Bpainter V2.0 Rc4: What's New, What's Improved, and How to Use It
Blender Bpainter V2.0 Rc4: A Powerful Painting Addon for Blender
If you are a Blender user who wants to create stunning textures for your 3D models, you might have encountered some challenges with the default painting tools in Blender. You might have found them too low-level, too cluttered, or too limited for your needs. You might have wished for a more intuitive, efficient, and powerful painting workflow that lets you unleash your creativity.
Blender – Bpainter V2.0 Rc4
If that sounds like you, then you might want to check out Bpainter V2.0 Rc4, a powerful painting addon for Blender that aims to improve the texture painting experience and create a workflow that is focused on efficiency. In this article, we will introduce you to Bpainter, its features, how to install and use it, how it compares with other painting addons, and answer some frequently asked questions.
Introduction
What is Blender?
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite that supports the entire 3D pipeline from modeling, sculpting, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, video editing, and game creation. Blender is used by millions of artists, hobbyists, professionals, and studios around the world for various purposes such as film, TV, games, architecture, education, and more.
What is Bpainter?
Bpainter is a powerful painting addon for Blender that offers a different set of features for Blenders Internal and Cycles Renderer. Bpainter was created by Andreas Esau, a professional 3D artist and developer who has been working with Blender for over 10 years. Bpainter was first released in 2016 and has since been updated to version 2.0 Rc4 in December 2021.
Why use Bpainter?
Bpainter solves quite a few issues that you might encounter with the default painting tools in Blender. Here are some of the reasons why you might want to use Bpainter:
Bpainter offers an intuitive layersystem that you probably know from 2D painting apps. You can easily add, rearrange, merge, and delete paint layers with access to layer masks, adjustment layers, and procedural layers.
Bpainter gives you all important functions at hand with a clean and optimized user interface. You don't have to deal with UI clutter or unnecessary settings that hinder your painting workflow.
Bpainter delivers a universal brush library that is available in any blendfile. You don't have to append any brushes from blendfiles or search for them online. You can also easily adjust or create new brushes with custom settings and textures.
Bpainter makes assigning textures to brushes as easy as copying your image file into a folder. Bpainter ships with a set of textures that you can use for your brushes or stencils. You can also add your own custom textures with direct access in Bpainter.
Bpainter offers a variety of layer blendmodes that you can use to create different effects on your paint layers. You can use blendmodes such as multiply, overlay, screen, color, and more to achieve different results.
Bpainter allows you to create and use colorpallettes for your painting projects. You can easily pick colors from a predefined set of pallettes or create your own custom pallettes with the colorpicker.
Bpainter improves the colorpicker functionality with a new HSV circle and a color history. You can also use the eyedropper tool to pick colors from any part of the screen, not just from the 3D viewport.
Bpainter introduces a new map generator that lets you create procedural textures such as noise, clouds, wood, marble, and more. You can use these textures as paint layers or as masks for other layers.
Bpainter adds a new pixel brush that lets you paint pixel art directly in Blender. You can adjust the pixel size and the grid size to create different styles of pixel art.
Bpainter enhances the gradient functionality with a new gradient tool and a gradient editor. You can easily create and edit gradients with different colors and interpolation modes. You can also use gradients as paint layers or as masks for other layers.
Bpainter enables you to select different UV layouts for your painting objects. You can switch between different UV maps or create new ones with Bpainter. You can also preview the UV layout in the 3D viewport or in the image editor.
How to Install and Use Bpainter V2.0 Rc4
Installation Steps
To install Bpainter V2.0 Rc4, you need to follow these steps:
Download the Bpainter zip file from the official website or from Blender Market. Make sure you download the correct version for your Blender version (2.8x or 2.9x).
Open Blender and go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons. Click on the Install button and navigate to the Bpainter zip file. Select it and click on Install Add-on.
Enable the Bpainter addon by checking the box next to it. You should see a new tab called Bpainter in the sidebar of the 3D viewport.
Optionally, you can customize some settings of Bpainter in the Preferences panel. You can change the UI theme, the brush size, the texture folder path, and more.
Basic Workflow
To use Bpainter V2.0 Rc4, you need to follow these steps:
Select an object that you want to paint on in Object Mode. Make sure it has a UV map and a material assigned to it.
Switch to Texture Paint Mode by pressing Ctrl + Tab and selecting Texture Paint from the pie menu.
In the Bpainter tab, click on the New Paint Layer button to create a new paint layer for your object. You can name it, assign it a color, and choose its resolution.
Select a brush from the Brush Library panel or create your own brush with custom settings and textures. You can also adjust some brush parameters such as size, strength, spacing, angle, etc.
Start painting on your object in the 3D viewport. You can use different tools such as draw, fill, smear, clone, mask, etc. You can also use stencils or textures to paint with more detail.
Add more paint layers as needed and use different layer blendmodes to create different effects on your object. You can also add layer masks, adjustment layers, or procedural layers to modify your paint layers.
Save your work by clicking on the Save All Images button in the Bpainter tab. This will save all your paint layers as image files in your project folder.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks that you can use to improve your painting workflow with Bpainter V2.0 Rc4:
You can use shortcuts to access some common functions of Bpainter such as Shift + Q to toggle Bpainter UI on/off, Shift + W to toggle wireframe mode on/off, Shift + E to toggle stencil mode on/off, etc.
You can use hotkeys to change some brush parameters such as F to change brush size, Shift + F to change brush strength, Ctrl + F to change brush angle, etc.
You can use modifiers to change some brush behaviors such as Ctrl + LMB to erase with any brush, Shift + LMB to smooth with any brush, Alt + LMB to pick color with any brush, etc.
You can use the colorpicker to create and use colorpallettes for your painting projects. You can also use the color history to access the colors you have used recently.
You can use the map generator to create procedural textures for your paint layers or masks. You can adjust the parameters of the textures such as scale, contrast, distortion, etc.
You can use the pixel brush to paint pixel art directly in Blender. You can change the pixel size and the grid size to create different styles of pixel art.
You can use the gradient tool and the gradient editor to create and edit gradients for your paint layers or masks. You can change the colors and the interpolation modes of the gradients.
You can use the UV layout selection to switch between different UV maps or create new ones for your painting objects. You can also preview the UV layout in the 3D viewport or in the image editor.
Comparison with Other Painting Addons
Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 is not the only painting addon available for Blender. There are other addons that offer similar or different features for texture painting in Blender. Here are some of them and how they compare with Bpainter:
Texture Paint Plus
Texture Paint Plus is a free and open-source addon that extends the functionality of Blender's texture paint mode. It adds features such as layer groups, layer effects, layer masks, adjustment layers, procedural layers, brush presets, brush textures, stencils, colorpallettes, colorpicker, gradient tool, fill tool, clone tool, etc.
Texture Paint Plus is similar to Bpainter in many ways, but it also has some differences. For example, Texture Paint Plus has more layer effects than Bpainter, such as blur, sharpen, emboss, etc. However, Bpainter has more layer blendmodes than Texture Paint Plus, such as color burn, color dodge, linear light, etc. Texture Paint Plus also has some features that Bpainter does not have, such as layer groups and adjustment layers. However, Bpainter also has some features that Texture Paint Plus does not have, such as universal brush library, easy texture access, improved colorpicker, new map generator, new pixel brush, gradient functionality, and UV layout selection.
ArmorPaint
ArmorPaint is a standalone software that is designed for 3D painting. It is based on Blender's Cycles render engine and supports PBR materials and textures. It offers features such as layersystem, layer masks, layer blendmodes, brush presets, brush textures, stencils, colorpallettes, colorpicker, gradient tool, fill tool, clone tool, noise tool, curvature tool, smart materials, smart masks, baking, exporting, etc.
ArmorPaint is different from Bpainter in many ways, as it is not an addon for Blender but a separate software. ArmorPaint has some advantages over Bpainter, such as faster performance, higher resolution, more advanced features, and more frequent updates. However, Bpainter also has some advantages over ArmorPaint, such as lower price, better integration with Blender, more intuitive UI, and more user-friendly workflow.
Substance Painter
Substance Painter is a professional software that is widely used for 3D painting. It is based on Substance Engine and supports PBR materials and textures. It offers features such as layersystem, layer masks, layer blendmodes, brush presets, brush textures, stencils, colorpallettes, colorpicker, gradient tool, fill tool, clone tool, projection tool, particle brushes, smart materials, smart masks, generators, filters, baking, exporting, etc.
Substance Painter is the most advanced and feature-rich software for 3D painting. It has many features that Bpainter does not have, such as projection tool, particle brushes, generators, filters, etc. However, Substance Painter also has some drawbacks compared to Bpainter, such as higher price, steeper learning curve, less integration with Blender, and more complex UI.
Conclusion
Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 is a powerful painting addon for Blender that improves the texture painting experience and creates a workflow that is focused on efficiency. It offers features such as intuitive layersystem and UI, universal brush library, easy texture access, layer blendmodes, colorpallettes, improved colorpicker, new map generator, new pixel brush, gradient functionality, and UV layout selection. It also compares well with other painting addons such as Texture Paint Plus, ArmorPaint, and Substance Painter.
If you are interested in Bpainter V2.0 Rc4, you can buy it from the official website or from Blender Market for $39.99. You can also watch some tutorials and demos on YouTube or join the Discord server for support and feedback.
We hope this article has helped you learn more about Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 and how to use it for your painting projects. Happy painting!
FAQs
What are the system requirements for Bpainter V2.0 Rc4?
Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 requires Blender 2.8x or 2.9x and a graphics card that supports OpenGL 3.3 or higher. It also requires at least 4 GB of RAM and 1 GB of disk space.
How can I update Bpainter V2.0 Rc4?
You can update Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 by downloading the latest version from the official website or from Blender Market and installing it over the previous version. You don't need to uninstall the previous version or lose your settings.
How can I get support for Bpainter V2.0 Rc4?
You can get support for Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 by joining the Discord server or sending an email to bpainter@ndee.art. You can also check the documentation or the FAQ page on the official website for more information.
How can I request new features or report bugs for Bpainter V2.0 Rc4?
You can request new features or report bugs for Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 by creating an issue on GitHub or by posting on the Discord server or the Blender Market page. Please provide as much detail as possible and include screenshots or videos if possible.
How can I learn more about Bpainter V2.0 Rc4?
You can learn more about Bpainter V2.0 Rc4 by watching some tutorials and demos on YouTube or by following the official Twitter account or the Facebook page. dcd2dc6462