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BLBlender

Better Baking

by Erasers45-Studios·Workflow

Images © Erasers45-Studios. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Better Baking stands out in the Superhive library for wrapping Blender's native bake settings in a dedicated panel, with detailed error messages to help users work through common baking problems on their own.

What is Better Baking?

Better Baking is a Blender add-on built to simplify baking textures for all kinds of users. It comes with its own panel and an interface that covers both old and new functions. A quick baking list gives fast access to common PBR texture types, including Ambient Occlusion, Diffuse, Roughness, Emission, and Normal, which you add to the baking queue.

A custom mode lets you save your own settings in the material and bake settings to handle masks, metallic textures, and other more complex setups. You can export multiple texture resolutions at the same time and use Multibaking to bake textures from several objects at once, though Selected to Active is disabled in that mode. Detailed error messages and an error console help you resolve common problems, and the add-on also supports Selected to Active and Bake from Multires.

Better Baking does not bake to vertex colors, and materials used for PBR baking must be based on Principled BSDF, Emission, or Mix Shader nodes; Glass BSDF is not supported. It is released under the GPL license, and a demo video is available.

Who is Better Baking best for?

Better Baking is best for blender users baking PBR textures who want quick access to common map types and a custom mode for saving their own material and bake settings.

How much does Better Baking cost?

Better Baking is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Quick baking list for common PBR texture types: Ambient Occlusion, Diffuse, Roughness, Emission, and Normal
  • Custom mode to save your own material and bake settings for masks, metallic textures, and more complex setups
  • Export multiple texture resolutions simultaneously
  • Multibaking to bake textures from several objects at once
  • Detailed error messages and an error console for resolving common baking errors
  • Support for the Selected to Active and Bake from Multires modes
  • Dedicated panel with an interface covering old and new functions

Tags

#texture baking#PBR#Blender add-on#baking#Multibaking#workflow#Normal maps

Frequently asked questions

Which Blender versions does Better Baking support?

Better Baking is compatible with Blender 4.2, 4.1, and 4.0, and it was first released for Blender 4.0 and later. Version 1.1.0, from September 2024, added support for the Blender 4.2 extension format and fixed a crash that occurred when purging files in Blender 4.2, along with a fix for default values resetting after custom baking options. Earlier updates brought a Blender 4.1 patch and initial 4.2 support. Check the developer's page to confirm current compatibility before installing.

Can Better Baking bake to vertex colors?

Better Baking does not support baking to vertex colors. Its baking process is optimized for baking textures and exporting them rather than writing color data to mesh vertices. If your workflow depends on vertex color bakes, this add-on will not cover that step. For texture-based PBR baking, it provides a quick list of common map types and a custom mode for your own settings, so it fits texture and image-map workflows more than vertex-based ones.

What shaders does Better Baking work with for PBR baking?

Better Baking requires materials based on the Principled BSDF, Emission, or Mix Shader nodes for PBR baking. Other shaders, such as the Glass BSDF, are not supported. If a material uses an unsupported shader, you would need to rebuild it around one of the supported node types before baking. This keeps the add-on focused on standard PBR setups, which cover the Ambient Occlusion, Diffuse, Roughness, Emission, and Normal maps it lists for quick baking.

Does Better Baking let you bake from multiple objects at once?

Better Baking supports Multibaking, which lets you bake textures from several objects at the same time, and you can add as many objects to the baking queue as you need. Keep in mind that the Selected to Active mode is disabled while working this way. The add-on also supports Selected to Active and Bake from Multires as separate modes, and it can export multiple texture resolutions simultaneously, so you can produce several outputs in one pass.

Is Better Baking free, and what license does it use?

Better Baking is listed as free in this catalog, and it is distributed under the GPL license. Pricing and licensing terms can change over time, so check the developer's page for the current details before you download. The add-on is provided as a Blender extension and add-on, and the developer also runs a Discord server where you can ask questions, share suggestions, or report issues you run into while baking.

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