Light Set and HDRI dome SCENES!? Why? How to change them to ...

thrain9

Light Set and HDRI dome SCENES!? Why? How to change them to ...

Anything else but a scene!  I do not work by starting with lights and domes, which is the only way I have found to keep the darn things from erasing my work .... they always say "want to save your work before...) Sorry, No. I refuse to do it that way. I loose all sense of creative flow. I need the domes and the light sets to load as a dome or a light, not a scene.

I realize many of you will think I am just being stubborn, but I really do loose my creative flow. I can't explain why; but I work from character to props to scenes to lights. Any other way just scrambles my brain I guess.

I must be missing something, because a lot of domes and light sets are sold this way, including those created by DAZ. 

What do I need to do to get these items to work my way?

Thanks..

kenshaw011267

Use merge rather than open?

thrain9

@kenshaw011267... Thanks for the reply.  that method does work for a few of the items, but not all.  No clue why that is the case.

Also that method loads the entire light setup, and sometimes I want only one or two of the lights (yep I know I can load 'em, then delete or turn off the pieces I don't want, but some of them are not so "intuitive" as you might wish.  I've lost critical pieces of the light rig doing it that way.)

Richard Haseltine

If they are Iray you could save a Lights preset (for the actual lights) and a Render Settings preset (for teh dome) and apply both to your scene.

thrain9

Yes, Iray sets and domes.

@Richard Haseltine... Thank you.  I will probably load up a "throw away character" after loading the light/dome scene to test out what is actually happening to my render, then make the presets.  ie. before I "go insane creatively" and try to make anything I actually want.  A fair amount of work.... but it would beat the frustration I feel now.

for your information: It is crazy important for me to rapidly switch lighting and domes in and out of my viewports without disturbing anything else, I work fast and free, using sliders, quick clicks etc. the faster the better for me.  just the way I am wired, I guess.