by kunemann·Rendering
Images © kunemann. Used for product review; image policy.
RenderBones earns its place for a focused job: making a rig visible in the final render. Converting bone shapes into geometry that tracks the animation turns a normally hidden setup into something you can put on screen for breakdowns and showreels.
RenderBones is a Blender add-on by kunemann that makes your rig part of the rendered image. It turns custom bone shapes into renderable geometry that looks like it does in the viewport and moves with your animation. Select the armature, click Convert Custom Bone Shapes, and the rig is converted while keeping its pose transforms: position, rotation and scale.
Conversion is selective. Only the bones you pick in Pose Mode are converted, and you can limit it to specific bone groups or layers. Bones are generated as curves for easier editing. Coloring can follow pose colors, a custom color or Theme Color Sets, and you can add emission, transparency and bone thickness. Version 2.0 adds support for Blender's default bone shapes: Octahedral, Stick, B-Bone and Envelope.
The add-on works in both Eevee and Cycles and is compatible with Blender 4.3 through 4.5. It's aimed at riggers, animators and anyone wanting to highlight rigging work in rig breakdowns, showreels or shots where the rig should be visible in motion.
Renderbones is best for riggers and animators who want their rig visible in the final render, for rig breakdowns, showreels or shots where the rig should appear in motion.
Renderbones is completely free to download and use.
RenderBones lists compatibility with Blender versions 4.3 through 4.5 and is marked as Blender Extension compatible. It's distributed as an add-on under a GPL license. For rendering, it works in both Eevee and Cycles. If you're on a supported release, check the developer's page on Superhive for the latest version and any newer compatibility notes before installing, since add-on support can shift with new Blender releases.
RenderBones works in both Eevee and Cycles, so the converted rig can be rendered in either engine. It turns custom bone shapes into renderable geometry that looks like it does in the viewport and moves with your animation. You keep pose transforms including position, rotation and scale, and the result follows your rig through the shot. That suits it to rig breakdowns, showreels or any shot where you want the rig visible in motion.
RenderBones runs from a single action: select your armature and click Convert Custom Bone Shapes. Only the bones you've selected in Pose Mode are converted, not the entire rig, so you can choose exactly what gets rendered. You can also limit conversion to specific bone groups or layers. The converted bones keep their pose transforms and follow the animation, and you can adjust emission, transparency and bone thickness on the result.
RenderBones supports both custom bone shapes and, as of version 2.0, Blender's default bone shapes: Octahedral, Stick, B-Bone and Envelope. For coloring, it can use pose colors, your own custom color, or Theme Color Sets. Bones are generated as curves for easier editing, and each keeps its pose transforms while following the rig's animation. This gives you control over which parts of the rig appear and how they look when rendered.
RenderBones is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing and pricing can change, so check the developer's page on Superhive for the current terms before downloading. The add-on is published under a GPL license and is marked as a Dev Fund contributor. If you run into problems, the developer invites you to reach out by message on Superhive or by email for help and future fixes.
by Physical Addons
Physical Starlight and Atmosphere - Sky is a Blender addon for real-time, physics-based sky and atmosphere rendering. It works in Eevee and Cycles, using photometric measurements and analytic air mass volume calculations for scientifically accurate atmospheric scattering.
by Andrew_D
Extreme PBR Nexus is a Blender addon for managing a library of over 1800 materials, compatible with Cycles and Eevee. It includes texture painting between materials, animated water, and displacement built on native Blender modifiers.
by Community
Tri-lighting is a Blender add-on that places a three-point lighting setup on the selected or active object. Found under View3D → Add → Lights, it was previously bundled with Blender 4.1.
by Håvard Dalen
Lens Sim is a Blender addon that simulates camera lenses using real-world optical data. It extends the standard Blender camera so you can choose and render dozens of lenses in Cycles.
by pioverfour
Sun Position is a Blender add-on that positions and animates the Sun to simulate real-world natural lighting, using geographic location, time and date based on the NOAA online calculator.
by Dynamic Sky
Dynamic Sky is a Blender add-on that creates dynamic sky for the Cycles render engine. Originally authored by Pratik Solanki, it was part of Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons and is now offered as-is.
