by Picto Filmo·Workflow
Images © Picto Filmo. Used for product review; image policy.
Earns its place in the superhive library for keeping reference boards inside Blender rather than a separate app, with video tools built for animation reference.
BlendRef is a Picto Filmo add-on that manages image and video references inside the Blender viewport while you sculpt, animate, or model. Its image workflow is similar to PureRef or BeeRef, but it stays part of the viewport itself, so you can zoom and move a reference without leaving the Blender interface.
The video side is aimed at animation references: you can loop any A-to-B segment and slow it down. For images, you import a folder or an individual file, arrange images in columns, flip them horizontally or vertically, rotate, and scale. Text can be added to help sort references, and gif and webm files import as movies alongside media info such as display size, format, and frame count.
References are kept in specific collections, so moving them between blend files is a matter of appending those collections. Later versions added image sequence import, Blender 3.6 compatibility, rendering, and exporting copies of selected images to a folder. BlendRef is released under the GPL license.
Blendref is best for sculptors, animators, and modelers who want image and video references available inside the Blender viewport.
Blendref is completely free to download and use.
BlendRef runs as part of the Blender viewport rather than a separate application placed over it. Because it lives inside Blender's interface, you can zoom in on a reference or move it around without switching away from Blender. Its image workflow is similar to standalone apps like PureRef or BeeRef, but the references sit within the viewport itself. One thing to know: the BlendRef window needs Show Overlays turned on to display, and in some cases hidden scene collections have to be unhidden before you can import images and movies.
BlendRef includes video reference tools aimed at animation work. You can set an A-to-B loop on any segment and slow that segment down. It also imports gif and webm files as movies and displays media info such as display size, format, and number of frames. Image sequence import was added in a later version. When you switch playback speed, the preview range follows along, so there's no need to disable and then re-enable it.
BlendRef keeps everything in specific collections, which makes moving references between projects straightforward: you append those collections from one blend file into another. A recent version also lets you rename BlendRef collections. Beyond transfer, the add-on can render and export copies of selected images to a folder. To import, you choose a folder or an individual image, and you can arrange images in columns to organise the space more easily.
BlendRef is listed as free in this catalog, and it's released under the GPL license. For current licensing or purchase details, check the developer's page from Picto Filmo. A demo video is available if you'd like to see more before installing. The add-on carries a five-star rating from a small number of reviews on its source listing. At its core, BlendRef handles image and video reference management inside Blender while you sculpt, animate, or model.
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