Cursor-Snapper v1.0
Cursor-Snapper is a Blender add-on designed to help create 3D Grease Pencil animations.
Last updated
Cursor-Snapper is a Blender add-on designed to help create 3D Grease Pencil animations.
Last updated
The Cursor-Snapper add-on for Blender was an idea and design of Paul Coulthard of Spitfire Storyboards. It was coded and documented by Ed White.
Works with Blender version 2.8 through to the latest version 2.91
Snap the 3D cursor to any object at the center or base (lowest point in the Z-axis)
Snap the 3D cursor to specific Grease Pencil layers
Activate or deactivate the Grease Pencil grid
Lock a Grease Pencil layer to the add-on controls
Navigate to Grease Pencil key frames from the UI or hotkeys
The Cursor-Snapper add-on is available for free on Gumroad. If you plan to make a donation of support, please use this affiliate link to split the proceeds between Paul and Ed.
https://gumroad.com/a/61600883
From Blender's Edit menu, select "Preferences..."
Select the "Add-ons" tab
Click the "Install.." button at the top right
In the Blender File View window, pick the zip file for this add-on and press "Install Add-on"
Activate the add-on by selecting the checkbox at the left of the add-on name
(also see videos below)
In the 3D View, open the side panel on the right by pressing the N key or clicking the small symbol < next to the viewport gadget. Select the View tab. The Cursor-Snapper add-on will be at the bottom of the list. The panels for View and 3D Cursor can be collapsed by clicking on their names or by pressing CTRL (or Command) + clicking the name 3D Cursor Snapper. The Ctrl + click method is a shortcut to close other panels while opening the one selected.
In drawing mode, the stroke placement needs to be set to 3D Cursor. The drawing plane should be set to the best view from the camera. The Timeline panel can be duplicated and switched to the Dope Sheet. Change the Dope Sheet drop down menu to Grease Pencil.
The buttons for GP Grid On and GP Grid Off refer to the Grease Pencil canvas. The canvas grid shows what plane the drawings will get created on.
(more documentation and tips coming)
When using the Base method of snapping, scale the Grease Pencil grid to match the height of a character. This helps keep a character in the correct scale while drawing each pose.
With both the Timeline and Dope Sheet (set to Grease Pencil) open, expand the left panel of the Timeline so the frames line up. In the View menu of the Timeline, select Sync Visible Range. In the View menu of the Dope Sheet (set to Grease Pencil), also select Sync Visible Range. This will make scaling of either timeline match.
Place a single dot to map out a motion path for key poses. In animation terms, this is "blocking".
Change category to put add-on in any tab
