Mesh Painter Documentation

Installation

Download mesh_painter.zip
Open Blender 4.0 or later
Go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
Click Install and select the downloaded zip file
Enable Mesh Painter in the addon list
The panel will appear in 3D View Sidebar > Mesh Painter tab

Overview

Mesh Painter is a Blender addon that transforms object placement into an intuitive painting workflow. Select any mesh object as a brush and paint it directly onto surfaces in real time. Whether you are populating game environments, creating architectural visualizations, or building complex scenes, Mesh Painter saves hours of manual work.

Quick Start?

Your First Paint.

Open a new Blender scene (Delete a cube if you must is a tradition)
Add a Plane (Shift+A → Mesh → Plane) and scale it up (S, 10, Enter)
Add a UV Sphere (Shift+A → Mesh → UV Sphere) — this will be your brush object
Select the UV Sphere
Open the Mesh Painter panel in the sidebar
In the Brushes section click "Create from 'Sphere'"
Go to Brush Tool section and click "Start Painting"
Move your mouse over the plane — you will see a white circle cursor
Left click and drag to paint spheres onto the plane
Press RMB or ESC to exit paint mode

Panel Structure

The Mesh Painter panel is organized into six sections:

SectionPurposeBrushesCreate and manage brush objectsBrush ToolEnter paint mode and control brush settingsPrecision PlacerSingle click placement with snappingErase ToolRemove painted objectsStroke EditingEdit painted objects after placementSetupTarget object and collection settings

Brushes

The Brushes section is where you create and manage your brush library.

Creating a Brush

Select any mesh object in the viewport or outliner
In the Brushes section click "Create from '[ObjectName]'"
The brush appears in the Brush Library with its settings

Brush Library

Each brush in the library shows:

Active indicator (radio button) — click to set as active brush
Brush name — displays the source object name
Usage count — number of times this brush has been used
Delete button (X) — removes the brush from the library

Brush Settings

When a brush is active, its settings are displayed below it in the library.

Placement

SettingDescriptionScaleBase size of placed objects (0.01 - 10.0)SpacingMinimum world space distance between placed objectsOffset X/Y/ZPosition offset applied to every placed object

Alignment

SettingDescriptionAlign to Surface NormalObjects orient to face the surface they are placed onFollow Stroke DirectionObjects align along the direction of your stroke

Randomization

SettingDescriptionRotation X/Y/ZRandom rotation range per axis during paintingScale VariationRandom scale variation percentage during paintingRandom SeedChange this value for different random results

Brush Tool

The Brush Tool section controls the painting experience.

Starting Paint Mode

Make sure you have at least one brush created
Click "Start Painting"
The header shows "●PAINT MODE"
Move your mouse over any surface to see the white circle cursor
Left click or click and drag to paint

Brush Tool Settings

SettingDescriptionBrush RadiusSize of the white circle cursor in the viewportDensityHow many objects are placed per stroke

Understanding Brush Radius vs Spacing

Brush Radius controls the size of your cursor (visual only)
Spacing (in brush settings) controls the minimum distance between placed objects in world space
For dense painting lower the Spacing value in your brush settings
For sparse painting increase the Spacing value

Density Guide

DensityUse Case0.1 - 0.5Sparse placement, large individual objects like trees1.0Default balanced placement2.0 - 5.0Dense placement, small objects like rocks or pebbles

Exiting Paint Mode

Press RMB or ESC to exit paint mode at any time.

Precision Placer

Precision Placer allows single click placement with rotation and scale snapping for exact positioning.

Starting Precision Mode

Make sure you have at least one brush created
In the Precision Placer section click "Start Precision Place"
A blue crosshair cursor appears at your mouse position
Click once to place a single object

Snapping Controls

KeyActionLMBPlace object with current settingsCtrl + LMBPlace object with rotation snappedShift + LMBPlace object with scale snappedCtrl + Shift + LMBPlace object with both rotation and scale snapped

Snap Settings

SettingOptionsRotation Snap15°, 30°, 45°, 90°Scale Snap0.25x, 0.5x, 1.0x, 2.0x

Exiting Precision Mode

Press RMB or ESC to exit precision mode.

Erase Tool

The Erase Tool removes painted objects from your scene.

Erase Mode

Click "Start Erasing"
A red circle cursor appears
Left click or drag over objects to erase them
The painted object count updates in real time
Press RMB or ESC to exit erase mode

Erase Settings

SettingDescriptionErase RadiusSize of the erase cursor area

Mass Erase

The Mass Erase section shows the total count of painted objects in your scene. Click "Erase All Objects" to remove every painted object at once. A confirmation dialog will appear before deletion.

Stroke Editing

Stroke Editing allows you to adjust painted objects after placement without repainting. This is one of the most powerful features of Mesh Painter.

Selection

Before editing, select the objects you want to adjust:

Click "Select All Painted" to select every painted object in the scene
Or manually select objects in the viewport using box select (B key)
The panel shows how many objects are currently selected

Randomize Adjust

Randomize adds controlled variation to selected objects. Each click of Apply gives fresh results — it does not stack.

SettingDescriptionRotation XRandom rotation range on X axis (0° - 360°)Rotation YRandom rotation range on Y axis (0° - 360°)Rotation ZRandom rotation range on Z axis (0° - 360°)Scale VariationRandom scale variation percentageSeedChange this for different random patterns with same settings

Apply — Applies randomization to selected objects
Reset — Resets all selected objects to scale 1.0 and rotation 0°

Uniform Adjust

Uniform Adjust sets every selected object to the exact same scale and rotation values.

SettingDescriptionScaleSets all selected objects to this exact scaleRotation XSets all selected objects to this exact X rotationRotation YSets all selected objects to this exact Y rotationRotation ZSets all selected objects to this exact Z rotation

Apply — Applies uniform values to selected objects
Reset — Resets all selected objects to scale 1.0 and rotation 0°

Stroke Editing Workflow

Paint objects → Exit paint mode → Select objects → 
Adjust sliders → Click Apply → Don't like it? Ctrl+Z → Adjust again

Setup

The Setup section configures global painting settings.

Target Object

By default Mesh Painter paints on any visible mesh surface. Setting a target object restricts painting to that object only.

Select a mesh object in the viewport
Click "Set '[ObjectName]' as Target"
Now painting only works on that specific object
Click X next to the target field to clear it

Collection Settings

SettingDescriptionAuto CollectionAutomatically creates collections for painted objectsCollection NameBase name for created collections

When Auto Collection is enabled, painted objects are automatically organized into named collections using the format:

MeshPainter_[BrushName]_[Date]

Example: MeshPainter_Sphere_Feb11

Keyboard Shortcuts

Paint Mode

ShortcutActionLMB Hold + DragPaint stroke of objectsLMB ReleaseStop painting current strokeRMB / ESCExit paint mode

Precision Mode

ShortcutActionLMBPlace objectCtrl + LMBPlace with rotation snapShift + LMBPlace with scale snapCtrl + Shift + LMBPlace with both snapsRMB / ESCExit precision mode

Erase Mode

ShortcutActionLMB ClickErase single objectLMB DragErase multiple objectsRMB / ESCExit erase mode

General

ShortcutActionCtrl + ZUndo last actionCtrl + Shift + ZRedo last actionBBox select in viewport

Tips & Tricks

For Game Environments

Set a low Spacing value (0.5m) with medium Density (1.0 - 2.0) for natural coverage
Use Randomize after painting with Rotation Z set to 360° for natural variation
Create separate brushes for different asset types and switch between them
Use collections to organize painted objects by area

For Architectural Visualization

Use Precision Placer for furniture and prop placement
Enable rotation snapping (45° or 90°) for aligned objects
Set a Target Object to restrict painting to specific surfaces
Use Uniform Adjust to set consistent scale for all furniture pieces

For Natural Scenes

Paint multiple passes with different brushes for variety
Use Randomize with Scale Variation around 20% - 40% for natural size differences
Keep Rotation X and Y at 0° for upright objects, only randomize Z
Combine different sized brushes for realistic distribution

Performance Tips

Keep brush source objects low polygon count
Use instancing (enabled by default in preferences) for large scenes
Monitor the painted object count in the Erase Tool section
Use collections to hide and show groups of painted objects

Troubleshooting

Objects not appearing when painting

Check that your brush has a valid source object in the Brushes section
Make sure your mouse is over a visible mesh surface
Try reducing the Spacing value in brush settings
Check the Blender console for error messages

White cursor not visible

Make sure you have clicked "Start Painting" and are in Paint Mode
Your mouse must be hovering over a mesh surface for the cursor to appear
Check that the target object (if set) is visible in the viewport

Objects placing in wrong location

Check the Offset values in brush settings are set to 0
Make sure your source object has its origin set correctly
Try applying scale and rotation to your source object (Ctrl+A in viewport)

Erase mode not detecting objects

Make sure objects are inside a MeshPainter collection
Objects must have been painted using Mesh Painter to be detected
Try increasing the Erase Radius value

Performance slowing down

Reduce the number of objects using Erase Tool
Enable instancing in addon preferences
Hide collections you are not currently working on

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (Feb 2026)

Initial release
Paint mode with real time cursor feedback
Precision placement mode with Ctrl and Shift snapping
Erase mode with adjustable radius and mass erase
Brush system with unlimited brushes and full settings
Post paint stroke editing with Randomize and Uniform Adjust
Smart collection management with automatic naming
Surface normal alignment
Full randomization control per axis
Undo and redo support

Support

For bug reports, feature requests and support contact me, don't hesitate to inbox.
egretfx@gmail.com

Mesh Painter by Egret — Keep creating beauty in the world! Forza Michelangelo.

Mesh Painter

Mesh Painter is a real-time object placement tool for Blender that lets you paint, align, and scatter meshes directly in the viewport, turning hours of manual work into minutes.