by Seth-Adam-Trowbridge·Modeling
Images © Seth-Adam-Trowbridge. Used for product review; image policy.
Perfectly Normal earns its place in the Blender extensions library for turning face-corner normals into loose vertices you can move in edit mode, backed by a modifier that visualizes normals as lines and bakes the result.
Perfectly Normal adds four geometry nodes-based tools under the "Normals" category in Blender. They work with Manip Verts — loose, disconnected vertices reused to define a mesh's custom face-corner normals. Because they are vertices, you can position them precisely in edit mode like any other component.
The basic workflow starts by selecting a mesh and choosing Normals > Manip Verts: (Re)create to build the Manip Verts into the object. Adding the Manip Verts: Apply modifier then shows normals as lines in the viewport. Move the Manip Verts in edit mode and the surface normals update in real time. Checking "Ready to Apply" and applying the modifier bakes the custom normals into the mesh and clears the Manip Verts.
The Apply modifier also supports a multi-object workflow, using "Use External Geometry" pickers to pull Manip Verts and/or the mesh surface from other objects — suited to storing custom normals separate from the mesh. Perfectly Normal is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later and targets Blender 4.5 LTS and newer.
Perfectly Normal is best for blender artists who need to define and edit custom face-corner normals as positionable vertices, including workflows that store the custom normals in a separate object.
Perfectly Normal is completely free to download and use.
Perfectly Normal is built for Blender 4.5 LTS and newer, so it runs on that release line and later versions. It's distributed through extensions.blender.org as a Blender extension. If you're on an earlier Blender release, the add-on falls outside its stated compatibility range, so you'd want to update Blender before installing. The version catalogued here is 0.0.2, last updated June 26, 2025. For the most accurate compatibility details on any given Blender build, check the developer's page on the extensions platform.
Perfectly Normal installs from extensions.blender.org like other Blender extensions. After installing, open Preferences > Add-ons > Perfectly Normal and use the controls there to install the add-on's assets to a local directory — this step enables the tools inside Blender. Once done, you select a mesh, choose Normals > Manip Verts: (Re)create to build the Manip Verts, then add the Manip Verts: Apply modifier to start working. The developer's page covers the setup steps in more detail.
Perfectly Normal is listed as free here and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license governs how you can use, modify, and redistribute the add-on. Because licensing terms and distribution details can change over time, it's worth confirming the current terms on the developer's page or the extensions.blender.org listing before relying on them for a specific project. The version catalogued here is 0.0.2, last updated June 26, 2025.
Perfectly Normal requires the Manip Verts: Apply modifier to show any results — adding Manip Verts alone won't display anything. Once the modifier is added, normals appear as lines in the viewport, and moving the Manip Verts in edit mode updates the surface normals in real time. One caveat to watch: while editing, the number of Manip Verts must match the number of face corners, otherwise the visualizing modifier will not work correctly. When finished, check "Ready to Apply" and apply the modifier to bake the normals into the mesh.
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