Friday, December 13th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D claymationhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Animator and educator Daniel Martnez Lara has released ClayPencil, a free Blender add-on that can be used to convert 2D animations to claymation-style 3D.The Geometry Nodes set-up fills outlines created using Blenders Grease Pencil 2D animation toolset with 3D geometry, making it possible to create 3D animation using 2D techniques.Convert Grease Pencil outlines to animatable 3D geometryClayPencil according to Martnez Lara, the name really refers to the animation technique rather than the add-on itself makes use of the recent changes to Grease Pencil in Blender 4.3.In particular, it is now possible to modify Grease Pencil objects using Geometry Nodes, Blenders node-based 3D modeling framework.The ClayPencil Geometry Nodes set-up makes it possible to convert Grease Pencil strokes from 2D to 3D, or to fill Grease Pencil outlines with solid geometry.That means that with manual refinement, and after applying a suitable clay shader it can be used to convert 2D animations to 3D animations that resemble traditional claymation.An experimental but promising initial releaseMartnez Lara describes the initial release of ClayPencil as highly experimental, so users are warned to expect glitches.However, early adopters are already getting good results with it, as you can see from demo videos like the one above from animator and illustrator Ron Letkeman.The download comes with the base Blender .blend scene file, plus two demo scenes, including the cowboy character shown in the video at the top of this story.System requirements and release dateClayPencil 0.1 is compatible with Blender 4.3. Its a free download.Download free Blender animation add-on ClayPencil from GumroadSee more demos of ClayPencil on the Pepe School Land YouTube channelHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaCheck out the popular GPU-accelerated UV packing and UV stacking tool, now available for Maya as well as Blender.Friday, December 13th, 2024Blender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Neat free Geometry Nodes setup lets you create 3D animation using 2D workflows in Blender's Grease Pencil toolset.Friday, December 13th, 2024Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaNext major update to Nuke introduces native multishot compositing, and improves roto performance and BlinkScript editing.Thursday, December 12th, 2024Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpSketchUp edition of the renderer gets support for 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for lighting, and new material override options.Thursday, December 12th, 2024The new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Katana 8.0Check out the new features in the lighting and look development software, including support for USD export and USD roundtripping.Tuesday, December 10th, 2024More NewsFoundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaOlder Posts