CUBICITY – Creating and Utilizing Asset Libraries with Blender

Discover the power of Asset Libraries! Learn to create, manage, and leverage libraries with Blender’s Asset Browser as well as how to assemble scenes from your assets. This 10-hr course has something for every skill-level, from beginner to advanced.

One of Blender’s latest features is the Asset Browser which is a welcomed interface for organizing, navigating, and utilizing libraries of models, materials, node trees, poses and more. In other words: 3D assets that can be easily reused, easily shared between scene files, and easily updated if needed.

Asset libraries are extremely important for larger-scale projects and animation pipelines.

3 main stages of Asset Library workflow

The Creation of cute city assets

The Assetization of those assets so that they’re accessible in the Asset BrowserThe Assembly of those assets into a final, adorable little city

CHAPTER 1

Something for every skill level

We’ll begin with simple standalone assets like a light post and a bench and even simple vehicles. These are the kinds of things you can build on your first day learning Blender.

CHAPTER 2

Getting Modular

We’ll design buildings within a grid layout and street sections that snap together geometrically for a seemless fit within the material. Additionally, we’ll use procedural textures to keep our materials to a minimum. In fact we won’t be using a single image texture throughout this project.

CHAPTER 3

Advanced techniques that go the extra step

We’ll dive into automated material randomization, which is very important when reusing assets and materials frequently. Finally, we will utilize vertex colors to control several conditions within our materials like randomizing colors and illuminating windows. There really is something for everyone in this course!

Active CG Cookie members will be invited to:

Apply what they learn by creating a handful of city assets that fit this style.

Then submit them to be reviewed.

If they pass inspection, they will be included in the official CUBICITY library!

Over the coming months and years, I hope to see this thing grow by the dozens or even hundreds of assets.

Likewise, the city assembly file will grow and evolve over time. New city blocks and neighborhoods added…maybe a pier with ferris wheel and food trucks…maybe a snow-covered neighborhood for the holidays…how cool will that be?? Something we can all be proud of together!