Modular Workspaces for Blender

Note: Modular Workspaces 1.9 for Blender 4.4+ is now available.

Modular Workspaces expands the features of the Blender interface, allowing you to use customize editor toggle buttons in the 3D view, and also streamlines the process of unpacking collection assets by helping to center them in the world, separate the content, and organize it into collections automatically. An accompanying asset library is also included, with presets that will give you a head-start in your projects.

Watch the most recent update video to learn more about the project and familiarize yourself with the features.

The Addon

Installing the addon will add a new tab in the 3D view sidebar. This tab will display a series of panels containing operations that will help you unpack, clean, and organize content in your file.

In addition to this, new 'toggle' buttons have been added to the Blender interface, making it easier for you to open and close the asset browser (or any other editor) from the 3D view. Your default browser settings will apply automatically on opening, providing you with a shortcut to access your favorite content.

Taking this further, the toggle buttons are highly customizable, allow you to create shortcuts in the 3D view to access any of your favorite editors. This includes the ability to rename the buttons, set them to display with an icon only, and choose different icons for each one, giving you the option to keep the functionality while having a minimal visual impact on the interface.

Per-Workspace Customization and Asset Filters

With version 1.9, we have also added the option to customize your default asset browser settings for each workspace, allowing you to set up a variety of interface workflows across your file. This also includes the ability to pre-select the filters for asset browser content, so if you are working with a very large asset library in multiple places within the same file, you can set it to automatically filter different asset types for each workspace.

Pie Menu

Version 1.6+ introduced a pie menu that allows you to quick-access the toggleable editors with the flick of the mouse. The pie menu shortcut can also be easily edited from the Modular Workspaces interface panel, allowing you to easily modify the key-mapping.

Asset Library File

The asset library file is completely optional and 100% customizable - just open the blend file and start modifying the pre-existing collections and node groups however you like. You can even add more presets or create your own asset libraries from scratch (see the Blender documentation to learn more about the asset browser / library system). The unpacking functionality of Modular Workspaces will work with collection assets from any asset library.

Drag and drop collections from the asset library into your scene and unpack with the press of a button! Various settings are available to let you change the unpacking functionality, including whether to center the collection assets in the world, maintain parent-child hierarchies, trim the names of objects, and more.

Character Display Update

A variety of lighting templates have been added to the optional asset library, giving you customizable starting points for getting great-looking character renders. Watch the update video here to learn more about these additions.