by Denis Chera·Rendering
Images © Denis Chera. Used for product review; image policy.
Character Renderer For 2D Games is based on an answer by Tamir Lousky on blender.stackexchange, and can also be downloaded free from GitHub (without the .blend example).
Character Renderer For 2D Games is a script by Denis Chera that renders characters from Blender to 2D images, in the style of Diablo 2, for use in 2D engines such as GameMaker. It works from actions and render layers already set up in your .blend file and outputs the frames to a folder you choose.
The add-on renders every action in the file or only specific ones, controlled through Blender's fake-action system. It can render all render layers or only selected ones, letting you organise character parts across visible layers and their corresponding render layers so parts render separately. You set the number of camera angles — for example, 8 angles for the default isometric layout of 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270 and 315 degrees.
Setup involves creating an Empty named Empty and parenting your rig to it, then configuring the save path, rig name and camera angles in the Character Renderer tab of the Toolshelf. A sample .blend file with a viking character carrying a spear and shield is included for testing.
Character Renderer For 2D Games is best for blender users creating 2D sprite images of characters for use in 2D game engines like GameMaker.
Character Renderer For 2D Games is completely free to download and use.
Character Renderer For 2D Games installs through File > User Preferences > Install add-on from File, where you select the downloaded add-on and activate it. Before rendering, you create an Empty named Empty and parent your rig to it, then open the Toolshelf with the T key and scroll to the Character Renderer tab. There you set the save path for rendered animations, enter your character's rig name, and choose the number of camera angles. Once configured, the Render Fake Actions button outputs the frames to your specified folder.
Character Renderer For 2D Games renders only actions marked as Fake, shown with an F in the actions drop-down menu. You mark only the actions you want rendered, and the Render Fake Actions button processes them. The Fake All Actions and Unfake All Actions buttons are provided for convenience so you do not have to change each action by hand. Note that closing a file with actions that are not Fake may delete them completely from the project, even if the project is saved, so care is needed.
Character Renderer For 2D Games renders different parts of a character by having each part on its own visible layer, with a corresponding render layer for each visible layer. Only selected render layers are rendered with the Render Fake Actions button, so you control which parts appear in the output. Enable All Render Layers turns on every render layer so all parts render, while Disable All Render Layers turns them all off. These enable and disable buttons are provided for convenience rather than toggling each layer manually.
Character Renderer For 2D Games is listed as free in this catalog, and it can also be downloaded free from GitHub, though that version comes without the included .blend example. For current licensing terms and the full download with the viking sample file, check the developer's page. The included sample .blend can be used as you like provided you give credit to the authors, and the add-on itself is based on an answer by Tamir Lousky on blender.stackexchange.
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