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.psd file management


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Neural

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I'm looking for answers on how to deal with disk space issues that I cannot reconcile currently, but in the long run, answers that can be used to change how I approach the creation of images in Photoshop.

I use Photoshop to make textures for 3D objects. Sometimes there are several variations on the same textures. An example would be if I made an object in 3D that needed a camouflage texture. There are many many different types of camo color schemes.

So the question is this: Create a single "master" .psd file that contains multiple layers with every type of camo? Or one .psd for each color scheme?

Would a single file take less disk space? Is it enough that it should considered as a method of managing files? Are there any other advantages or disadvantages?


Thanks in advance.
 
On average, roughly how large are your files that contain only one texture? Are your files only a few hundred pixels on a side, or are they huge expanses of textured terrain that can be zoomed into (i.e., over 10k pixels on a side)?

Also, on average, how many textures do you typically have per image, and how many images are we talking about: a few dozen, thousands, tens of thousands?

A lot will depend on your answers to these questions. HD prices are at an all time low, so if you are talking about total storage requirements of under a TB or two, don't sweat over the decision. Do whatever is most convenient for you. These days you can pick up a 6 GB internal drive for under $100.

However, if you are talking about tens or even hundreds of TB of total storage, then you will need to consider factors such as those you mentioned. For example, if you put each texture in its own PSD file, you will likely want to have a copy of the base layer in each file for ease of viewing each texture in context. This will needlessly duplicate the base layer in each file, and thereby waste storage.

OTOH, if you stack a large bunch of textures in one PSD or PSB file, you will have the convenience of easily switching between them, combining several textures, etc., BUT, if each of these files is large, there's a good chance you will need a computer that has more RAM, fast HD's or SSD's so read and write times aren't absurdly long, and a faster computer to handle these many-layer files.

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

Tom M

PS - Also, don't forget that if you are doing this professionally, then you have to factor in the necessity of having a rotating backup plan -- maybe two or three HD's, one on-site, and a couple of offsite backups of different vintages.
 
Whoops. I found the advertisement and read it more carefully this time. I made an error.

I had done a quick search to check current prices, and in one of those lines of small 1" x 1" advertisements that Google inserts when you do a search, I spotted one from Seagate that said "6 G". Unfortunately, I didn't notice that the frame truncated the 6 Gb/sec spec at the edge of the frame, to say just "6 G"! Stupidly, I didn't take the time to click on it and read it carefully. It was actually $260 USD. :redface:

My sincere thanks for catching it. Still, the price per Gig is still astonishingly low, IMHO.

Tom
 
Thank you for the input.

The images aren't professional, that is for sure. Size-wise they are generic RGB images ranging from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048.
The issue of memory space taken by the single master file *is* a consideration (mostly for performance, not lack of memory space).

I will admit that master files are attractive because you can have multiple color layer groups that you can easily show/hide, while all the shading (such as ambient occlusion) sits in it's own group.

Getting a new drive is on my list, but it falls after bills and living expenses right now (we just moved in RL, so money is kinda short).

I'll do some testing also to see what the file size results are.

Thanks again. :)
 
Sounds like a good plan. We'll be here when you get some actual numbers.

Also, to be honest, I'm a bit worried about your statement, "getting a new drive (ie, singular) is on my list". If you haven't faced the misery of a major data loss, one that may contain tens of thousands of hours of work that you did in PS, then you would always be talking about purchasing drives in pairs to provide for a suitable backup. As the old saying goes, "it's not IF a drive will fail, it's WHEN the drive will fail".

Tom M
 
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