup on. when finished your have the face, the limbs, and the body each in its own 4096 space that you can then dissasemble back into individual maps. I know its a lot of work but once youve done it a couple of times its not bad at all. I developed this scheme when I bought Zbrush, after getting used to it I wouldnt do it any other way. Photoshop is superior to Zbrush for pasteup and zbrush using projection master is better for correcting seams

also in lithunwrap delete all your material names and just use 1 material name for all.

that way when you bring it into Ps you just have the 1 material to work with, which is now all your materials

A lot of information there, chris, and maybe a little over my head -- at least until I can practice a little.  Very promising!  I'll give it a go this weekend.  THanks!

for me it's been worth the effort. I generate highly detailed displacement maps out of ZB. I found it impossible to get perfect seams in displacement maps using seperate maps as Poser does. If your careful establishing your registration marks so that everything aligns perfectly as you seperate your maps back to poser style you will have perfect seams both in color and displacement.

Its not that difficult, just takes several steps. For instance to isolate the body in lithunwrap, load your v4, go to select-material, select skin head, skin neck, skin torso, skin nipple and skin hip. Drag these off the grid so that they are isolated by them selves. Repeat this proceedure for all limb parts and head parts. scale everything to 50%

with everything off the grid and using edit-move uv-absolute, position groups as follows,( limbs u=.75 v=.75), (face u=.75 v=.25),(body u=.25 v=.75) if you want eyes and mouthparts included, I usually place them manually in the empty space left.

once youve done this a couple times it goes pretty fast, you can do it in a 1/2 hour

I'll work with it.  Right now, with V4 loaded and all the UVs on top of each other, the "Select | Material" option is greyed-out.

I dont get it, look under materials modify and make sure they are there.

I have no idea why it would do that

Duh, I loaded an *.obj without a *.mtl associated.  Fixed and working now as you decribed.

> Quote - also in lithunwrap delete all your material names and just use 1 material name for all.

I'm doing okay.  Here is my layout.  I can't quite figure how to delete material names and give it all one name.

Materials-modify-remove all

then I usually select everything and give it a name, I dont really know if thats needed

but it works

Yes, it did.  Thanks, again.

when you bring that into photoshop your going to want to resample your obj image to match the map size. I bring up the map and measure using the measure tool between two points. Then I load the same line map onto the model and measure the same two points on it. then resample the obj image by a percentage to match. that way your image's are going on at optimum size during paste up.