Get the Blender Studio’s free Brushstroke Tools for Blender
The Blender Studio has released the Brushstroke Tools, a free Blender extension for applying painterly brushstrokes to the surface of 3D models.
The add-on, developed for Blender Studio tech showcase Project Gold, lets users create and edit layers of procedurally generated 3D brushstrokes.
With it, users can generate stylized looks for 3D assets while texturing them for use in illustrations, animations, game development or motion graphics projects.
Generate painterly brushstrokes across the surface of a 3D model to create stylized looks
The Brushstroke Tools were developed as part of the R&D work for Project Gold: originally a painterly 3D short, but later scaled back to a showcase of stylized asset creation techniques.
It makes it possible to apply brushstrokes to the surface of 3D models, either filling the entire mesh surface with procedurally generated strokes, or drawing directly onto the surface.
The brushstrokes can be applied in layers, with the option to control the shape and visual style of the strokes on a layer-by-layer basis, along with the material and effects applied.
The extension mimics a range of natural media types, as shown in this online workshop, with future add-on packs due to add support for a wider range of brushstroke styles.
For animation, the brushstroke layers should deform with the mesh surface, and there is an experimental option to animate the drawing of the strokes, as with the Grease Pencil toolset.
License and system requirements
The Brushstroke Tools extension is compatible with Blender 4.2+. It is available under an open-source GPL license.
Download the free Brushstroke Tools extension for Blender
Read more about the Brushstroke Tools extension in the online documentation
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