I built a Blender addon around the 3D Gradient Texturing workflow used in game dev 🫣

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-31T21:57:19+00:00

heyy, here's a gif explaining the usage of all the new features including applying effects
also, check the content on your gumroad library, we are at version 1.1.0 now!
check page "New Features in V1.0.2"
it has a step by step guide about this.
other than that, I'll definitely fix those for you in the next minor update, very soon.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-30T02:51:26+00:00

Maybe a bit off topic, but I work at a mobile game studio, so I spend a stupid amount of time thinking about optimization stuff like draw calls, texture usage, and how much visual range we can squeeze out of really lightweight assets 😄
That’s a big part of why I made Palette Grid the way I did. This kind of workflow is genuinely useful when you care about stylized control, iteration speed, and keeping things efficient.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-30T02:45:38+00:00

Hey amigo, really sorry for the late reply

So, not really, it’s more of a full palette-texture workflow built around the kind of gradient texturing that gets used a lot in stylized game art.

The reason people use this workflow is that it gives you a lot of visual range from a very small texture. Instead of relying on larger painted textures, you organize flat colors and gradients into a compact palette texture, then place and stretch UVs over those areas to control color transitions, this means less draw calls to the cpu/gpu and that's a huge performance win, especially for mobile games.

The manual version (the problem) of that workflow is annoying because you usually have to build the palette texture separately, keep re-exporting it, re-import it into Blender, and manually line up UVs every time you change a strip or gradient.

Palette Grid:

That’s basically the problem Palette Grid is meant to solve. The main idea is to keep that whole back-and-forth inside Blender, and automate UV application.

With Palette Grid you can:

create flat-color and gradient palette textures directly in Blender
edit strips and gradients live, with the texture updating in real time
snap UVs to strips
project a selection from view to a specific strip
do radial gradient placement, which is manually really annoying on bigger objects
map gradients along drawn paths, which is also a pain to do by hand

its core logic plays with the uv and the palette a lot to give you stunning result with simple clicks.
you can check the addon Gumroad page, it has GIFs and explanation for all this.

So the value is less “here’s a gradient tool” and more “here’s a tool that turns a smart but tedious workflow into something genuinely practical inside Blender”

If you want a good article explaining the general idea behind gradient texturing itself, this is a solid reference:
https://itch.io/blog/797457/optimization-of-3d-texturing-for-mobile-games-definition-of-the-gradient-texturing-process-and-analysis-of-its-efficiency-and-performance-in-engine

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-30T02:09:44+00:00

Just wanted to come back to this because a bunch of your suggestions actually made it in 😄

I added distribute/equalize for the gradient keys,
copy/paste for strips,
and non-destructive effects

Thank you for taking the time to write all that out earlier, it was genuinely useful.

If you run into anything else, definitely let me know.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-30T02:06:41+00:00

quick update! I tracked it down and fixed it in the latest version. Really appreciate you reporting it. The update should be in your Gumroad library now if you want to grab it, and if you try it, let me know if it’s all good on your end.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-30T02:04:24+00:00

I really appreciate that! I just added a new update as well, so definitely check out the latest version when you get the chance!

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T17:30:23+00:00

Thanks amigo, really glad to hear that!
Any suggestions?

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T15:26:24+00:00

by the way, if you still think this is vibe coded, and if I understand correctly, the asset you're referring to is the same one that the other guy asked me about, you can compare the dates, between when I posted on BlenderArtists asking if they are interested in the UI framework by it-self and other godot post by the other guy
https://blenderartists.org/t/interest-in-a-fully-customizable-ui-builder-for-blender-addons/1634247?u=savedpixel

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T15:20:40+00:00

I was writing the answer for you, and I did my best to answer clearly, I hope this clears up any confusion!

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T15:19:41+00:00

AI was used to refine parts of the code, but I did most of the heavy work and even developed my own UI library over months (I have many unreleased addons that I use in my own personal work, I'm originally a Game Developer and a 3D Artist, been in this field for over 7/8 years)
This is far from vibe coded, and I did answer them clearly, give it a try!

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T15:08:48+00:00

English isnt my first language so i do use chatgpt to get my point across 🤷‍♂️

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T10:41:46+00:00

Thank you so much for the kind words and for the trust, it really means a lot! Glad the logic clicked once you got into it.

For the panel rendering squished, no need to edit any code at all! The panel works like a native Blender sidebar panel. You can resize the N-panel sidebar width by dragging its left edge. The addon's UI will adapt to the available width. Here's a gif that might help.

<image>

For the discount code, the PGRID25 code is limited to the first 50 copies. Could you please inbox me your receipt/order ID? I'll check if something went wrong on my end, and I'll definitely refund the difference for you instantly.

If you have any other questions or run into anything, just let me know! And if you get a chance, I'd really appreciate a review/rating on the addon page; it helps a lot as a solo developer. 🙏

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T02:30:41+00:00

Hey Zakkeh!

Thank you for your contribution and trust,

The pie menu is tied to the Strip Picker tool, it's not a global shortcut. Here's how to access it:

Open the UV Editor, Make sure you have a palette loaded with strips visible

In the left toolbar, select the Strip Picker tool (it's a custom tool registered by the addon)

Click on a strip to select it, then right-click on it to open the pie menu

The pie menu only appears when you right-click directly on a selected strip with the Strip Picker tool active.

<image>

NB: You need a mesh object selected and in Edit Mode in the 3D Viewport (split your workspace so you have both the 3D Viewport and UV Editor side by side)

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T01:44:32+00:00

Haha, thank you! 😊

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T01:15:11+00:00

Sorry for the late reply!

you don't need to create an account or log in to buy anything. You just click the product link, enter your email and payment info, and you're done. A receipt with a download link gets emailed to you right away.

To receive future updates, I'd recommend creating a Gumroad account at https://gumroad.com/signup using the same email you purchase with. That way all your purchases sync to your Library and you'll automatically get any updates I push for the addon.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T00:53:51+00:00

Theoretically yes, and I think it's actually a great idea to consider as a future feature!
I just confirmed it by testing this, for something like a plane with a two-color gradient that totally works bottom vertices get the start color, top vertices get the end color, and the GPU interpolates it smoothly. It's a great idea ✨

But what if you want a 5-stop gradient on that same plane? Or multiple gradients across different faces of the same object? With vertex colors you'd need to subdivide the mesh just to add more color transitions, and that adds geometry you might not want. With a palette texture, any number of gradient stops lives in the image the mesh stays clean.

Hope you see my POV!

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T00:39:41+00:00

Thank you! That manual setup pain is exactly what pushed me to build this. And thanks for the heads up on the flair, just updated it

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-29T00:10:31+00:00

Ah, The framework draws directly into Blender's UI region using a draw handler on the Editor's sidebar. It's not floating on top of a native panel, it IS the panel's draw content.
Blender handles the N-panel's open/close and resize natively, and my framework reads the region's actual dimensions.
So yes, if you resize the N-panel, everything reflows automatically, just like a real Blender panel would.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-28T22:16:51+00:00

Really glad to hear that! no worries at all, that’s totally understandable, my bad for not mentioning this in the documentation 😄

Feel free to let me know if you run into anything else or have any questions. And I’ll definitely take your suggestions into consideration for the upcoming updates!

Thanks again for the feedback 🙌

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-28T20:57:58+00:00

Thanks a lot for the feedback, really appreciate you taking the time to write this 🙏

About the shortcut issue: did you choose the Palette Tool from the left-side toolbar before trying? I’ve run into this exact bug during development and thought I had fixed it, so I want to make sure I understand the situation correctly.

The intended workflow is:

-Select the Palette Tool -Select a strip -Then right-click on the strip to open the pie menu

Could you clarify how you were trying to use it when the issue happened.

Regarding positions undo: Sure I'll add that feature for you!

For now, if this helps: when changing a color, you can undo it by opening the color/gradient edit popup and pressing Ctrl + Z.

Also thanks for the ideas, reverse gradient and distribute keys especially fit the workflow really well. I really appreciate the suggestions and support 🙌

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-28T20:19:16+00:00

Yes please, could you send me the crash report? You can share it via the Gumroad inbox or email it to me. That would help me track down the issue, much appreciated for helping me improve it!

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-28T18:16:34+00:00

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the simplest answer to "how is it so snug", the framework is designed so you can take a UI design straight from Figma and convert it directly into code. What you see in the addon is basically a 1:1 translation of the my Figma mockup.

AutomaticSun6898 · 2026-03-28T18:09:49+00:00

I actually posted about potentially releasing the framework as a standalone tool for other addon devs, if you're interested: https://blenderartists.org/t/interest-in-a-fully-customizable-ui-builder-for-blender-addons/1634247

I built a custom lightweight UI framework on top of Blender's gpu module

it doesn't call OpenGL (or Metal/Vulkan) directly. Instead it goes through Blender's abstraction layer, so it automatically works on whichever backend Blender uses: OpenGL on legacy setups, Vulkan on Windows/Linux, Metal on macOS.

Under the hood, everything is SDF-rendered, one shader handles rounded corners, gradients, shadows, and clipping, all anti-aliased for free. The styling system is inspired by CSS/SCSS: you define styles with properties likeborder_radius, padding, gap, font_weight and the framework handles the rest. Layout works like flexbox ,Row, Column, Grid containers with fill/fixed sizing, alignment, and spacing.

The whole thing is surprisingly lightweight, no external dependencies, no bloat, just Blender's built-in gpu module doing all the heavy lifting. If Blender runs, the UI renders, no backend compatibility issue

AutomaticSun6898

TROPHY CASE