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Fast Vertex Color

by 3DF·Workflow

Images © 3DF. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

FastVC earns a place in the Superhive library for keeping vertex color assignment in Object and Edit mode and baking ID maps directly from UVs, and the developer notes it has been used for game assets for years.

What is Fast Vertex Color?

Fast Vertex Color, or FastVC, is a Blender add-on from 3DF built around vertex color assignment. It works in Object and Edit mode without switching to Vertex Paint mode. A swatch palette lets you create, remove, reorder, and edit color swatches, each with one-click actions to fill, pick, select-by-color, and randomize. Fills are selection-aware, applying to vertices, edges, faces, face corners, or whole objects depending on the active selection mode, and you can operate on multiple objects at once.

Selection tools include select by color in both Object Mode (finding objects containing a color) and Edit Mode (selecting matching elements), select similar to the active face's color, and select gradient faces to spot non-uniform color assignments. FastVC can also bake vertex colors to ID mask textures per material for use in texturing tools such as Substance Painter and InstaMAT.

Baking uses direct UV rasterization with no cages, rays, or bake setup, and is Numba-accelerated for quick iteration. Automatic attribute management sets the color attribute name once and ensures it exists as the right type. Buttons carry descriptive names and tooltips.

Who is Fast Vertex Color best for?

Fast Vertex Color is best for blender artists assigning vertex colors and baking per-material ID masks for texturing tools like Substance Painter and InstaMAT.

How much does Fast Vertex Color cost?

Fast Vertex Color is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Swatch palette to create, remove, reorder, and edit color swatches, with one-click fill, pick, select-by-color, and randomize per swatch
  • Works in Object and Edit mode without switching to Vertex Paint mode
  • Selection-aware fill for vertices, edges, faces, face corners, or whole objects, with multi-object editing
  • Selection tools: select by color in Object and Edit Mode, select similar to the active face's color, and select gradient faces
  • Bakes per-material ID mask textures using direct UV rasterization, with no cages, rays, or bake setup
  • Numba-accelerated baking and automatic color attribute management
  • Self-documented buttons with descriptive names and tooltips

Tags

#vertex color#ID map#material ID#color palette#Substance Painter#game assets#Blender add-on#texturing

Frequently asked questions

Does Fast Vertex Color work with Substance Painter and InstaMAT?

Fast Vertex Color can bake per-material ID textures intended for use in texturing tools including Substance Painter and InstaMAT. Baking is material-based, producing one texture set per material, and uses direct UV rasterization, meaning it bakes directly from UVs with no cages, rays, or bake setup involved. The process is Numba-accelerated for quick iteration. Beyond baking, FastVC handles vertex color assignment through its swatch palette and selection tools, so the ID mask workflow connects the two stages within Blender.

Do I need to enter Vertex Paint mode to use Fast Vertex Color?

Fast Vertex Color is designed to work in Object and Edit mode, so there is no need to switch to Vertex Paint mode. Fills are selection-aware and apply to vertices, edges, faces, face corners, or whole objects depending on the active selection mode. You can also operate on multiple objects at once. The swatch palette offers one-click fill, pick, select-by-color, and randomize for each color, keeping the assignment steps inside the modes you already work in.

What Blender version does Fast Vertex Color support?

Fast Vertex Color is listed as a Blender add-on and Extension, compatible with Blender version 5.0. It is distributed as an add-on rather than a standalone application. The listing notes Cycles as the render engine used and the add-on is released under the GPL license. For the most current compatibility details and any additional version support, check the developer's page before installing.

Is Fast Vertex Color free?

Fast Vertex Color is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing and distribution terms can change over time, so for the current pricing and license details it is best to check the developer's page directly. The add-on itself is released under the GPL license. It carries a full set of vertex color and ID baking features regardless, including the swatch palette, selection tools, and per-material baking described above.

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