by atticuslv·Workflow
Images © atticuslv. Used for product review; image policy.
Color Helper earns its place in the blender_extensions library by tying palette creation, editing, and shader node output together in Blender's 3D View and Shader Node Editor side panels.
Color Helper is a Blender extension from atticuslv that brings palette work into the 3D View and Shader Node Editor side panel, where materials and look development happen. It covers palette creation, color extraction, editing, shader node generation, Pantone matching, and PNG palette export in one add-on.
Palettes can be created, copied, removed, reordered, and moved between collections, with collection-based organization for managing several at once. Colors come in from clipboard images, palette PNG files, or pasted Hex and RGB text with gamma correction. From there you can batch-generate random palettes, build harmony schemes such as analogous, complementary, split complementary, monochromatic, and triadic, adjust Hue, Saturation, and Value offsets, then sort or shuffle the results.
For shading, Color Helper creates or updates Shader Node Groups that output individual color sockets and a generated ColorRamp, insertable directly in the Shader Node Editor, with optional auto-update of linked groups when colors change. Palettes convert to Blender paint palettes or to nearest Pantone colors, and export as PNG previews individually or in batches. Version 0.8.0 runs on Blender 4.5 LTS and newer.
Color Helper is best for building, organizing, and editing color palettes for materials and look development inside Blender.
Color Helper is completely free to download and use.
Color Helper is compatible with Blender 4.5 LTS and newer, so it fits current long-term-support builds and later releases. It runs from the 3D View and Shader Node Editor side panel, placing palette tools where materials and look development happen. The current release is version 0.8.0, updated in April 2026, which moved palettes to Blender's native collapsible layout panels. For the exact list of supported builds and any newer releases, check the developer's page on GitHub before installing.
Color Helper requests two permissions in Blender. The Files permission lets it import and export palette images and assets, which covers importing colors from palette PNG files and creating PNG preview images. The Clipboard permission lets it read image and color values from the clipboard, supporting palette generation from clipboard images and pasting Hex or RGB text as colors. Both permissions map directly to the extraction and export features, and you can review them on the developer's page before installing.
Color Helper can create or update Shader Node Groups directly from your palettes. Each palette outputs individual color sockets along with a generated ColorRamp, and you can insert these node groups straight into the Shader Node Editor. There is an option to auto-update linked node groups when palette colors change, so edits carry through to connected shaders. This ties palette work to material setup inside Blender rather than keeping color choices separate from the shading workflow.
Color Helper includes a Pantone matching feature that converts palette colors to their nearest Pantone equivalents. You can also copy Pantone color names to the clipboard for use elsewhere. Alongside this, it converts Color Helper palettes into Blender paint palettes for painting workflows. These conversions extend a palette beyond shader nodes, giving you named Pantone references and paint-ready palettes from the same set of colors, all managed from the side panel.
Color Helper is listed as free in this catalog and is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license covers how you can use, modify, and redistribute the add-on. For current licensing terms and any future changes, check the developer's page on GitHub. The extension is available through Blender's extensions system, where you can drag and drop it into Blender or install it from disk.
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