Skip to content
BLBlender

Grease Pencil Tools

by SamuelBernou·Workflow

Images © SamuelBernou. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

A staple among Blender Grease Pencil artists — the add-on was bundled with Blender itself from 2.91 through 4.1, and it now sits at rank 36 in the blender_extensions library.

What is Grease Pencil Tools?

Grease Pencil Tools collects several extra utilities for Grease Pencil work in Blender, developed by Samuel Bernou with suggestions and feedback from grease pencil team members Antonio Vazquez, Daniel Martinez Lara and Matias Mendiola. It lives in the Sidebar under Grease Pencil → Grease Pencil Tools.

Box deform, called with Ctrl + T, generates a lattice box facing your view to deform the whole object, selected points or the last strokes depending on the mode, with linear and spline modes and box subdivision. Rotate canvas turns the viewport with a HUD for the angle, incremental rotation, and save/restore of camera rotation. Timeline Scrub opens a timeline popup at the mouse position so you can scrub without leaving the 3D viewport, with keyframe snapping and a rolling mode. Straight stroke straightens a stroke between its first and last point, and the layer navigator overrides the default layer popup with a custom panel for hovering, reordering and adjusting layers.

The add-on was bundled with Blender from version 2.91 to 4.1 and also ships a textured brush pack made by Daniel Martinez Lara. It ranks 36 in the blender_extensions library.

Who is Grease Pencil Tools best for?

Grease Pencil Tools is best for grease Pencil artists and 2D animators in Blender who want extra deform, canvas rotation, timeline scrubbing and layer navigation tools.

How much does Grease Pencil Tools cost?

Grease Pencil Tools is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Box deform with Ctrl + T: a lattice box facing the view deforms the whole object, selected points, or the last strokes depending on the mode, with linear/spline toggle and box subdivision
  • Rotate canvas with a HUD showing the angle, incremental rotation via Shift, and save/restore of camera rotation
  • Timeline Scrub popup at the mouse position for scrubbing inside the 3D viewport, with Ctrl keyframe snapping and a Rolling mode
  • Straight stroke that straightens a stroke between its first and last point, with adjustable influence in the redo panel
  • Layer navigator on the Y key with hover-to-activate, per-layer opacity, hide and lock controls, and drag-and-drop reordering
  • Included textured brush pack made by Daniel Martinez Lara

Tags

#Grease Pencil#Blender#2D animation#workflow#box deform#timeline scrub#layer navigator

Frequently asked questions

Does Grease Pencil Tools work with Blender 4.3?

Grease Pencil Tools is listed here as compatible with Blender 4.3 and newer. The add-on has a long history with the software: it was bundled with Blender from version 2.91 through 4.1, and it is now available separately through the extension platform, which you can reach from Blender's preferences under extensions. Installing from there gives you the latest stable release. For the current development version and full details, the developer's GitHub page is the place to check.

How do I use the Box deform tool in Grease Pencil Tools?

Grease Pencil Tools calls its Box deform tool with the Ctrl + T shortcut in the available modes. The tool generates a lattice box facing your view, so facing the canvas first avoids an unintentional anamorphic offset. What gets deformed depends on the mode: in Object mode the whole Grease Pencil object, in Edit mode the selected points, and in Paint mode the last strokes. During the modal you can toggle between linear and spline modes with M and subdivide the box using the top-row number keys. The same tutorial is included in the add-on preferences.

Is Grease Pencil Tools free to use?

Grease Pencil Tools is listed as free in this catalog, and it is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license covers how you can use, modify and redistribute the code. For the current licensing terms and the source itself, check the developer's GitHub page. You can also install the latest stable build directly from Blender's extension platform via preferences.

Where do I find Grease Pencil Tools in Blender?

Grease Pencil Tools lives in Blender's Sidebar, under Grease Pencil → Grease Pencil Tools. From there you reach the various utilities, and options such as the rotate canvas shortcut and timeline scrub behaviour can be customized in the add-on preferences. The included textured brush pack, made by Daniel Martinez Lara, is added through the sidebar under Tool → Brushes in the brush dropdown menu.

Alternatives to Grease Pencil Tools

Also in Workflow for Blender.

Similar plugins