by Besa_Art·VFX
Images © Besa_Art. Used for product review; image policy.
Fog Planes Addon earns its place in the Blender library for keeping the fog shader inside the addon panel and using thin planes that stay light on machine resources. It supports Blender 3.0 through 4.5 on Cycles and Eevee, and the developer is upfront that it won't replace ultra-realistic VDB fog. A demo video is available.
Fog Planes Addon is a Blender addon from Besa_Art for adding fog to 3D environments. It provides a categorised gallery of fog textures paired with an advanced shader for individual adjustments to each fog plane. With a few clicks you can add fog to still renderings or animations, and the fog node shader sits directly in the addon panel rather than a separate workspace window.
The library holds 30 fog planes arranged and categorised by their area of use, including 10 newer realistic planes, and you can switch between them quickly. The planes are thin 2D generated textures that are subdivided and completed by modifiers, which gives depth and a motion effect as you move them. Because they stay thin, they need far less machine resources and don't slow the workflow down.
The advanced shader changes the outer look of the planes, and every change can be keyframed for animation, while a fog emitter handles manual motions or loopings. The developer notes it won't replace ultra-realistic VDB fog, since the flat 2D look can show when the camera reveals the thin edge of a plane; fitting the camera angle to the plane keeps that hidden.
Fog Planes Addon is best for 3D environment artists adding fog and atmosphere to nature scenes, in both still renders and animations.
Fog Planes Addon is completely free to download and use.
Fog Planes Addon supports Blender versions 3.0 through 4.5, so it covers a wide span of releases across that range. It works in both the Cycles and Eevee render engines, giving you flexibility over how the fog is rendered, and the addon is licensed under GPL. If you're on a version inside that range, the categorised fog library and its integrated shader panel are available to use. For the current compatibility details, check the developer's page before installing.
Fog Planes Addon runs in both Cycles and Eevee, the two render engines listed for it. The fog planes are thin 2D generated textures that are subdivided and completed by modifiers, which provides depth and a motion effect when you move them. Because the planes are thin, they need far less machine resources and don't slow your workflow down, and the developer notes they don't unnecessarily increase rendering time. Either engine can be used with the same library of fog planes.
Fog Planes Addon lets you keyframe changes made through its advanced shader, which the developer describes as suited to animation. The shader can change the outer look of the fog planes, and all of those changes can be keyframed. A separate fog emitter can be used to make manual motions or loopings in the fog planes. The addon works for both still renderings and animations, so the same fog library serves either type of project.
Fog Planes Addon can't replace ultra-realistic VDB fogs, according to the developer. Because the planes are thin 2D textures, their flat character can show when the camera angle reveals the thin edge of a plane. The developer's suggested fix is to fit the angle of the camera to the angle of the plane so the 2D look stays hidden. Within that constraint, the addon adds fog detail to nature scenes while staying light on machine resources.
Fog Planes Addon is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing and any commercial terms are handled on the developer's page, so check there for the current details before you rely on it for a project. The addon itself is distributed under the GPL license, and documentation is included to help you get started. The developer offers it for both individual artists and teams, so visit the developer's page for the most up-to-date licensing information.
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