Importing custom assets into Nifty Island
In this article, we will demonstrate how to import your own assets into Nifty Island to create a personalized experience
Premise
In this article, we will demonstrate how to import your own assets into Nifty Island to create a personalized experience. If you don’t have any assets of your own, you can follow along using our Open Source assets available for public use in this Github repository.
The mission
Import an asset pack with custom .glb assets and integrate them inside our Nifty Island to build a unique environment.
Setting-up your assets
In this case, we are preparing an asset pack of 6 different rocks we have previously created. They look like this:
When setting up the assets, it’s important to identify the type of asset we are working with. In Nifty Island, there is a list specifying the type of assets you can import, and each type must to be optimized differently, following specific restrictions. Make sure to consult the Nifty Island Creator Docs to understand the restrictions associated with the type of asset you are working with.
In this case, we are working with “Rock” type assets. Let’s review the most important considerations when setting up our models before importing.
Restrictions and Optimization
- Asset scale: the dimensions of the rock assets should be within a bounding box of (X: 7, Y: 7, Z: 7) scale. While this might seem like a restrictive requirement, it’s important to note that when you place the asset in your island, you can always scale it up or down to fit your specific needs.
- UVs layout: another crucial point to note is that Nifty Island doesn’t support the use of UDIMs. While UDIMs could be beneficial in some cases to enhance the resolution of your asset by tiling a seamless texture, it’s essential to keep your UVs within the default UV area for properly functionality.
- Triangles, mesh count, textures and materials count: these restrictions are an aproximate recommendiations for each type of asset. Adhering to these guidelines ensures that your asset is optimized and works seamlessly within the engine. In our case, all of our rocks are approximately 1100 triangles, consist of 1 mesh, 2 materials and 2 textures, each with dimensions of 1024x1024.
Importing the assets
Now that our assets are ready, let’s see how to bring them to Nifty Island.
First of all, export each asset independently in .glb format. Then, go to the Create section inside the Nifty website.
Here, you can upload your recently exported .glb files by dragging and dropping them into the designated area.
The platform will prompt your to specify which asset type corresponds to each .glb file. In our case, click on “Show All” and then on “Rock” to select the correct type.
Once you are done setting up the asset types, you can optionally change the name of each asset if you want. Then, click on “Start Build” below, so the platform begins processing your assets.
Next, you will be able to choose the name of your asset pack in case you are uploading more than one asset at once, which is our case. You can also add a description and tags, which is also optional.
The following step allows us to choose the Blockchain in which we are minting our assets, set the amount of supply available, and specify Creator Royalties in case we want to charge a percentage if secondary sales occur. Then, choose the wallet that would receive said payments.
The last step is to choose a minting method. The platform provides a brief explaination so you can select your preferred method based on your needs.
Then, check the Creator Agreement and click on Create. If your assets haven’t processed yet, you will have to wait some extra minutes until you can click on Create.
And it’s done! Check your inventory to find your recently created asset pack.
Using the assets
Now the fun part: go to your Nifty Island and start placing the assets inside the editor!
You can find them by searching the name in the search bar of the Editor’s asset tool.
Now, simply click on them and start placing them inside the scene. With enough patience and creativity, you can create awesome-looking scenes. Have fun!
Conclusion
Using custom assets inside Nifty Island can feel a bit complicated at first, given the many steps, restrictions, and considerations. However, once you have imorted your first asset pack, it becomes very simple. This workflow enables you to create the most unique and awesome-looking scenes on the platform!
