by Nikita Akimov·VFX
Images © Nikita Akimov. Used for product review; image policy.
Blaster earns its place in the superhive library as a focused add-on for one job: turning a curve into a blaster or magic beam through a single Blast Along Curve button, with static or animated output across a range of supported Blender versions.
Blaster is a Blender add-on for quickly creating blaster and magic beams. To build a beam, add a curve to the scene, set the shape you want, and click the Blast Along Curve button in the add-on panel. The basic parameters of the created ray can be adjusted from the same panel.
Beams can be left static or given a default animation by enabling the Add Default Animation checkbox and setting the animation start and end frames. If you need to rebuild the previous ray, the Recreate Last checkbox brings it back. The add-on lives in the 3D Viewport N panel under a Blaster tab.
Blaster works across a range of Blender releases, from 2.93 through 4.2, and installs from a downloaded zip archive through the Add-ons section of Blender's Preferences window. It suits simple visual effects, blaster beams for sci-fi weapons, and magic rays for fantasy scenes. A demo video is available.
Blaster is best for creating blaster beams for sci-fi weapons, magic rays for fantasy scenes, and simple visual effects in Blender.
Blaster is completely free to download and use.
Blaster supports a broad span of Blender releases, from 2.93 through 4.2, including the 3.x series such as 3.0, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6. This range covers both older projects still on 2.93 and more recent setups on the 4.x line. The add-on listed here is at version 1.1.4. If you are unsure whether your exact Blender build is covered, check the developer's page before installing so you can match the add-on to the version you run.
Blaster appears in the 3D Viewport window, inside the N panel under a tab named Blaster. From that tab you set the beam shape, adjust the basic parameters of the created ray, and click the Blast Along Curve button after adding a curve to your scene. The same panel also holds the Add Default Animation and Recreate Last checkboxes, so the whole workflow stays in one place within the viewport as you build each beam.
Blaster installs like a standard Blender add-on. Download the zip archive containing the add-on, then open Blender's Preferences window, go to the Add-ons section, choose Install, and point it to the downloaded archive. Once enabled, the add-on becomes available in the 3D Viewport N panel under the Blaster tab. The listing here is for version 1.1.4, and the add-on is distributed under the GPL license, so review the developer's page for the current download.
Blaster can produce both static and animated beams. By default a beam is created without motion, but enabling the Add Default Animation checkbox applies a default animation, and you set the animation start and end frames yourself. If you want to rebuild the last ray you made, the Recreate Last checkbox restores it. These controls sit in the Blaster panel alongside the basic ray parameters, so you can toggle animation on or off as you build each beam.
Blaster is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing and pricing can change, and the add-on is distributed under the GPL license, so check the developer's page for the current terms before you download. The version listed here is 1.1.4, and it covers Blender releases from 2.93 through 4.2. Whatever the licensing, installation follows the standard route through Blender's Preferences window and the Add-ons section.
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