Multiple Scenes in same file to use same collection names / Automations of collections
Using multiple scenes in a blender file results in the inability to use predefined collections that are saved by a user when we open a new scene within the same file. Furthermore, those same predefined collections cannot be recreated without adding versions to it. which in reality while a small issue, it clutters the outliner pretty fast when bigger scenes are involved.
Could we get a predefined array/list option we can set in setting so we can have them open regardless of what scene is open?
For example. adding into setting the ability to press a + button that will by default add a collection that will be present on every scene regardless of whether it is in a single scene file or a file with multiple scenes. The more times we press we get the collections by default. It would also be great if we could automate the objects that get placed in there. for example. If I set up RIG collection and set it as a default rig collection Every time I create a new armature it goes in there.
same with geo/particles/curves etc. etc. but with the ability for us to maybe tag it as that rather than hard coding a key word that does it for us, say I want to create a character, I created the default collections with my own collection names, and tagged them appropriately with what I want and where. when I create the meshes / rigs etc I don't have to manually place everything unless I want to change individual objects in sub collections which would not be automated.
This could seriously speed up work-flow and management of scenes
4 Comments
Out of pure interest because I might be missing something interesting; what's the benefit for you of using multiple scenes in a file versus using multiple files with only a single scene per file and use linking to link to and share/re-use other (library overridable) files with rigs, environments, colors, materials etc.?
Simply put: Asset / scene management. Scene management in blender is better when I have groups of similar assets in similar files rather than huge amounts of data spread everywhere. We use the asset manager to make sure the assets are accessible, and use scenes to separate their development. Having a separate file for every single asset gets tiresome to search through. and does not benefit the other members. especially when dealing with version changes all the time, instead of having 5x the files. We have 1 file that contains a shoe for example.
The next file will contain the same shoe with variations to one or both the material or the topology. which makes it easier to manage. we don't have massive unorganised outliner hierarchies to sift through. We have the outliner hierarchies that pertain only to that single variation, this way everyone can work as efficiently as possible. This system works well except for the collection naming and no tag ability for automated asset placement at creation time. In our Houdini pipeline we don't create thousands of assets in different files. we create versions using nodes. However, it is still a similar concept, only that blender is not node based so we exchange that to be multiple scenes in single files. we do have limits to how much can be saved in a single file before we create a new file and link it. but that creates a dependency we don't want. and not only that it can be slow. 1 asset + variations per file in separated scenes.
Linking in blender is fine for some tasks. appending is also fine for some tasks. but we rarely have issues with blender files corrupting so it's never really an issue for us to separate every single thing we do. in a lot of cases, it's a lot slower to be searching for the file you want to link, go in find the object/asset then link it. especially on large scenes. when we can simply switch scene to get to the variation. we pull what we want into a main composition file which is still linked. but up until then, we don't generally link and pull stuff around just to make changes/variations.
in my opinion there's not a lot missing from blender. but good scene management and is definitely one of them.
Everything is manual and it doesn't need to be, and that's the point. something as simple as automation tags, would go a long way.
I have no idea how many people take advantage of the scene system in blender. So I can only ask these questions in regards to what we think could be a good addition going off our workflow as a team.
Thanks for taking the time to clarify your workflow. That's helpful. I get your points better now.
Reading this I wonder though if what you describe isn't already a workaround to something which isn't working great in Blender; linking. I wonder if the real request isn't making linking from another file easier; without all the hastle it is now (all these steps blender now has; selecting a file, selecting a collection, library override make etc. for each asset. WIthout any previews. And when doing it again for a new asset you first need to go all those steps back only to browse a file again and do all these steps for that file again. Which all is super cumbersome and takes way too much clicks and time). And to make those assets easier to search/find.
Although on the other hand by what you wrote I understand you're already familiar with a similar scene-like workflow in Houdini? So I can imaging you'd like to have a similar thing in Blender.
But at least that would be my request, because I think good linking is great and I put my assets in individual files so far. But I don't work in a team and by myself, so I don't have so much pipeline things to take into account.
Some valid points you bring up for sure. Food for thought. Thanks again
If we had some easier ways to link, (I know it's simple in concept) such as you described with previews, less clicks, even having a better asset manager to help with that instead.
Another good addition to avoid having these issues would be having the ability to change assets in the asset library completely independent of the file. That is exactly why we have adopted this method. Because in the manager we can't manipulate the individual files independently or externally. So, if I wanted to modify the library I would have to open tons of individual blend files. So instead of that. I can open a few and control many by storing scenes that contain sets of data, rather than us having to fix or have to go into hundreds of model files if there is a large change to be made, we only need to open 20 or 30. That makes a lot more sense when you are trying to keep a team going, when there are a lot of assets. As a single artist this doesn't make a lot of difference unless you want to have a tightly kept library that's easily controllable. Sure, I could use an external manager like connecter, but that adds complexity to the pipeline having to manage another database and debug another 3rd party program when stuff goes wrong. and it does, often.
I think the asset manager needs work. You can't even open the location of the blend file in a file explorer; and you can't externally modify the library files, you can only directly open the file with in blender and you HAVE to modify that library by going to "Current File" and changing it. That is really tedious and doesn't work well. and you can't see other library files/folder if you have not saved the file when you are in the "Current File" selection of the asset browser. There is also no project management where this is concerned. and you can't set a project where these files are saved by default so if an artist forgets to save well that's a whole other problem. This tells me there is fundamentally something not quite ready. its close. but not completely there.
its great they implemented it. but it's far from production ready, even though we use it for everything, that's mainly because the cost of extra training and debugging of external programs and down time is not worth it.
Houdini has it down perfect as far as that work flow goes, but actually using Houdini is only good a bit further down the line and not so much in the model production stage. Generally, we use blender right up until then. But yeah, it could definitely benefit to have a better longer look at how the asset management works, scene management and how teams use blender as well, as a lot of studios/groups and individuals use it very differently.
Personally, I love Blender. So, I look forward to inputting some ideas and potentially fixing things that could benefit a lot of people.