- The loop tools addon can be found in the preferences and is really useful for editing meshes quickly and easily.My website www.gabbitt.co.ukdiscord server ht.
- These are the top 10 Blender 2.8 modeling addons and plugins that might surprise even experienced Blender users. Plus, 3 of them are free.If you’ve made the.
For artists that must work with Blender every day to make architectural visualization images like us, any opportunity to save time and add new features is welcome. The easiest way of doing that is with the use of Add-ons. If you are new to Blender, an Add-on works like a plugin that you install to work with the software. The Add-on can help you in many ways, like improving modeling tools or even offering new render engines.
Some of those Add-ons are free to download and use, and others require a purchase. Depe
A lot of addons have been reworked to work in Blender 2.80 and a google search might help you find a newer version of the addon you are trying to get to work. For example, the popular textool addon is made for blender version 2.79, and at the time of this writing, there is.
In architectural visualization, we have a couple of Add-ons that we can easily say are a must-have for giving us shortcuts and new tools to save an incredible amount of time in projects. One of those Add-ons that can easily appear in any “must-have” list is the Photographer from developer Michel Chafouin.
As the name implies, it is an Add-on that transforms your camera controls in Blender by expanding the options with a lot more controls like:
- Exposure using real camera settings (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed) or more artist-friendly controls (EV value)
- Motion Blur control using Shutter Speed or Shutter Angle
- White Balancing with viewport picker
- Resolution per camera with artist-friendly presets
- Autofocus (Single, Continuous or Tracking)
- Camera list and Master Camera that can switch between cameras
The Add-on has two main versions at the moment:
What is the difference? With version 3, you get a lot more features like Physical light units and Auto Exposure for your Viewport. The premium version receives frequent updates in comparison to the free Add-on.
In the future, we will post more information about the features present on the premium version.
What do you get with the Photographer 2? First, you must download the Add-on from Gumroad. It uses a “fair price” model where you can give the author any value before a download. It accepts even a value of zero, which triggers a free download.
After downloading it and installing the Add-on in Blender, you will see a lot of new features in the camera settings. Here is a comparison:
Here are only the options available for Photographer 2:
As you can see from both images, you get a significant upgrade in camera settings for Blender. That is a huge help in architectural renders because a camera with optimized settings improves realism.
For instance, you can control aspects such as Exposure and White Balance with extended settings. One little feature that we find particularly useful in Photographer is the ability to add new cameras on the fly. If you open the 3D Viewport Sidebar, you find new options to add and manage cameras.
If you find a new viewing angle to render, press the “Add Camera” button to create a new camera aligned with that view. Below those buttons, you also have a list of all existing cameras at the scene.
Like we mentioned before, Photographer 2 is one of the most useful Add-ons to handle cameras for Blender and architectural projects. Did I mention it is a free download?
By the way, the free version works fine in Blender 2.90.
Using Blender for architecture
Best Add-ons For Wow
Do you want to use Blender for architecture or render your projects using Cycles or Eevee? We have three books available that could help you!
They cover the use of Blender for producing architectural content and also all information you need to render projects in real-time:
You can get them in both digital and paperback formats. By ordering those books, you will not only improve your skills with Blender for architecture but also support Blender 3D Architect.
The Blender core tools offer a wide range of options to create 3d models for architecture and render them in Cycles. But, if you want to go further or speed up your modeling, an Add-on might give you the tools you need to decrease production time.
Add-ons in Blender works like a plugin, where you add new tools and functions by installing a small script. Some of those scripts may even come with Blender; you just have enabled it to start using the tools.
What are the scripts that you should start using with Blender for architectural visualization? We made a list that features some of the tools you should consider using.
Add-ons for architectural visualization
- Archimesh: A great collection of tools for architectural modeling in Blender that will enable you to create doors, windows and more. Included with Blender.
- Archipack: Along with Archimesh you will find here a robust set of tools to create not only windows and doors but also walls with parametric controls. Included with Blender.
- TinyCAD: Have you ever wished that Blender had CAD-like tools for modeling like trim or extend tools? When you enable this powerful Add-on, you will see those options in the Specials Menu (W key in Edit Mode). If you want to do modeling from scratch in Blender, that is an Add-on that will save you a lot of time. Included with Blender.
- MeasureIt: Do you want to create 3d models that will help you develop an architectural project? Using the MeasureIt Add-on, you can add dimension lines to multiple objects and dimensions with a single click. And also render that to an image. Included with Blender.
- SKP Importer/Exporter: SketchUp is a software that is popular among architectural offices and having the ability to import SKP files will help you a lot in some cases. If you receive a 3d model that needs further development or just a “special†treatment in Cycles, you can import that to Blender using this Add-on.
- Camera calibration: When you need to render a scene to match with a photo, using this Add-on you help you to align the Blender camera to any image.
- Grass Free: In exterior visualization projects where you have to use grass, having a plugin like Grass Free is essential. It will create large grass surfaces for you with just few mouse clicks. Here is a guide about how to create grass for architecture using the Add-on.
- Exact Edit: A great set of tools that will enable you to either fix or set dimensions for architectural elements, by typing the values you want. We made a quick guide about how to use it for precision modeling.
With time we will update the list to include more Add-ons, but the options in the list will already boost your productivity in Blender.
If you want to learn about how they work, we included a lot of them in our course about architectural modeling with Blender.
Blender Addons 2020
Did we miss any Add-on? Feel free to share in the comments any other Add-ons you think should be on the list.