I’m working on an animation with multiple scenes and it uses a character that I’m not entirely finished with yet.
Let’s say I have it moddeled in Library.blend
Is it possible to link the character into multiple blend files using append->Link so I can create the scenes, then go back to the character in Library.blend and tweak him so he changes in the others… but not loose the animation IPOs etc. that I’ve created in the scenes …?
I think what I’m asking is can I link just mesh and materials, so that the armature animations and RVKs in the individual scenes aren’t blown away.
You can’t edit library data (that’s all the Shft-F1 Link is) in (what you call ‘multiple scenes’) outside .blends; only in Library.blend. So, as long as all the IPO’s and Actions are in Library.blend you can mix and match them either as Actions or as NLA Strips in the outside scenes.
Hang on… So if I have a walk cycle defined in Library.Blend and I have him walking down the street in Street.blend (Linked), just calling the walk cycle in the Action Editor, then go back to LIbrary and modify the walk cycle, the modified walk cycle will transfer accross to the Street scene??
If so, Cool!
What about RVK IPOs (Not the actual deformations themselves, but IPOs animating the deformations. eg: If I think the eyebrows don’t quite go up at the right angle, can I modify the …um… “EyebrowRaise.R” RVK mesh data in the library and the corrsponding animation in the linked blend will be updated when I next open it and the timing and proportion of “EyebrowRaise.R” that I had set previously will remain?
If this is breaking newish ground, I’m happy to experiment and come back to this thread with an answer, but if anyone knows for sure then great!
Yes. That’s all correct and it’s quite straightforward.
Library.blend has Armature and all its data
Mesh and all it’s data
World and all its data
Scene and all its data
From an outside file you ‘go to the library’ and sign out the datablocks you want to use. Library’s Mesh and Armature come Linked with all the parenting, constraints, transforms, materials, textures, Shapes, IPO’s, Actions etc etc that they have in Library.blend. And any updates to Library.blend are passed on when you open the outside file.