Download free Blender add-on Bystedt’s Cloth Builder
Character artist Daniel Bystedt has released Bystedt’s Cloth Builder, a free cloth simulation add-on Blender.
It provides workflow features not present in the open-source software itself, and comes with a set of readymade assets, including 3D clothing and male and female characters for use as collision objects.
A handy free add-on for streamlining cloth simulation in Blender
Although Blender has its own native cloth simulation toolset, Bystedt’s Cloth Builder – strictly, it’s written without the apostrophe – streamlines the process of working with cloth in Blender.
As with the native tools, any object can be converted to cloth, and made to collide with other scene objects designated as colliders.
The add-on automates the set-up of Blender’s Cloth modifier, with vertex groups to control cloth parameters. It supports self-collision, and pressure, for creating inflatable objects.
It’s possible to control the results of the simulation by adjusting properties like bending stiffness via slider controls, or by painting weights using the built-in weight painting tools.
The add-on makes it easier to use pinning to control the shape of cloth, making it possible to pin any vertex on the cloth surface in 3D space, then move the pins around interactively in the viewport.
It’s also possible to store the state of the cloth at any point in the simulation as a Shape Key, which can then be used as the starting shape for a new simulation.
In addition, Bystedt’s Cloth Builder comes with a set of readymade assets, including items of clothing like capes, pants/trousers and sweaters, plus male and female characters for use as collision objects.
The asset browser also includes a Geometry Nodes set-up for use with the clothing that procedurally generates cloth thickness, separates the garment at the seams, and UV unwraps it.
The latest add-on from one of the Blender community’s best-known artists
Bystedt’s Cloth Builder is the second custom tool that Bystedt has released publicly, following on from Bystedt’s Blender Baker, which streamlines the process of baking texture maps and lighting.
Now senior concept artist at Goodbye Kansas Studios, Bystedt was one of the highest-profile artists to embrace Blender before its milestone 2.80 release, creating some of the key demos of its Eevee renderer.
Pricing and system requirements
Bystedt’s Cloth Builder is available for the current release of Blender. It’s a free download.
Download Bystedt’s Cloth Builder from Daniel Bystedt’s Gumroad store
(Add a voluntary donation, or enter a figure of $0 to get it for free)