by osuika·Rendering
Images © osuika. Used for product review; image policy.
Blendate earns its place in the superhive library for a focused, practical job: turning Blender 3D models and animations into Playdate-ready spritesheets, complete with 1-bit dithering, custom palette support, and a Lua helper library for import.
Blendate is a Blender add-on from osuika that converts 3D models and animations into optimized spritesheets for use in Playdate games. Rather than doing manual pixel work, you use your existing 3D modeling skills to generate complete sprite sets. The add-on renders sprites from multiple angles with customizable increments and turns Blender animations into sprite sequences.
For Playdate, Blendate applies 1-bit dithering as a post-processing step and supports custom palettes. It exports PNG spritesheets with transparent backgrounds and handles both static models and animations. A Lua helper library is included to import multiple spritesheets, and it can create animation.loop objects from the rendered sprite sets.
It is compatible with Blender 4.0 through 4.4, runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and uses the Eevee render engine. Blendate is distributed under the GPL license, and a demo video is available.
Blendate is best for blender users producing sprite-based graphics and animations for Playdate games from existing 3D models.
Blendate is completely free to download and use.
Blendate is compatible with Blender 4.0 through 4.4, so recent releases within that range are supported. It is published as an add-on and uses the Eevee render engine to generate its sprites. If you are running a version between 4.0 and 4.4 on Windows, macOS, or Linux, the add-on is intended to run. For versions outside that range, check the developer's page for the latest compatibility details before installing.
Blendate runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, covering the three major desktop platforms. It works with Blender 4.0 through 4.4 and renders using the Eevee engine. The add-on handles both static models and animations, exporting PNG spritesheets with transparent backgrounds for use in Playdate games. For platform-specific setup questions or the most current details, the developer's page is the best place to look.
Blendate includes a Playdate Lua helper library that makes it easier to import multiple spritesheets. The library can create animation.loop objects from the rendered sprite sets, connecting the exported PNG spritesheets to Playdate game code. Combined with the add-on's rotation rendering and animation support, this covers both generating the sprites in Blender and bringing them into a Playdate project. Full usage details are available on the developer's page.
Blendate is listed as free in this catalog, and it is distributed under the GPL license. Licensing and pricing can change over time, so check the developer's page for current terms before you download. The add-on exports PNG spritesheets with transparent backgrounds and ships with a Lua helper library, so what you get covers both rendering the sprites and importing them into Playdate projects.
by Physical Addons
Physical Starlight and Atmosphere - Sky is a Blender addon for real-time, physics-based sky and atmosphere rendering. It works in Eevee and Cycles, using photometric measurements and analytic air mass volume calculations for scientifically accurate atmospheric scattering.
by Andrew_D
Extreme PBR Nexus is a Blender addon for managing a library of over 1800 materials, compatible with Cycles and Eevee. It includes texture painting between materials, animated water, and displacement built on native Blender modifiers.
by Community
Tri-lighting is a Blender add-on that places a three-point lighting setup on the selected or active object. Found under View3D → Add → Lights, it was previously bundled with Blender 4.1.
by Håvard Dalen
Lens Sim is a Blender addon that simulates camera lenses using real-world optical data. It extends the standard Blender camera so you can choose and render dozens of lenses in Cycles.
by pioverfour
Sun Position is a Blender add-on that positions and animates the Sun to simulate real-world natural lighting, using geographic location, time and date based on the NOAA online calculator.
by Dynamic Sky
Dynamic Sky is a Blender add-on that creates dynamic sky for the Cycles render engine. Originally authored by Pratik Solanki, it was part of Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons and is now offered as-is.
