by Mark Kingsnorth·Modeling
Images © Mark Kingsnorth. Used for product review; image policy.
Earns its place in the superhive library for turning a tedious manual task, placing windows one by one across many faces, into a configurable operation over selected geometry. A demo video is available.
Window Generator adds a configurable pattern of windows to selected faces in Blender. You control the amount of coverage and randomness, how many windows are mapped across each face, and how many are mapped down. The width and height of the windows can be changed, and a random jitter can be added to each window's width and height to introduce further variation.
Different window styles come from adding corner bevels, while outer bevels smooth the window edges. Top or bottom bevels can be disabled for different effects. You can assign a material to the new windows by specifying a material slot id, and apply a lights-off material to give the impression that some window lights are switched off. An edge split option produces a quicker clean look, and UV seams are created automatically to aid UV mapping for textures.
Windows are mapped from the top-to-bottom of a face by default, with the orientation switchable to left-right or front-back. Refinement options attempt to remove unwanted edges or vertices. In version 1.2.2, selected faces are inset before windows are created to stop them affecting surrounding topology, and this inset can be switched off or adjusted.
Window Generator is best for modelling window patterns onto spaceships and architectural buildings.
Window Generator is completely free to download and use.
Window Generator was upgraded for Blender 2.8 beta in version 1.0.3 and made available alongside the 2.7 version, with the 2.8 download identifiable by a filename ending in 2.8. The developer invites you to get in touch if you run into problems with the add-on. For current Blender version support and the latest build, check the developer's page at markkingsnorth.com, which is the best source for up-to-date compatibility details.
Window Generator insets selected faces before creating windows, a change introduced in version 1.2.2 to stop the windows from affecting surrounding face topology. You can switch this inset off in the options and control the amount of inset applied. The add-on also lets you disable the dissolving of edges through the optimization panel. Together these controls give you a say over how the generated windows interact with the rest of your mesh. See the documentation for more details.
Window Generator can assign a material to the newly created windows by specifying a material slot id. It also supports a separate lights-off material, which gives the impression that some of the window lights are switched off. This lets you mix lit and unlit windows across a surface. Set up your material slots in Blender first, then reference the slot id when generating the windows.
Window Generator automatically creates UV seams as part of the process, which aids UV mapping for textures on the generated windows. It also offers an edge split operation option for a quicker clean look. If you want to reduce clutter in the result, the refinement options attempt to remove unwanted edges or vertices from the created window patterns. These options are covered in the documentation.
Window Generator is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing and pricing can change over time, so check the developer's page at markkingsnorth.com for current terms before you download. The add-on comes from Mark Kingsnorth, who also offers related tools such as the Starship Generator, the Shape Generator, and the Plating Generator, and welcomes feature suggestions and feedback through his website.
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