BlenderKit add on Documentation - BlenderKit/blenderkit GitHub Wiki

BlenderKit

BlenderKit is an online database of materials, brushes and 3D models which you can search, download, upload and rate directly from the add-on.

Activation (Blender 3.0 and higher)

Install BlenderKit to the newest version of Blender.

  • Open Blender. Go to preferences and, then open Add-ons.
  • Click on Install and find blenderkit-(number of version).zip in your Downloads folder.
  • BlenderKit will appear in the add-ons list. Click on checkbox to enable BlenderKit.
find and upload

Account and Login

Click on the sign-up button to create a new account and activate it by pressing Log in directly in BlenderKit settings. It will direct you to log in through our website.

BlenderKit add-on Preferences

Check the documentation page BlenderKit Preferences for detailed information about preferences and how to configure the BlenderKit add-on.

Basic Usage

Type a search term into the search field.

  1. Type a search term into the search field.
find and upload
  1. The results are shown in the Assetbar.
assetbar
  1. Click on the asset to download it or drag the model or material directly into the scene.
dragdrop

Asset download behaviour

Downloads behave differently based on their asset type:

  • models are downloaded and placed into the scene, if you use the drag, they are placed in the exact location,
  • materials are downloaded, if you use the drag, they are applied to the model you have dragged them over,
  • scenes are downloaded and added to the project as new scene,
  • HDRs are downloaded and applied to current scene,
  • brushes are downloaded and added into available brushes.

Drag-and-Drop

Rotate asset

During drag-and-drop, you can rotate the dragged asset's outline box by 90 degrees using the mouse wheel.

Cancel drag-and-drop

You can cancel the drag-and-drop action by pressing ESC button to prevent the asset (model, material) from being downloaded and placed into the scene.

Interface

Assetbar

Reference Panel: Assetbar

assetbar

The Assetbar shows search results and allows you to interact with them. It pops up when the search results are retrieved from the server. The Assetbar can be shown or hidden by clicking the toggle with the eye icon next to the search field or by pressing the semicolon (;) key.

Tab Navigation

The Assetbar supports multiple tabs to help you organize different searches. Each tab maintains its own search history and results.

Tab Navigation Shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+T: Create a new tab
  • Ctrl+W: Close the current tab (cannot close the last remaining tab)
  • Ctrl+Tab: Switch to the next tab
  • Ctrl+Shift+Tab: Switch to the previous tab
  • Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9: Jump directly to tabs 1-9

History Navigation:

  • Alt+Left Arrow: Navigate back in search history
  • Alt+Right Arrow: Navigate forward in search history

Asset Interaction

Actions that can be performed in the Assetbar:

  • Drag and dropping an object or material directly into the scene.
  • Click on an item to link/append it to the scene.
  • Open the context menu of an item for further interaction (right click):
    • Search similar: Shows similar assets.
    • See online/See full description: Opens the BlenderKit web page with this asset.
    • Finds assets by Author: Displays all assets uploaded by the author of the selected 3D model.
    • Bookmark: add asset into list of bookmarked assets.
    • Rate quality: Allows you to rate the quality of the asset.
    • Rate complexity: Allows you to evaluate how many hours this asset has saved you time.
    • Post comment: Allows you to comment on this asset.
    • Author profile: Opens the link that the author has specified in a web browser.
    • Click/drag from here: Transmits the asset directly to the scene.
    • Replace Active Models: Replace all selected assets with the last selected asset (active). If you use this option from the context menu, the target asset is downloaded and replaces selected assets.
rightclickmenu

Keyboard Shortcuts in the Assetbar:

  • Mouse Wheel: Scroll through results

  • A: Search for other assets by the same author

  • B: Bookmark the asset

  • C: Search for assets in the same category

  • P: Open the author's BlenderKit profile

  • R: Open the rating menu for the asset

  • S: Search for similar assets

  • W: Open the author's personal webpage

  • X: Delete the asset from your hard drive

  • Use the Wheel to scroll the results.

  • Click arrows on the side of the Assetbar for a jump to the next or previous page.

  • Left-click and move the asset panel to the desired location.

  • Unlock the asset (when the user has a free plan).

unlockasset

3D view header

3dviewheader

Actions that can be performed in the 3D view header:

  • Find models
  • Find Materials
  • Find Scenes
  • Find HDRs
  • Find Brushes

Search

Search for these keywords.

BlenderKit asset bar refresh (Eye icon)

Click to hide asset bar.

My Bookmarks

Filters search result to show only bookmarked assets.

Categories

Search assets in categories.

3dviewheadercategories

Search filters

3dviewheaderfilters
My Assets Only

Search only for your 3D models.

Free First

Show only free models. This option is available only for models, since all Materials and all Brushes are free.

Style

Search filter limiting the results (Any, realistic, painterly, lowpoly, anime, 2D vector, 3D graphics, polygonal and other). Designed In (min - max) When the object was approximately designed in terms of year. Can be used for parallel worlds or future sci-fi dates (search for sci-fi assets by entering 2100 as minimum year).

Poly Count In (min - max)

Use the poly count of 3D object for filtering.

Texture Resolution (min - max)

Limit search to the texture resolutions in a range.

File Size (MB) (min - max)

Limit search file size. This uses the basic file size of the original file.

Condition

Condition of the object (Unspecified, New, Used, Old, Desolate). Animated Search only animated assets.

Quality limit (1 to 10)

Only shows assets with a higher quality.

Sidebar

BlenderKit Profile Panel

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ BlenderKit Profile

This panel shows your login information, plan and information about your public and private remaining storage.

BlenderKit profile
Change plan

Open a website with plans in the web browser (appears only when a user has a free plan).

See My Uploads

Open the BlenderKit website and show a list of your assets.

Update (only appears when the add-on is updated)
Update_panel
Ignore

Ignore update to prevent future popups.

Update

Update to the latest version of the BlenderKit add-on.

Open website

Open the website in the web browser.

Install manually

Proceed to manually install update.

BlenderKit Login Panel

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ BlenderKit Login

login
Log In

Log in online on BlenderKit webpage.

Log Out

Log out from BlenderKit.

Find and Upload Assets Panel

The main panel enables you to Search or Upload all supported asset types.

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload

find and upload
Search/Upload

Switch the main panel between the Search and Upload tabs.

Search and Download

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search

find and upload
Models/Materials/Scenes/HDRs/Brushes

Switch between asset types available in BlenderKit.

These controls are common for all asset types:

Search

Search assets by name.

Show (eye icon)

Show/hide the Assetbar viewport overlay.

Models Search Options


Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Models

searchmodels
Search Filters
My Assets Only

Search only for your 3D models.

Free First

Show only free models. This option is available only for models, since all Materials and all Brushes are free.

Style

Search filter limiting the results (Any, realistic, painterly, lowpoly, anime, 2D vector, 3D graphics, polygonal and other).

Designed In (min - max)

When the object was approximately designed in terms of year. Can be used for parallel worlds or future sci-fi dates (search for sci-fi assets by entering 2100 as minimum year).

Poly Count In (min - max)

Use the poly count of 3D object for filtering.

Texture Resolution (min - max)

Limit search to the texture resolutions in a range.

File Size (MB) (min - max)

Limit search file size. This uses the basic file size of the original file.

Condition

Condition of the object (Unspecified, New, Used, Old, Desolate).

Animated

Search only animated assets.

Quality limit (1 to 10)

Only shows assets with a higher quality.

Categories

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Models ‣ Categories

Category panel enables direct browsing of BlenderKit categories.

Set Category >>

Visit subcategory.

Return ↲

Return to parent category.

Import Settings

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Models ‣ Import settings

import settings
Randomize Rotation

Randomize the rotation of the model around the Z axis during placement in the Blender scene.

Perpendicular Snap

Limit snapping if the angle is close to perpendicular angles to become exactly perpendicular. Useful for placing lamps on curved ceilings, or placing trees on slopes, or similar cases.

Link

Link 3D model into Blender scene. Linked models are saved in original files. To edit them, you need to open the model in the subdirectory of your project: – assets/models. Linking helps to keep file size low.

Append

Append 3D model into Blender scene. Appended objects are included and editable in your scene.

Unpack files

Unpack assets after download.

Max resolution

Resolution of the asset (512x512 - ORIGINAL FILE).

Materials Search Options


Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Materials

searchmaterials
Search filters:
My Assets Only

Search only for your 3D materials.

Texture:

Procedural/Texture Based/Both Limit search to only procedural or texture based materials.

File Size

Limit search with file size.

Quality Limit

Only show assets with higher quality.

Categories

Category panel enables direct browsing of BlenderKit categories.

Import Settings
importsetmaterials
Auto-Map

Reset object texture space and also add automatically a cube mapped uv to the object. This allows most materials to instantly apply to any mesh.

Link

Linked materials are saved in your original files, aren't editable directly, but also don't increase your files.

Append

Appended materials are editable in your scene.

Unpack files

Unpack assets after download.

Max resolution

Resolution of the asset (512x512 - ORIGINAL FILE).

Scenes search options


Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Scenes

searchscenes
My Assets Only

Search only for your 3D materials.

Categories

Category panel enables direct browsing of BlenderKit categories.

Import Settings
importsetscenes
Switch to scene after download

Switch to scene after download.

Link

Choose if the scene will be linked or appended.

Append

Choose if the scene will be linked or appended.

HDRs search options


Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ HDRs

searchhdrs
Search filters:
My Assets Only

Search only for your 3D materials.

Real HDRs only

Search only for HDRs, this means images that have a range higher than 0-1 in their pixels.

Categories

Category panel enables direct browsing of BlenderKit categories.

Import Settings
importsethdrs
Unpack files

Unpack assets after download.

Max resolution

Resolution of the asset (512x512 - ORIGINAL FILE).

Brushes search options


Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Find and Upload ‣ Search ‣ Brushes

searchbrushes

Upload

Model/Material/Scene/HDR/Brush

Switch between asset types which are available to upload in BlenderKit.

Common Options
Upload model
Read Upload Instructions

Open the Upload manual on the BlenderKit website. Read the manuals for models, materials, and brushes on the website.

Upload

Upload or re-upload the 3D model+thumbnail+metadata. In the operator you can choose if you want to update the file. If both file and thumbnail are deactivated, only the metadata get updated.

Category

The main category to place the model into.

Subcategory

The subcategory to place the model into.

Private/Public

Set the assets privacy. Assets marked as Public will be automatically submitted into the Validation process. Private assets will be hidden to the public and are limited in quantity by a quota.

License

BlenderKit offers two licenses for the assets. Both licenses allow for commercial and non-commercial use.

Royalty free: Royalty-free commercial license

Creative Commons Zero: Creative Commons Zero

Plan

Free Assets can be in Free or in Full plan. Also free assets generate credits. You consent you want to release this asset as free for everyone.

Full Assets can be in Free or in Full plan. Also free assets generate credits. Your asset will be only available for subscribers.

Name

Name of your asset.

Description

Description of the asset.

Tags

List of tags, separated by commas (optional). Include at least three tags

Thumbnail

The path to the preview image (square, at least 512×512 px, JPG image).

Generate Thumbnail (Thumbnail Generator)

Automatically generate a thumbnail for the 3D model assets.

thumbnail generator
Thumbnail Background Lightness (0.01-10.00)

Set to make your asset stand out.

Thumbnail angle

Choose the angle of the thumbnail (default, front, side, top)

Model snaps to

Typical placing of the interior. Leave on ground for most objects that respect gravity.(ground, wall, ceiling, floating)

Cycles Samples (5-5000)

Cycles samples settings.

Resolution (256 -2048)

Thumbnail resolution.

Use denoising

Use denoising.

Use GPU for thumbnail rendering (for assets upload)

By default this is off so you can continue your work without any lag.

Models Only Options


Upload model
Style

Define the visual style of the asset.

Realistic: Photo-realistic model

Painterly: Hand-painted with visible strokes. Mostly For games.

Lowpoly: Do not mix up with poly count!

Anime: Anime style

2D Vector: 2D vector graphics

3D graphics: 3D graphics

Other: Other style

Any: Any style

Production Level

Production state of the asset. Also templates should be actually finished, just the nature of it can be a template, like a thumbnail scene, finished mesh topology as start for modeling or similar.

Finished

For the public database, the asset should always be ready for rendering. Assets without materials aren’t accepted into the public database.

Template

Templates are models that have general usability and have a clear description of how the asset is supposed to work. An example can be a beverage can with a prepared texture slot.

Condition

Condition of the object. (Unspecified, New, Used, Old, Desolate.)

PBR Compatible

Tick if the asset meets the PBR standard. Read what PBR is.

Design Properties:

Manufacturer The company making the design piece or product.

Designer Author of the original design piece depicted. Usually not you – fill in your name and personal statement in your profile on BlenderKit webpage.

Design Collection Fill if this piece is part of a real-world design collection.

Variant Color or material variant of the product.

Design Year Time when the item was designed. It can also be used for living creatures and other objects, for example, for a dinosaur you can set it to something like 240 million years.

Work Hours How long it has taken you to finish the asset? This value isn’t used in the BlenderKit scoring mechanism, but serves as comparison for administrators on how the rating system performs.

Adult Content Mark adult content.

Materials Only Options


uploadmaterial
Style:

Style of material. (Realistic, Non photo-realistic, other)

Pure PBR Compatible

The asset meets the PBR standard. This means only image textures are used with no procedural textures, no color correction, and only PBR shaders are used. Read what PBR is.

Needs UV

Requires a UV set. Read what UV is.

Animated

The material is animated.

Texture Size in Meters

If the material uses textures, this value sets the length of one side of the texture. This value is very important so that the materials apply with the correct scale.

Scenes Only Options


uploadscene
Read scene upload instructions

Open the website with uploading scene tutorial in the browser.

Upload scene

Upload or re-upload asset+thumbnail+metadata.

Style:

Style of material. (Realistic, Non photo-realistic, other)

Category:

Main category to put into.

Production Level

Production state of the asset. Also templates should be actually finished, just the nature of it can be a template, like a thumbnail scene, finished mesh topology as start for modeling or similar.

Design Year

Time when the item was designed. It can also be used for living creatures and other objects, for example, for a dinosaur you can set it to something like 240 million years.

Condition

Condition of the object (Unspecified, New, Used, Old, Desolate).

Work Hours

How long it has taken you to finish the asset? This value isn’t used in the BlenderKit scoring mechanism, but serves as comparison for administrators on how the rating system performs.

Adult Content

Mark adult content.

HDRs Only Options


uploadhdrs
Read hdr upload instructions

Open the website with uploading a hdr instructions in the browser.

Upload Hdr

Upload or re-upload asset+thumbnail+metadata.

Category:

Main category to put into.

Subcategory:

Subcategory to put into.

Brushes Only Options


uploadbrushes
Read brush upload instructions

Open the website with uploading a brush instructions in the browser.

Upload Brush

Upload or re-upload asset+thumbnail+metadata.

Category:

Main category to put into.

Private/Public

Public assets go into the validation process. Validated assets are visible to all the users. Private assets are limited by your plan.

License:

Choose the license of the asset (Royalty Free, Creative Common Zero).

Free/full

Assets can be in free or full plan. Also free assets generate credits.

Name

Name of your asset.

Descripton

Description of your asset.

Tags

List of tags, separated by commas.

Selected Model

Reference Panel: Sidebar ‣ BlenderKit ‣ Selected model

This panel is shown if you select a 3D model downloaded from BlenderKit. The name of the model appears below.

selected model
Add rating

Rating of the asset, also directly in the assetbar - without need to download assets.

Rating
Work Hours

Estimate how many hour you saved thanks to this asset. Rating helps BlenderKit distribute rewards to authors, and thus it is very important for us that you rate assets and do it in a fair manner.

Open Author Website

Open the Author Website in a web browser.

Show Assets by Author

Run search and display the assetbar at the same time.

Search similar

Search for similar assets in the library.

See online

Opens the website with the selected model in a web browser.

Replace Active Models

Replace all selected with this one.

⚠️ **GitHub.com Fallback** ⚠️