Using the Asset Browser

Now, you have a ton of completed models. In the 3D world, we call those assets.

So, it’s time to organize all of those assets so that you can use them in any scene, whenever you want. Blender provides the Asset Browser to make that easier.

The Asset Browser lets you build an Asset Library. Then, in any Blender file, you can simply click and drag your models right into your scene.

In this chapter, you’re going to learn all about the Asset Browser. You’ll learn how to prepare your models for use in the Asset Browser, how to set up an Asset Library, and finally, how to use it.

By the end of this chapter, you’ll have the following:

• A library of useful low-poly assets
• Knowledge of how to add new assets to your library
• Knowledge of how to use your assets in any scene

First, I’ll explain what I mean by asset.

What’s an asset?

You’ll hear the word asset a lot. Asset is a common term in the world of 3D. Its meaning can be different depending on the context.

In Blender, an asset is any of the following:

• A material or world material
• A completed 3D model
• A node group

Pretty simple. An asset is just a completed thing that you can use in 3D to build your scene. It’s simply anything you’ve made – usually a single object – that’s stored in a .blend file on your computer. When we use the asset library, you’ll move all of your asset files into a central location.

Eventually, you’ll need a place to store your assets and a way to access them easily across projects. Enter the Asset Browser. With the Asset Browser, you’ll be able to access any of your saved assets from any Blender project.

Why the Asset Browser?

Over time, you’ll accumulate a lot of finished or mostly finished models.

And, most likely, you’ll want to use them in other scenes that you create. It’s possible to copy objects from one Blender file to another (using File | Append), but this is a long, tedious process.

I can say from experience that it’s best to collect all your assets in one place. All the great materials and models that you make should be easy for you to access.

That’s exactly what the Asset Browser is for. It provides a unified, neat place where you can bring all of your assets together. The Asset Browser makes it very easy to see all of your assets in one place. You can easily search through them to find what you’re looking for.

It works off a system called Asset Libraries. An Asset Library is just a folder on your computer. To put assets into the library, you must simply place the necessary .blend files into the folder. Inside those...

Setting up the Asset Browser

Getting your assets into the Asset Browser is a three-step process:

1. Creating your Asset Library.
2. Adding Blender files.
3. Telling Blender which objects are assets.

First, let’s create the Asset Library. This step is easy.

Creating your Asset Library

Somewhere on your hard drive, create a new folder.

I have a folder called Blender where I keep all of my Blender projects, and I’ve created my library folder there. Give your new folder a name, such as My Asset Library.

Now that you have the folder, it’s time for the next step.

Adding Blender files

Find any .blend files that have assets you want to place in the library and move these files to your new library folder.

You can create copies of the files if you’d like to use the originals for something else. I didn’t copy mine. If I need anything that’s in them, I can just get it out of the Asset Library later.

Now, open one of...

Setting up the Asset Browser in Blender and using your assets

You’ve got your Asset Library ready to go now. You need to tell Blender where it is so that it becomes an option in the Asset Browser.

That’s not too hard.

Open a new Blender file. Don’t bother saving it – this is just a playground for us to mess around with the Asset Browser.

The first step is to add your library to Blender’s list of Asset Libraries:

1. Go to Edit | Preferences.
2. Click the File Paths tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom and open the Asset Libraries section.
4. Click the little + button to add a new one:

Figure 11.4 – The Asset Libraries section of Preferences. Note that I have several existing libraries already

5. A File Explorer window will pop open. Navigate to your folder, select it, and click Add Asset Library:

Figure 11.5 – Choosing your asset folder

Blender knows where...

Summary

This was an easy one!

In this chapter, you learned how to use the Asset Browser to organize all the models you’ve created. You learned how to prepare your models, and how to use the Asset Browser to quickly add models to any scene.

If you only remember one thing from this chapter, remember that you have to mark an object as an asset before it can be used as one.

In the next chapter, we’re going to start building a complete scene.