So I have been collecting various textures for quite some time now and was never sure what is the best system to keep everything organized and quick to use. My current setup is that I have one folder called ‘_previews’ where I have all the texture categories (brick, metal, wood, grunge, etc.) with their sub-categories and I only keep my diffuse textures here. Then I have the same category-tree in a folder called ‘_maps’ where I put all the other maps (like gloss, bump, displacement, etc.) so if I find the diffuse I like, I change ‘_previews’ to ‘_maps’ in the folder path and get into the same folder except instead of diffuse I see other maps of those textures.
It takes so much time to sort every new collection to their actual folders and to separate each diffuse from other maps. On the other hand, when I’m browsing for textures, I don’t need to click 4-5 times just to see another diffuse texture so it really helps.
As of right now, my texture library weights about 300gb and I’m already struggling a bit. But I believe professional freelancers or big offices must have much more and was wondering what system do they use to keep it nice and simple. I know Windows explorer might not be the best way to organize a file library but so far I haven’t been able to find a better solution to this problem so I’m sticking to whatever works best.
On top of stuff you mention I have issue with keeping ‘legacy’ (whathever random crap I needed at some point) and ‘production’ (Tiled, PBR-ready, with sub-maps) together in same folder because only I know which one sucks and which one doesn’t.
The rest of my team is utterly lost in which textures they’re supposed to use.
I occasionally send ‘legacy’ into ‘legacy’ sub-folder to die (and re-link former scenes if I need to use them in future), but I keep adding new crappy ones alongside. I can’t stop myself from differentiating between temporary and pristine organized.
One (but partial only) solution is that I try to build basic materials for Connector library instead of relying on textures. If I or someone from my team needs ‘White Oak’ they will grab ready-to-use material with all sub-textures inside it and they can continue to combine it in some way.
Age old mantra: Waste time organising stuff forever ? Or waste time trying to find stuff each time. It just might be possible that in the end the net result is the same.
This. I believe your way of putting production textures into materials and then keeping all the other ones aside might be a good option. Although it takes even more time than putting everything into a system of some sort, it might be worth it in the end.
I think this depends on a person/office structure. In my opinion, having a clear file structure means having a clear mind. On the other hand, others prefer a more chaotic creative workflow so I guess there’s no one answer to this question.
If i would be in need to organize my assets, i would probably go the tagging way. Takes much time to properly tag every asset, but then makes your work with them like a breeze.
If only for tags, i like Adobe Lightroom the most, but it’s not suitable to work with CG assets, so i chose Connecter. It’s free, it’s actively maintained and it gets better with each update.
I am currently contemplating on tagging my models as 3rd tier of organising. To me it’s more of a search feature than division.
In Connector it would look followingly:
1st tier: ‘Folder’ structure (taken from file explorer): Beds/Chairs/Bookcases/Decorations/etc..
2nd tier: ‘Categories’ (items from single folder in multiple categories): Kitchen armchairs, Midcentury archchairs, Scandinavian Decoration, Kitchen Decoration,etc..
3rd tier: Tags: Chair (Armchair, wooden, scandinavian, midcentury, old, PBR,…)
Now perhaps this is how I should approach the textures the same way. The good thing about Categories and Tags is that they are virtual feature outside of physical disc hierarchy so they are flexible to crate and change, and don’t affect filepaths.
I think that might be it for me. I once contemplated tagging inside Adobe Bridge but I couldn’t get used to having both Bridge and File explorer open at same time. But now with 3rd monitor, Connector will be always ON.
I never really looked into Connecter, thanks for pointing that out. It really seems to do a lot of work, will give it some time over the weekend.
Juraj, that seems to be the right way of putting things in order. You need proper folder structure but you also need tags. Can Connecter be used for textures as well as models? That would be great.
Connecter can be used for pretty much anything it really revolutionized our workflow.
I use it currently for Models, IES, HDRi and building material library. But I know Daniel Reutersward and others use it for textures too I think.
The most incredible tool I use from it is auto-generating the assets. I simply unpack .zip file from 3dSky/DesignConnected/etc…, then drag&drop it into 3dsMax viewport and with menu pop-up it will put it into folder structure (generating “/maps” subfolder and putting all textures there, auto-relinking them), into categories you place, description you write for it, generate a thumbnail file from studio scene I prepared. I also set it up to convert it to Corona :- ).
I was part of private dev chat for more than a year I think now and the devs are very motivated and user-request listening. Some of the stuff Swedish boys asked for is almost ridiculous and everything gets implemented next week :- ).
That is great stuff, can’t wait for the weekend to really mess with this thing.
On a related note, do you also use this for your material library? I’ve had great success with CMPP and was wondering if I should transfer it into Connecter.
Yep,we will dive deeper in connector too. It changed our workflow tremendously.
Hopefully they will develop integration for Cinema 4D. As this is will be the DCC package at the moment for us to replace MAX in the future.
Cinema 4D has a fairly good content browser that allows for saving of assets - it saves them all in a lib4d file which can get super huge but its very useful. I hope you’ve explored that option. It is however obviously not as advanced as the connector
Hello fellas, i hope you are running on a great week!
I am trying to be on the new organization era because my library is extremely messy and i think that i am gonna give Connecter a try, is there any video or thread that describes a little more in depth the workflow and some tips & tricks regarding that? (Your trick with the tags is really smart, are the tags remaining thought if you reinstall Connecter?) Additionally, i have heard that having the folders directly in the HDD ( D:/Decorative sets/Candle Holders ) is a lot faster than having fro example D:/Library/3dsky/Decorative sets/Candle holders does this worth having your HDD with a tone of folders? And finally, would an SSD dedicated for the library would make things better? Really thanks guys, Cheers
Could you develop a little on how you are using it for materials? Afaik 3D Connected can’t display a .mat file. Are you creating a max file for every material? That would seam very tedious but perhaps there is a smart workflow for this?
I guess that makes sense as it can’t open a .mat file, and the only way I’ve found myself would be to save a max scene with a material on a suitable object. Problem is that even if one can use Connecter to categorize them, there is no way to conveniently load them or apply them in a scene so pretty useless really.
You definitely can load materials from Connecter to a max scene (assign them to the objects or place in material library). Also you can batch render previews in your own studio setup. I don’t think it’s useless at all.
