Animator and educator Daniel Martínez Lara has introduced ClayPencil, a free Blender add-on designed to transform 2D animations into claymation-style 3D animations.

Leveraging Blender’s Grease Pencil toolset for 2D animation, the add-on uses a Geometry Nodes setup to fill the outlines with 3D geometry. This innovative approach allows artists to create 3D animations while still using traditional 2D techniques.

| Convert Grease Pencil Outlines to 3D Geometry

ClayPencil—named for the animation technique rather than the add-on itself—utilizes recent enhancements to Grease Pencil in Blender 4.3, which allow for the modification of Grease Pencil objects through Geometry Nodes, Blender’s node-based 3D modeling system.

With the ClayPencil setup, users can convert Grease Pencil strokes from 2D to 3D or infill Grease Pencil outlines with solid geometry. This capability, combined with manual refinement and the application of a suitable clay shader, enables the conversion of 2D animations into 3D sequences that resemble traditional claymation.

| An Experimental Yet Promising Release

Martínez Lara describes the initial release of ClayPencil as "highly experimental," and users should anticipate occasional glitches. However, early adopters are already seeing promising results, with demo videos, such as one from animator and illustrator Ron Letkeman, showcasing the tool’s potential.

The add-on download includes the base Blender .blend scene file, along with two demo scenes, including the cowboy character featured in the demonstration video.

Source: Pepe School Land

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