Applying Non-Destructive Edits To Nested Instances For Efficient Rendering

A system, comprising:

• at least one computing device configured to implement one or more services, wherein the one or more services are configured to:
• (a) receive a request to replicate a digital object in a scene description of a scene to be represented by one or more computer-generated images;
• (b) generate, to produce a plurality of object instances in the scene description, a first data structure associating the digital object with the plurality of object instances, each instance of the plurality of object instances corresponding to a position that an instance of the digital object is to appear in the scene, the first data structure including a first set of characteristics of the plurality of object instances that includes the position;
• (c) receive a selection of a selected object instance of the plurality of object instances;
• (d) receive an instruction to customize a characteristic of the selected object instance;
• (e) produce a customized characteristic of the selected object instance by generating a second data structure associating the customized characteristic with the first data structure;
• and
• (f) render the plurality of object instances such that the customized characteristic of the second data structure supersedes the characteristic of the digital object in the first data structure.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, as a result of execution by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the at least one computing device to at least:

• (a) receive a request to replicate a digital object in a scene description of a scene to be represented by one or more computer-generated images;
• (b) generate, to produce a plurality of object instances in the scene description, a first data structure associating the digital object with the plurality of object instances, each instance of the plurality of object instances corresponding to a position that an instance of the digital object is to appear in the scene, the first data structure including a first set of characteristics of the plurality of object instances that includes the position;
• (c) receive a selection of a selected object instance of the plurality of object instances;
• (d) receive an instruction to customize a characteristic of the selected object instance;
• (e) produce a customized characteristic of the selected object instance by generating a second data structure associating the customized characteristic with the first data structure;
• and
• (f) render the plurality of object instances such that the customized characteristic of the second data structure supersedes the characteristic of the digital object in the first data structure.