How many scenes can you have in one project?

Support Basics & Interface
#1

hey guys :slight_smile:

was putting together an animation consisting of different locations and models/props etc and just wanted to ask a few questions please as i have only done a couple scenes before.

  1. Is there a limit to how many collections you can have please? and scenes? in one blend file?

  2. Will blender start to slow down at X number of collections or scenes?

  3. Would it be best to have everything in one blend file? i.e the city, models for that city? characters? props etc all in separate collections or scenes or is it best to have separate blend files? ie one for the city one for the characters, one for props, one just for the actual shots etc and then append them in when needed

I know this is prob down to personal preference but as some of you will already have done this and got real world experience then be good to know what your workflow is and any problems you encountered.

Thank you for any feedback.

#2

I suspect there’s no theoretical limit for scenes, collections, etc. However, you will eventually run into the limits set by the file system itself… ~3gb if you’re using 32-bit Windows, but you won’t have to be concerned on 64-bit Windows because it’s 16TB. I don’t know about Linux or Mac, although they’re likely the same because it’s all Intel-based hardware these days… or AMD which all Intel work-alike.

However, organizing your resources into separate file will yield some benefits. For instance, file loading time will be nuts if all your assets are in one mega-file. And scrolling through vast lists of collections to find a specific asset will get old quickly.

You’re best off with a hierarchy of folders to store everything. The top level should be a bunch of project folders: my_first_anim, My_second_anim… like that. The inside each of those, folders for characters, props (to be ‘handled’ by characters), set dressing (furniture, etc.), and locations (the rooms where your scenes take place. Inside each of those, a sub-folder for textures and UV maps.

Of course, you’ll want to modify this hierarchy to fit your needs, but that’s basically it.

#3

thanks so much Sackadoo, some great info there. yeah i use 64 bit windows so should be all good in that area.

i did a quick test with a couple scenes in one blend file, just getting used to using collections etc and also experimenting with apending objects etc which worked well but i guess its only a couple scenes so of course that aint gonna slow anything down.

Your idea of folders is great, thanks for that. think i am a little OCD lol so i really want to get organised and have my hierarchy set up good so i have a practical and clean workflow.
might do a test short first, as my main project is gonna be around 90 mins, as its a proof of concept/pre viz and a test might be good to see what works and what doesnt etc

i was going to have a folder called shot 1 for eg, then in that folder have my blend file for that scene, plus all folders that are needed in that particular shot like characters, sets, props, textures etc
then of course a separate folder and blend file for shot 2 etc but i dont know how this will pan out, unless for eg the first scenes are in chinatown, then all shots set in that location could be in that folder…maybe? :slight_smile:

is that what you meant by my first anim, second anim etc, do you mean those are your shots?

thanks again

#4

No, those are projects. So, for instance, if the short you’re working on right now is entitled, “Fish Can’t Fly… Or Can They??,” that—or something inspired by it—would be the name of one of the top-level folders.

If, later, you do a second short entitled, “Cat’s Hate Water,” that would be another top-level folder.

Inside each of these top-level folders is where you’d have your asset folders and a scene folder. Files in the scene folder could be named scene01.blend, scene02.blend, etc.

And in each of those scene files, all assets—set dressing, props, characters—would be linked rather that appended. That way, you can still make changes to the assets as you go along without having to re-append them to each scene where they’re used.

Of course, this is just one way to do this. Depending on your circumstances, another organizational layout might work better.

#5

thanks Sackadoo, that really helps me a lot.
yeah i guess its like your first day working on a assembly line for an action figure for eg.
you are overwhelmed, you start with legs, then head then body and realise thats not correct and takes time, still get the figure made but took wayyyyyy longer than expected. then you get into the flow and have a plan, head, then body, arms and legs and costume last…
weird comparison i know but gets me head around it better lol

thanks again!! :slight_smile:

1 Like
#6

You might want to take a look at that :slight_smile:
#7

thank you very much :slight_smile: