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Grease Pencil: Design

by Blastframe·Motion Graphics

Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.

Why we like it

Grease Pencil: Design stands out in the Superhive library because it brings alignment, distribution, and arrangement tools to Grease Pencil, and it works with Grease Pencil v3 in Blender 4.3.

What is Grease Pencil: Design?

Grease Pencil: Design is an add-on from Blastframe that adds graphic-design features to Blender's Grease Pencil. It offers tools commonly found in other design software as an alternative to importing designs as .SVG files, which Grease Pencil supports only in limited ways.

The Align tool positions points, strokes, or layers by their placement in the 2D camera view, with a Relative mode that aligns elements as a group and an Absolute mode that treats each one individually; you can align to the view, to the selection, or align the 3D cursor. Distribute spaces points, strokes, or layers using their edges, and Distribute Space sets equal spacing between selected elements. A 2D Arrange feature works even when Stroke Depth Order is set to 3D Location.

Bevel and Merge Points sit in the Grease Pencil Point menu: Bevel softens sharp corners by a specified number of points, and Merge Points offers Merge to First, Merge to Center, and Merge to Last. A layer context menu combines existing Grease Pencil layer functions with new ones such as Add New Layers with Use Lights disabled, Select Layer Content, Merge Selected Layers, and Delete Empty Layers.

Who is Grease Pencil: Design best for?

Grease Pencil: Design is best for blender users creating graphic designs in Grease Pencil who want align, distribute, and arrange tools alongside bevel, merge, and layer management.

How much does Grease Pencil: Design cost?

Grease Pencil: Design is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Align points, strokes, or layers by position in the 2D camera view, with Relative and Absolute modes, plus align to the view, to the selection, or align the 3D cursor
  • Distribute points, strokes, or layers using their edges, with a Distribute Space command for equal spacing between selected elements
  • 2D Arrange that works even when Stroke Depth Order is set to 3D Location
  • Bevel in the Grease Pencil Point menu to soften sharp corners by a specified number of points
  • Merge Points with Merge to First, Merge to Center, and Merge to Last operators
  • Layer context menu adding Add New Layers (Use Lights disabled), Select Layer Content, Merge Selected Layers, and Delete Empty Layers

Tags

#Grease Pencil#Blender#graphic design#align#distribute#bevel#layers#add-on

Frequently asked questions

Does Grease Pencil: Design work with Grease Pencil v3 in Blender 4.3?

Grease Pencil: Design works with Grease Pencil v3 in Blender 4.3, and it lists support across Blender versions 2.8 through 5.1. It's marked as Blender extension compatible and distributed as an add-on. The align, distribute, and arrange tools are the core of what it adds to Grease Pencil. If you're on a specific Blender build, check the developer's page to confirm the exact behaviour for your version before relying on it in a project.

What license does Grease Pencil: Design use?

Grease Pencil: Design is distributed under the GPL license and is listed as a Blender extension-compatible add-on. In this catalog it's listed as free, so you can add it without a purchase here, though licensing terms can change. The GPL generally governs how you can use, modify, and share the add-on, which is worth reviewing if you plan to distribute a modified version. For current licensing and any conditions, visit Blastframe's developer page.

Where do the Bevel and Merge Points tools appear in Grease Pencil?

Grease Pencil: Design places the Bevel and Merge Points features in the Grease Pencil Point menu, outside the main Grease Pencil: Design panel. Bevel softens the sharp corners of your shapes by the number of points you specify, while Merge Points provides Merge to First, Merge to Center, and Merge to Last operators for managing stroke points. The align, distribute, and arrange tools live in the Grease Pencil: Design panel itself, so the add-on spreads its functions across a few Blender menus.

Does Grease Pencil: Design import SVG files into Grease Pencil?

Grease Pencil: Design is not an SVG importer. Blender's Grease Pencil has limited support for SVG properties, which can make importing designs as .SVG files challenging. Instead of relying on that route, Grease Pencil: Design provides tools commonly found in other design software, like align, distribute, and arrange, to make Grease Pencil a more viable option for graphic design directly inside Blender. Its features focus on positioning and organizing existing strokes and layers rather than converting external file formats.

Alternatives to Grease Pencil: Design

Also in Motion Graphics for Blender.

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