KnowHow: Building and Using a Blender Library Granted building a Library won't happen over night and it will always be an ongoing process. As you finish each project, just copy any asset that you think you might use again into the appropriate folder in your Library. To get a jump start on building your library, you can hunt down and collect assets that members of the community have released for use. In fact, if you took the time to gather up all the freely given blender assets floating around here and there, you would have a pretty amazing Library to play with. For those interested in jump starting or adding to their existing Libraries, here are a few links to some nice collections. Just make sure you pay attention to what copyright licenses are used and any limitations there might be. Blender for Architecture The Official Blender Model Repository
by Sandra Gilbert
Blender Open Material Repository
www.blenderart.org
Once your Library is set up, it is a simple matter of linking or appending the desired asset into your new project. Appending is a very straightforward way to get an asset into your new project file as an independent copy of the asset in your Library. Once your appended item is in the new project file, you can continue on your merry way and do what ever you want to it. Life is wonderful! Linking on the other hand, while it offers some fantastic benefits, can also be confusing unless you are aware of a few things. First the benefits. Linking allows you to have separate files for things like characters, props, environments, etc., that either you or your fellow project members can be working on (or refining) while other things are being done, to say the scene files. Then next time one of you opens the scene file, surprise, your updated character loads from the file that it was linked to. It's a
great way to organize and stream line your work flow. It also makes sure that the latest updates are always loaded and available for whoever needs them. Now something that you need to be aware of to take advantage of this wonderful thing called Linking and it is a biggie, is that Linked objects (assets) can not be moved. It is going to stay exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, in the same place it occupied in it's original file (the file you linked from). Big bummer to say the least, as well as the cause of many headaches and confusion for artists using the Linking option for the first time. Right about now you are probably thinking, 'well that isn't useful at all'. Wrong! It is still incredibly useful. You just need to turn your Linked object into a Proxy. So just what is a proxy? The most important thing to know about a Proxy Object is that it allows you to not only edit local data in your current project file, but more importantly it gives you the option to keep specific data protected. Any data that you set as protected in the original source (Library) file will always be restored from the Library (typically on file reading or undo/redo steps). This protection is set in the linked source (Library) file, which means that only the source (Library) file can determine what can be changed in your current project file. When working with Poses, (something that you really are not going to want changed in the new project file), you can set the Bone layers as being protected. A protected layer is shown with a black dot in it. Use CTRL+click on a the Bone Layer button to protect or unprotect that layer. To create a Proxy object in your new project file, Link (remember Link, not Append) to your desired object. Once you have your Linked object in your new project
Issue 18 | Sep 2008 - Landscapes, Environments & Sets
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