diff --git a/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/MaterialExporter.cs b/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/MaterialExporter.cs
index 61609bb5..307e9d2b 100644
--- a/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/MaterialExporter.cs
+++ b/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/MaterialExporter.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@ public class MaterialExporter
         // variant?
     }
 
+    /// <summary> Dependency-less material configuration, for use when no material data can be resolved. </summary>
+    public static readonly MaterialBuilder Unknown = new MaterialBuilder("UNKNOWN")
+        .WithMetallicRoughnessShader()
+        .WithDoubleSide(true)
+        .WithBaseColor(Vector4.One);
+
     /// <summary> Build a glTF material from a hydrated XIV model, with the provided name. </summary>
     public static MaterialBuilder Export(Material material, string name, IoNotifier notifier)
     {
diff --git a/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/ModelExporter.cs b/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/ModelExporter.cs
index 550aaf11..9bc33697 100644
--- a/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/ModelExporter.cs
+++ b/Penumbra/Import/Models/Export/ModelExporter.cs
@@ -55,9 +55,14 @@ public class ModelExporter
     /// <summary> Build materials for each of the material slots in the .mdl. </summary>
     private static MaterialBuilder[] ConvertMaterials(MdlFile mdl, Dictionary<string, MaterialExporter.Material> rawMaterials, IoNotifier notifier)
         => mdl.Materials
-            // TODO: material generation should be fallible, which means this lookup should be a tryget, with a fallback.
-            //       fallback can likely be a static on the material exporter.
-            .Select(name => MaterialExporter.Export(rawMaterials[name], name, notifier.WithContext($"Material {name}")))
+            .Select(name => 
+            {
+                if (rawMaterials.TryGetValue(name, out var rawMaterial))
+                    return MaterialExporter.Export(rawMaterial, name, notifier.WithContext($"Material {name}"));
+                
+                notifier.Warning($"Material \"{name}\" missing, using blank fallback.");
+                return MaterialExporter.Unknown;
+            })
             .ToArray();
 
     /// <summary> Convert XIV skeleton data into a glTF-compatible node tree, with mappings. </summary>
diff --git a/Penumbra/Import/Models/ModelManager.cs b/Penumbra/Import/Models/ModelManager.cs
index c41f28e5..bfd55281 100644
--- a/Penumbra/Import/Models/ModelManager.cs
+++ b/Penumbra/Import/Models/ModelManager.cs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
         _tasks.Clear();
     }
 
-    public Task<IoNotifier> ExportToGltf(MdlFile mdl, IEnumerable<string> sklbPaths, Func<string, byte[]> read, string outputPath)
+    public Task<IoNotifier> ExportToGltf(MdlFile mdl, IEnumerable<string> sklbPaths, Func<string, byte[]?> read, string outputPath)
         => EnqueueWithResult(
             new ExportToGltfAction(this, mdl, sklbPaths, read, outputPath),
             action => action.Notifier
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
     }
 
     /// <summary> Try to resolve the absolute path to a .mtrl from the potentially-partial path provided by a model. </summary>
-    private string ResolveMtrlPath(string rawPath)
+    private string? ResolveMtrlPath(string rawPath, IoNotifier notifier)
     {
         // TODO: this should probably be chosen in the export settings
         var variantId = 1;
@@ -119,13 +119,18 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
             ? rawPath
             : '/' + Path.GetFileName(rawPath);
 
-        // TODO: this should be a recoverable warning
         if (absolutePath == null)
-            throw new Exception("Failed to resolve material path.");
+        {
+            notifier.Warning($"Material path \"{rawPath}\" could not be resolved.");
+            return null;
+        }
 
         var info = parser.GetFileInfo(absolutePath);
         if (info.FileType is not FileType.Material)
-            throw new Exception($"Material path {rawPath} does not conform to material conventions.");
+        {
+            notifier.Warning($"Material path {rawPath} does not conform to material conventions.");
+            return null;
+        }
 
         var resolvedPath = info.ObjectType switch
         {
@@ -179,7 +184,7 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
         ModelManager manager,
         MdlFile mdl,
         IEnumerable<string> sklbPaths,
-        Func<string, byte[]> read,
+        Func<string, byte[]?> read,
         string outputPath)
         : IAction
     {
@@ -193,10 +198,10 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
             var xivSkeletons = BuildSkeletons(cancel);
 
             Penumbra.Log.Debug("[GLTF Export] Reading materials...");
-            var materials = mdl.Materials.ToDictionary(
-                path => path,
-                path => BuildMaterial(path, cancel)
-            );
+            var materials = mdl.Materials
+                .Select(path => (path, material: BuildMaterial(path, Notifier, cancel)))
+                .Where(pair => pair.material != null)
+                .ToDictionary(pair => pair.path, pair => pair.material!.Value);
 
             Penumbra.Log.Debug("[GLTF Export] Converting model...");
             var model = ModelExporter.Export(mdl, xivSkeletons, materials, Notifier);
@@ -215,7 +220,9 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
         private IEnumerable<XivSkeleton> BuildSkeletons(CancellationToken cancel)
         {
             var havokTasks = sklbPaths
-                .Select(path => new SklbFile(read(path)))
+                .Select(path => read(path) ?? throw new Exception(
+                    $"Resolved skeleton \"{path}\" could not be read. Ensure EST metadata is configured, and/or relevant mods are enabled in the current collection."))
+                .Select(bytes => new SklbFile(bytes))
                 .WithIndex()
                 .Select(CreateHavokTask)
                 .ToArray();
@@ -234,10 +241,15 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
         }
 
         /// <summary> Read a .mtrl and populate its textures. </summary>
-        private MaterialExporter.Material BuildMaterial(string relativePath, CancellationToken cancel)
+        private MaterialExporter.Material? BuildMaterial(string relativePath, IoNotifier notifier, CancellationToken cancel)
         {
-            var path = manager.ResolveMtrlPath(relativePath);
-            var mtrl = new MtrlFile(read(path));
+            var path = manager.ResolveMtrlPath(relativePath, notifier);
+            if (path == null)
+                return null;
+            var bytes = read(path);
+            if (bytes == null)
+                return null;
+            var mtrl = new MtrlFile(bytes);
 
             return new MaterialExporter.Material
             {
@@ -254,12 +266,23 @@ public sealed class ModelManager(IFramework framework, ActiveCollections collect
         {
             // Work out the texture's path - the DX11 material flag controls a file name prefix.
             GamePaths.Tex.HandleDx11Path(texture, out var texturePath);
-            using var textureData = new MemoryStream(read(texturePath));
+            var bytes = read(texturePath);
+            if (bytes == null)
+                return CreateDummyImage();
+
+            using var textureData = new MemoryStream(bytes);
             var       image       = TexFileParser.Parse(textureData);
             var       pngImage    = TextureManager.ConvertToPng(image, cancel).AsPng;
             return pngImage ?? throw new Exception("Failed to convert texture to png.");
         }
 
+        private Image<Rgba32> CreateDummyImage()
+        {
+            var image = new Image<Rgba32>(1, 1);
+            image[0, 0] = Color.White;
+            return image;
+        }
+
         public bool Equals(IAction? other)
         {
             if (other is not ExportToGltfAction rhs)
diff --git a/Penumbra/UI/AdvancedWindow/ModEditWindow.Models.MdlTab.cs b/Penumbra/UI/AdvancedWindow/ModEditWindow.Models.MdlTab.cs
index 6decd344..cb8e662f 100644
--- a/Penumbra/UI/AdvancedWindow/ModEditWindow.Models.MdlTab.cs
+++ b/Penumbra/UI/AdvancedWindow/ModEditWindow.Models.MdlTab.cs
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ public partial class ModEditWindow
         /// <summary> Read a file from the active collection or game. </summary>
         /// <param name="path"> Game path to the file to load. </param>
         // TODO: Also look up files within the current mod regardless of mod state?
-        private byte[] ReadFile(string path)
+        private byte[]? ReadFile(string path)
         {
             // TODO: if cross-collection lookups are turned off, this conversion can be skipped
             if (!Utf8GamePath.FromString(path, out var utf8Path, true))
@@ -269,13 +269,9 @@ public partial class ModEditWindow
             var resolvedPath = _edit._activeCollections.Current.ResolvePath(utf8Path) ?? new FullPath(utf8Path);
 
             // TODO: is it worth trying to use streams for these instead? I'll need to do this for mtrl/tex too, so might be a good idea. that said, the mtrl reader doesn't accept streams, so...
-            var bytes = resolvedPath.IsRooted
+            return resolvedPath.IsRooted
                 ? File.ReadAllBytes(resolvedPath.FullName)
                 : _edit._gameData.GetFile(resolvedPath.InternalName.ToString())?.Data;
-
-            // TODO: some callers may not care about failures - handle exceptions separately?
-            return bytes ?? throw new Exception(
-                $"Resolved path {path} could not be found. If modded, is it enabled in the current collection?");
         }
 
         /// <summary> Remove the material given by the index. </summary>