Text Texture Generator - Blender Addon

A modern Blender addon that generates image textures from text with extensive customization options.

Features

• Text Input: Enter any text to convert into a texture
• Customizable Size: Adjust texture dimensions (64x64 to 4096x4096 pixels)
• Font Controls:
  • Multiple font options (system-dependent)
  • Adjustable font size (8-200px)
  • Text alignment (left, center, right)
• Color Controls:
  • Text color picker with alpha
  • Background color picker with alpha
  • Transparent background option
• Layout Options:
  • Adjustable padding around text
  • Professional text positioning
• Blender Integration:
  • Automatic image texture node creation in Shader Editor
  • Works in both Shader Editor and 3D Viewport
  • Generated textures are packed into the .blend file

Installation

Method 1: Modern Blender 4.0+ (Recommended)

1. Download the addon files (blender_manifest.toml and __init__.py)
2. Create a folder named text_texture_generator
3. Place both files in this folder
4. In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
5. Click Install from Disk and select the folder
6. Enable the "Text Texture Generator" addon

Method 2: Traditional Installation

1. Download the __init__.py file
2. In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons
3. Click Install from Disk and select the __init__.py file
4. Enable the "Text Texture Generator" addon

Usage

In Shader Editor:

1. Select a material with nodes enabled
2. Open the Shader Editor
3. Press N to open the side panel
4. Navigate to the "Text Texture" tab
5. Configure your text and settings
6. Click "Generate Texture"
7. The texture node will be automatically added to your material

In 3D Viewport:

1. Press N to open the side panel
2. Navigate to the "Text Texture" tab
3. Configure your text and settings
4. Click "Generate Texture"
5. Find your texture in the Image Editor or use it in materials

Settings Reference

Text Settings

• Text: The text to render (up to 1024 characters)
• Font: System font selection (varies by OS)
• Font Size: Size of the text in pixels (8-200)
• Alignment: Text alignment (left, center, right)
• Padding: Space around text in pixels (0-100)

Texture Settings

• Width/Height: Texture dimensions in pixels (64-4096)
• Text Color: RGBA color picker for text
• Transparent Background: Enable/disable background transparency
• Background Color: RGBA color picker for background (when not transparent)

System Requirements

• Blender 4.0.0 or newer
• Python 3.10+ (included with Blender)
• Pillow library (automatically installed via pip)

Supported Fonts

The addon includes several built-in font options that vary by operating system:

Windows

• Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Calibri, Segoe UI

macOS

• Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Helvetica, SF Pro Display, Menlo

Linux

• DejaVu Sans, DejaVu Serif, DejaVu Sans Mono, Ubuntu

Dependencies

The addon automatically installs required dependencies:

• Pillow (>=10.0.0): For image generation and text rendering

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Failed to generate texture" error:

   • Ensure Pillow is installed (addon does this automatically)
   • Check that your text isn't empty
   • Verify texture dimensions are within limits

2. Font not displaying correctly:

   • Try using "Default" font option
   • Some system fonts may not be available
   • Custom font paths vary by system

3. Texture appears in wrong location:

   • In Shader Editor: Ensure you have a material selected
   • Check the generated image in the Image Editor
   • Look for the texture in bpy.data.images

Performance Notes

• Large textures (2048x2048+) may take longer to generate
• Very long text strings may affect performance
• Generated textures are stored in memory and packed with the .blend file

Development

File Structure

text_texture_generator/
├── blender_manifest.toml  # Modern addon manifest
├── __init__.py           # Main addon code
└── README.md            # This file

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests. The addon is designed to be simple and focused on core text texture generation functionality.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

Author

Marc Mintel marc@mintel.me

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Text to texture conversion
• Customizable fonts, colors, and sizing
• Transparent background support
• Automatic Blender integration
• Cross-platform font support