With the OD Tools Asset Library, it is possible to directly use Quixel Megascan assets that are downloaded from Quixel Bridge within Houdini.
OD Tools automates the process of setting up LODs, variations, building renderer-specific materials, naming, and scaling your Megascan assets to seamlessly use your Quixel Megascan library within Houdini.
<aside> 💡 Currently supported Quixel assets include 3D Assets, 3D Plants, Surfaces, and Atlases.
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First, add the Quixel directories to your Asset Library:
Above we can see the Quixel directories (3d, 3dplant, surface, and atlas) added to the Asset Library using the "Add Path" function in the right-click menu of the Folder Management Tab.
After adding the directories, enable Megascan mode by right-clicking each directory and selecting "Edit/Set as Megascan Library".
Once set up, ODTools will automatically build a preview gallery in the Library pane that is searchable, filterable, and taggable. These assets can be dragged and dropped from the Library pane into your scene or network pane, or double-clicked to add to your /obj/ context. See the Usage of Assets section for more information.
<aside> 💡 If you are experiencing weird import errors, there’s a few things to check:
check that the Asset was a recently download. Megascans changed the format at some point in time, and only the latest format is supported. Quixel also seems to name files differently when downloading the via the www site, compared to using the bridge. Only assets via the bridge are supported, So often, downloading the asset from the bridge again fixes the import issue.
Make sure, that the import method in the preferences for megascan import is set correctly and corresponds to your actually downloaded assets. If you have downloaded alembics, make sure the option abc is selected, otherwise fbx. Choosing a filetype that is not the one that you have downloaded, will result in an error.
Make sure you have ‘megascans’ (case insensitive) somewhere in the path for the library, as certain material decisions rely on it (such as using the sprite material for redshift setups). Its case insensitive.
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