what is the difference between:
Selecting all like objects and applying a material
mat1 = currentmateriallibrary[1]
thecol = for o in objects where matchpattern o.name pattern:"something" collect o
select thecol
$.material = mat1
and loop through each, assign a material…
mat1 = currentmateriallibrary[1]
thecol = for o in objects where matchpattern o.name pattern:"something" collect o
for i in thecol do i.material = mat1
Example: I have 26,000 pieces of Ibeam steel in my scene. Am I creating 26,000 instances of that material in my scene by doing it the second way?
Thanks,
Dave
Same thing happens for both ways, material is instanced, so you’re not creating 26000 materials
Although you could do it like this, maybe it’s faster:
for o in objects where matchpattern o.name pattern:"something" do o.material = currentmateriallibrary[1]
great, thanks artur!
the applying a material to collection of objects is a little faster than to applying it to every object from the list. in first case the system sends a little less notification messages.
the situation might change if some script uses material change events (#nodePreMaterial, #nodePostMaterial, NodeEventCallback materialStructured (materialOtherEvent), etc.). it makes the second method (applying per node) more memory used up.