by Nikita Akimov·Motion Graphics
Images © Nikita Akimov. Used for product review; image policy.
Carousel earns its place in the superhive library by keeping the whole turntable workflow inside Blender's N-panel, from camera placement to frame rendering. The one-click automatic mode covers fast setups, while the manual mode's point cloud gives control over camera distance and position. A demo video is available.
Carousel is a Blender add-on for quick and easy creation of turntable, or spin 360, animations. It's aimed at authors and 3D model distributors who want to present their models. All of its controls sit in the 3D Viewport's N-panel under a Carousel tab, and it offers two ways to build a turntable: an automatic mode and a manual mode.
In automatic mode, you select the objects you want and press the "Turntable" button to start rendering the animation frames. The camera is positioned in the middle of the object's plane and moved to the minimum distance, so the setup is handled with a single action.
The manual mode works in steps. You set the camera parameters and frame count in the preferences, then press "Init" to create a point cloud that frames render from. "To Active" previews the view from a chosen point, and "Select Points" lets you scale the cloud to adjust distance and move points up and down. Render one point with "Render Active" or the whole sequence with "Render All", then press "Clear" to remove the added objects.
Carousel is best for authors and 3D model distributors who want to present their models with turntable spin animations.
Carousel is completely free to download and use.
Carousel is built for Blender 2.91, which is the version stated for the add-on. If you run a newer Blender release, check the developer's page before installing, since compatibility beyond 2.91 isn't specified. Once installed, Carousel appears in the 3D Viewport's N-panel under its own tab, so you reach every control for setting up and rendering a turntable from that single panel while working with your scene and selected objects.
Carousel's automatic mode is the quicker route: select the objects you want to feature, then press the "Turntable" button to begin rendering the animation frames. In this mode the camera is positioned in the middle of the object's plane and moved to the minimum distance, so framing is handled for you. It suits a quick spin without manually placing points, letting you produce a turntable sequence of your selected models with a single action after selection.
Carousel's manual mode breaks the process into steps for more control. You set the camera parameters and the number of animation frames in the add-on preferences, then press "Init" to create a point cloud that frames are rendered from. Selecting a point and pressing "To Active" previews how that frame will look, while "Select Points" lets you scale the cloud to adjust camera distance and move points up and down. Render a single point with "Render Active" or the full sequence with "Render All", then press "Clear" to remove the added objects.
Carousel is listed as free in this catalog, so you can add it to your Blender setup without a purchase here. The add-on is distributed under the GPL license. Because pricing and licensing terms can change over time, check the developer's page for the current details before you download. Once installed, all of its turntable controls are available from the Carousel tab in the 3D Viewport's N-panel, ready to use with your selected objects.
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