by Kolupsy·Rendering
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Blender Baking Node earns its place in the superhive library as, per the developer, the only Blender tool that bakes custom normals into Normal Maps for use elsewhere. It centers on a clean, easy-to-use interface and background baking. Worth noting it doesn't yet support the high-poly to low-poly workflow.
Blender Baking Node gathers baking tools into a single node inside Blender's shader editor, giving you an alternative to the built-in baking tools. From that node you manage baking passes with different bake modes, individual settings and post-processing effects, then bake every pass at once with a single button while Blender handles the processing in the background.
All bakes run in the background without freezing the interface, so you can keep working on your project. The node logs the entire process and automatically exports the resulting textures with correct color space settings. It supports 4-channel image bakes for game art texturing and enables a workflow similar to Substance Designer, letting you build materials and export them for use in game engines or other 3D packages.
A Denoise option bakes maps with fewer samples while keeping equally smooth results. You can render an Ambient Occlusion pass with Cycles-accuracy for use on Eevee materials, and bake custom normals into Normal Maps for use in other 3D packages or Blender itself. It can bake mesh maps, though the high-poly to low-poly workflow is noted as a future update.
Blender Baking Node is best for baking texture passes in Blender for game art texturing and exporting materials to game engines or other 3D packages, including AO passes for Eevee and custom normals baked into Normal Maps.
Blender Baking Node is completely free to download and use.
Blender Baking Node lists support for Blender 2.93, 3.0 and 3.1, with update 1.1.0 adding support for Blender 3.0 and later along with a performance increase. It works with both the Cycles and Eevee render engines. The listed versions reflect what was documented for this release, so for the latest compatibility and any newer Blender builds, check the developer's page before installing. The node itself lives inside the shader editor.
Blender Baking Node can render an Ambient Occlusion pass with Cycles-accuracy to use on Eevee materials while keeping clean visuals and performance. The node works with both Cycles and Eevee, and it manages baking passes with different bake modes, individual settings and post-processing effects. Bakes run in the background, so Blender handles the processing while you keep working on your project. It also logs the entire process and exports the resulting textures with correct color space settings automatically.
Blender Baking Node can bake mesh maps but does not support the high-poly to low-poly baking workflow at this time; the developer notes it as a feature planned for a future update. What it does cover includes multiple bake passes, 4-channel image bakes for game art texturing, and baking custom normals into Normal Maps for use in other 3D packages or Blender itself. For the current state of the high-poly to low-poly feature, check the developer's page.
Blender Baking Node is listed as free here and is distributed under the GPL license. For current licensing terms and any changes, visit the developer's page, since availability and terms can shift over time. The addon comes from Kolupsy and, per update 1.0.1, includes documentation. Once installed, you access the full baking toolset from a single node in the shader editor rather than through Blender's built-in baking tools.
Blender Baking Node runs all bakes entirely in the background, so they will not freeze the interface or require you to stop working on your project. You can trigger every pass at once with a single button and let Blender process them while you continue. The node also offers a Denoise option that bakes maps with fewer samples while keeping equally smooth results, which saves time. The whole process is logged as it runs.
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