by Tim Zoet·Rendering
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
Cycles Object Color stands out in the superhive library for tackling a specific Cycles limitation—one material producing different colors across many objects—by leaning on the object pass index rather than extra textures or material copies.
Cycles Object Color addresses a gap in Blender's Cycles render engine: the ability to use a single material across multiple objects while giving each object a different color, without vertex colors, textures, or duplicating the material for every object. The add-on reads each object's pass index and turns it into a mesh- and material-independent color.
Because the pass index supports 32768 (2 to the power of 15) values, you can create that many colors, shades of grey, or transparency values. Eight color modes are available, each combining color, greyscale, and transparency with a different number of bits per channel, from opaque RGB options to transparency-focused greyscale ones. Every mode ships with a node group you add to a material to convert the pass index into colors, greyscale values, and transparency.
Colors can be animated, and the add-on works alongside the Particle Instantiator add-on to apply (random) colors to particles. It's a GPL-licensed add-on for Blender 2.7x from developer Tim Zoet.
Cycles Object Color is best for blender artists using Cycles who want one material to produce different colors across many objects without vertex colors, textures, or duplicate materials.
Cycles Object Color is completely free to download and use.
Cycles Object Color is listed for Blender 2.7x, so it targets that generation of Blender's Cycles render engine. Because it relies on the object pass index and node groups added to a material, it's tied to how those features work in that release. If you're on a newer Blender build, check the developer's page for compatibility details before installing, since this entry specifies the 2.7x series.
Cycles Object Color is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing can change over time, so for current terms and any pricing the developer sets, check the developer's page directly. The add-on is distributed under the GPL license, which governs how you can use and share it. That combination of a free listing and GPL licensing is what's documented for this entry, and the developer's page remains the place to confirm the latest details.
Cycles Object Color can be combined with the Particle Instantiator add-on to add (random) colors to particles. This compatibility arrived with version 1.1, which also introduced support for animated colors. On its own, the add-on assigns colors through each object's pass index, so pairing it with Particle Instantiator extends that approach to particle-based setups. You would need the Particle Instantiator add-on installed alongside it to use that particular workflow.
Cycles Object Color offers eight color modes that use the available pass index range as efficiently as possible. They combine color, greyscale, and transparency with different bit allocations per channel—for example, RGB 5|5|5 for the most precise opaque colors, RGBA 4|4|4|3 as the best option for transparent colors, and several greyscale modes ranging from pure black-to-white values to greyscale-plus-transparency splits. Each mode ships with its own node group you add to a material.
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