Beantextures is now available at the official extensions marketplace. Simply open Blender and search for it to get started!
Beantextures does two things: generate image switching shader node group(s) and then expose the image index property in pose mode—no more than that. You still get to set up your rig the way you want it to be!
beantextures-with-bone.mp4
Here's an example of a more practical usage: (you can get the model here)
on-rig.mp4
Beantextures is only compatible with Blender ≥4.0.
Well, it automates the actual switch node generation, with the best1 approach to 2D image-switching animation (mix nodes)!
At least that's it for the node group generator. But whether the node properties controller makes your life simpler or not is totally subjective; at least it does for me. The Bean rig setup I made previously was done in just 2 days; it may take longer if I have to rely solely on drivers (the common approach).
Node Generation
- 🖼️ Supports 4 image indexing types: standard single integers, ranged integers, ranged floats, and most importantly, enums! (a.k.a dropdown items)
- ⬛ Output alpha channel of the active image
- ❓ Specify a fallback image when the index doesn't correspond to any image texture
Pose Mode Properties Display
- 📑 Choose between Pie menu/list pop-up
- 🌀 Custom icons for each item
- 🏷️ Sort the order of properties as you wish
See CONTRIBUTING.md.
- Original icon picker code: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender-addons/src/branch/main/development_icon_get.py
- Labirhin, whose work became my main inspiration for writing this add-on.
Footnotes
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Based on my research, the approach this add-on uses is the most future-proof and flexible one—not the absolute fastest one, though. You can read my devlog(s) for more information: https://daringcuteseal.github.io/blog/beantextures-devlog-2/ ↩