As I spend my free time creating art, I cannot help but notice problems to be solved. Tedious steps I do over and over again. Features that I wish Blender had but are unavailable. And many of these frustrations occur both with me as well as other artists. How can we address these problems, you ask?
With scripting.
Let me go over my general workflow in creating a script to improve my workflow.
Research for the Problem, not a Solution
Firstly, I try to understand the problem -- not a solution -- as thoroughly as I can. I learn why the problem comes up, why the workflow is as long or tedious as it is. I learn about all the types of existing solutions and their use cases.
I find it best to first write down the manual steps to do it in Blender. It helps me not get lost in the details, organize my code, and determine which parts are script-able and which parts may not be. And the best thing is, Blender logs these steps in the scripting workspace! So I can even copy-and-paste the Python code directly into my script.
If I have a hard time reproducing my ideal workflow in Blender’s interface, I go through Blender’s documentation -- both the official manual and Python documentation.
There are often useful attributes or functions I would have never encountered myself. Sometimes an existing function or operator does most of the work for me, which saves me time later.
Solve the Problem with an Operator
With all the resources available from my research and testing, I spend more time in the code itself. And that is usually done by scripting an operator, or a button that will do the hard work for us.
But operators do not have to be a black box. I can expose settings as properties, which allows users to tweak how the operator behaves. Should the mesh face be extruded 1 meter, or 2? How should I name this newly added object? If it's an answer the user may want to change, expose it as a property that can be tweaked.
Lastly, I make sure I check for ways the operator could fail. Maybe the user has nothing selected to operate on. Or there is no camera in the scene. I make sure the code checks for everything it needs first, and aborts the operation if needed.
Put the Operator Somewhere
Great, I have my button working. Now where do I put it? Because there are many places I can put a button in Blender:
- A panel
- A menu, sometimes a pie menu
- A tool such as the knife tool
- A gizmo, like the ones to move and rotate objects
There is no right answer. But I would highly suggest "looking for reference" - find similar buttons or functionality in Blender or other add-ons. See where they put them. Does it feel intuitive?
Each interface has its use case. Picking the right one can make the button feel more intuitive for users and easier to pick up in their workflows.
Scripting is an art form in itself, and mastering it takes time and practice. But as you continue to streamline your workflows in Blender, you’ll see a huge improvement in not only efficiency, but your creative focus that has to switch less to the technical tedium.
The key to great scripting is curiosity. Don’t be afraid to peruse the documentation and find new ways to solve your problems.
Share your scripts, get user feedback, and see how you can further address their problems.
There may be more efficient functions or intuitive interfaces your script can use, and that can change with every release of Blender!
If you want to learn more about scripting, check out my new course, UTILITY - Scripting your first Blender Add-On
Happy scripting, and Blend-ing!
-Spencer Magnusson