Skip to main content
mattc23387537
Participant
Apr 25, 2022 4:19 AM UTC
Answered

Failed to save - "Can't serialize empty surface"

I just wanted to post my solution to this error that was preventing me from saving in Substance 3D Painter 7.4.3. I had seen several posts saying this is caused by having lost/unallocated textures in the file, but I did not have any. What solved the issue was deleting the default "Layer 1" paint layers that Painter automatically adds to each texture set. I imagine any empty layer could cause this error. It seems incredibly neglectfull that the file defualts that ship with a software are completely preventing user files to be saved in some cases. 

Filing a bug report for this as well, but figured it would be useful as a topic here in the meantime.

    Arun26403789utahCorrect answer
    Participant
    Nov 23, 2022 12:43 PM UTC

    Use this Go to

    File > Clean then save.

    It's worked for me.

    View reply

    24 replies

    leag16672592
    leag16672592
    Participant
    Jul 10, 2025 8:08 PM UTC

    Had this proplem, coudn't save and I tried everything in this tread...

    It was because of an alpha that has been renamed and substance couldn't reload it and so, save.

    So check if you renamed a texture or alpha, give it the previous name and save, it worked for me.

    Translate
      Archzee292381558g0v
      Participant
      Sep 1, 2023 7:01 PM UTC

      "Removing unused resources" didn't work for me. I worked with one map fixing it with Photoshop then reloading to Substance. The problem solved when I resaved it with Photoshop in different file, deleted that broken one in Substance and loaded the new file.

      Translate
        Silent5EF3
        Participating Frequently
        Oct 25, 2023 12:14 PM UTC

        I have the probleme too. "Remove unused resources" does not fix it. It seems the problem happens because a previous failure of loading a new alpha. I got the alpha with a beautiful red cross instead of the preview. The alpha is valid.

        Translate
        Cyril Dellenbach
        Community Manager
        Cyril DellenbachCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        Oct 25, 2023 1:43 PM UTC

        This issue is very probably due to the corrupted ressource. Delete the ressource, try to save and let me know if it helps.

         

        Translate
        Cyril Dellenbach (Micro) | Product Manager | Substance Painter
        Arun26403789utahCorrect answer
        Participant
        Nov 23, 2022 12:43 PM UTC

        Use this Go to

        File > Clean then save.

        It's worked for me.

        Translate
          camiloleon98
          Participant
          Jan 24, 2023 9:32 PM UTC

          It´s happened to me too, but cleaning the scene worked perfectly, thank you so much

          Translate
          GeoffroySC
          Community Manager
          GeoffroySCCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          Jan 25, 2023 1:57 PM UTC

          This usually happens with corrupted bakes, invalid paths to imported assets, and other similar issues: the "clean" option is here to solve that sort of issue. 

          Translate
            Siddharth25029495ccqj
            Participant
            Nov 11, 2022 8:09 AM UTC

            Na nothing is working..there's no default layers, cleared extra resources, still giving error [ResourceImage] Can't serialize empty surface

            Translate
              jessicac55850492
              Participant
              Oct 26, 2022 8:20 PM UTC

              I was just having this issue. Mine was caused by an imported texture. Not sure why there was a problem at all, as I've done this many times before, but I created an ID map outside of substance and imported it to my project. All my other maps were baked in Substance. Once I removed the file from my project completely (cleared from baked maps and cleaned my file), I was able to save again. I tried reimporting the file again to see if it would work, but had the same issue. So, ended up unable to use my id map. 

              Translate
                Toño5C52
                Participant
                Oct 4, 2022 3:20 PM UTC

                It didn't work for me deleting the layers created by default by substance but I opened the error log and right clicked + clear and it let me save. It also makes a lot of sense...

                Translate
                  Hannibal27299630477m
                  Participant
                  Nov 25, 2022 10:02 AM UTC

                  it didnt make sense to me when you just have to clear the error log but it works for me man. Thank you !

                   

                  Translate
                  Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                  Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices