How should I organizing my files in blender (Texture, Blender, est…) ? The problem is some time if yoy move the texture files to a new place, I have to re link it and I don’t really like the idea of packing the texture together with the blender files.
just create a directory like this
Blender
Models
Texture
And any other folder you want to add
I always put the texture files in the same folder as the scene.
It makes things alot easier when your blender scenes folder gets huge.
Hard Disk space is cheap.
this is how i organize my stuff:
/blender/ //everything blender related
/blender/system/ //blender binaries, blender compiling environment, cvs
/blender/assets/ //where all my 'common' textures, finshed models are
/blender/projectname //if it's a big projec, i create a folder like this for it, and under it, i have another folder named texture
in general, i always like to keep all the textures in a folder in the same place as the .blend file.
Is there anyway to move the blender files and the texture to a different location and still be able to render with all the texture? Is packing all the texture to the blender file the only way?
hmm, that’s weird. by default, blender saves the texture as relative locations. you shouldn’t have any problem moving files around.
blender uses relative location such as
…/myproject/texture.tga
rather than
/home/blender/myproject/texture.tga
but if that’s not how blender is behaving, i guess packing texture is the only option.
You have to turn relative paths on manually when saving your blend file.
It’s a toggle on the bottom of the file saver window.
I think this dilemma is common to filing for any software. Do you file all project files together in a project folder, or do you save all file-types (materials, textures, images, renders, blends, etc) in project-labelled folders within folders specific to those file-types?
In other words, either have a folder for Project One and another for Project Two, etc and within those have sub-folders for materials, textures etc related to the specific project.
OR…
Have a folder for Blends, another for Materials, another for Textures and so on and with each of these folders, have a sub folder for Project One, Project Two - and probably one for Common which includes things you use regularly.
I guess the most important thing to do is to be consistent. My Blender folder is a disaster :rolleyes: and it kind of follows both of the above options to some degree.
same here 
But luckly harddrives are cheap.
Usually experts in CAD-related file management always say: “do not store your project files in a software-dependent structure”, since you could have projects with files you work on with several programs. This would mean no “blender” directory, but something more generic. A typical setup is to have a “projects” directory, and then one folder for each project. Inside each projects, each one does more or less the way he wants. In each project folder, I like to make a “textures” directory, because on Linux this “textures” folder can be a link to a textures library.
Another very useful practice is to separate what will be used in your current project only from everything you might want to use in other projects. Then, besides your “projects” directory, you would have a “library” containing all the “meta-data” (data above the data, ie data used in several projects). That is textures, pictures, all kind of reusable models, etc… If blender files go look for their textures not in the absolute path but in a relative path, (like …\library extures\wood), it gives you already a bit of freedom to move files… I think I’ve seen something about that in pre-release-logs for 2.43…
Anyway, this is a thing that makes people spend much ink and sweat… Every week appears one of those “CAD-magazine”, where some expert tells you - in 5 pages - the best way to organize your files…
Well all this is more related to architecture and similar, might be quite different for other areas…
I am set up like this:
- Main Blender Projects Folder
a) Sub folder with project title as folder name
i) Sub folder for Blend file
ii) Sub folder for renders
iii) Sub folder for textures
Works well for me and keeps everything associated with the specific project in one main folder.
BgDM
So like I’m doing a city scene where there is people also in side each of the main folder do you also add in a sub folder like inside blend files i will have sub folders of buildings, cars and people… and in the textures folder I’ll do the same thing? Now my folder is a mass and I wish to tidy up the files but I worry that I have to relink the textures over again when I move the files. what can be done?
My workhorse folders are Documents, Scrapbook, Sketchbook, Tutorials and Named Project Folders. Scrapbook and Sketchbook are organized similarly: People, Architecture, Indoor, Outdoor, Landscape, Animals… the main difference is Scrapbook is downloads and has the texture library, while Sketchbook is personal work.
My main criteria is being able to find something quickly. Named Project Folders have a subfolder for any textures used and any renders made of that project.
hi, there is a script called ‘fix image paths’ that will let you relocate image paths,
also you can manually reload any texture from the texture/image section although this can be tedious if the scene has many textures.
also setting the default Texture Path ( top menu ) can help if your main texture folder has changed drive letter.
I always keep my textures in the same directory on both my comps and back up .blends with packed textures for portable/backup drives.
If you , like i do, have a large texture folder (5000 + textures sorted by type, brick, stone, wood, metals, organic, ect…) , setting the texture path is a good option.
thanks, M.A.
Hello,
I am new to this forum and also new to Blɘnder what a WONDERFUL program.I also have the question about file structure.
Where do I point the following in the user pref?
YFexport:
Fonts:
Render:
Texture:
Python:
Tex Plugins:
Sounds:
Seq Plugins:
Temp:
the python, tex and seq plugins are subdirs under your blender install directory, for newbies. The fonts is, for windows, c:\windows\fonts or wherever you installed windows to. Temp on windows is c: emp\ usually, but can be anywhere you want it to be, as well as the rest are wherever you want.
oops SORRY forgot to say I’m ona Mac
Where do I point the following in the user pref?
Are you having problems with the defaults? I’ve almost never touched any of these things, and I’ve worked with Blender in both Mac and Windows.
No I just didn’t know where to save items if I DwnLd textures, fonts , scripts sounds , etc…