Panels reference¶
Gradient Tools adds a Gradient Tools sidebar tab (N) to both the 3D Viewport and the Image / UV Editor. Here is every panel and what it contains.
3D Viewport¶
| Panel | Contents |
|---|---|
| Gradient Tools | Palette list (add / remove / duplicate), the preset picker, the live palette preview, and a prominent Assign Material button. A dismissible Quick Start block for newcomers. |
| Strips | Add Flat / Gradient strips · the strip list (rename, lock, move, duplicate, copy-to-palette, delete) · the active-strip editor (incl. the Gradient Editor Color Ramp) · the Layout / Grid size controls and the Mini Grid Map with Auto-Fit Grid and Compact Slots. |
| Palette Settings | Palette name · texture Width / Height (32–4096) and Lock Aspect · Color Space (Non-Color / sRGB) · UV Layer · Update Texture. |
| Material Look | Pick one of the six looks — Toon / Flat / Plastic / Glossy / Metal / Glass — and tune its parameters (metallic, roughness, highlight/specular, coat, IOR, transmission, emission-floor, Toon band count) plus optional procedural roughness/bump channels. The apply-scope target chooses Whole Object / Painted Element / Selected Faces. Also Copy Look to Selected, Link Looks (Shared), the Eyedropper, and look-preset Save / Apply / Import / Export. The panel follows your selection (see Material Looks). Location: Sidebar ▸ Gradient Tools ▸ Material Look. |
| Color Management | Native View Transform, Look and Exposure controls with a one-click reset to Standard. Location: Sidebar ▸ Gradient Tools ▸ Color Management. |
| Apply & Export | The adaptive primary button — Set Up Object (fresh) → Refresh Material (same palette) → Switch to '{palette}' (a different palette) · Bake to Vertex Colors · Save PNG · Show in Image Editor. |
| UV Tools | The four painting tools — Project / Paint / Radial / Path — with the Target strip selector and per-tool options & steps. The strip selector is now a read-only picker: each cell shows the strip's real colour or real gradient as a crisp, un-dimmed swatch — pick a colour to apply, no accidental edits (the full editor stays in the Strips panel). Choose Grid or List style in Preferences. Flat colours also get Assign to Active, not just gradients. (See Painting tools.) |
| Curve Gradient | Apply a gradient along a Curve object (Gradient Along Curve toggle). Uses the same read-only strip picker. Only shown when a curve is the active object. |
Image / UV Editor¶
| Panel | Contents |
|---|---|
| Gradient Tools | Same hub as the Viewport, plus the Eyedropper and the grid overlay controls. |
| Strips | Identical to the Viewport's Strips panel. |
| Palette Settings | Identical to the Viewport's Palette Settings. |
| Material Look | The same Material Look panel as the Viewport (six-look selector, tunable parameters, apply-scope target, copy / link / eyedropper, look presets). Location: Sidebar ▸ Gradient Tools ▸ Material Look. |
| Color Management | The same Color Management panel as the Viewport (View Transform, Look, Exposure, reset to Standard). Location: Sidebar ▸ Gradient Tools ▸ Color Management. |
| Apply & Export | Identical, plus the face tools: Pick Strip, Select Faces by Strip, Move Faces to Strip. (See Image / UV Editor.) |
Design here, apply there
The Strips and Palette Settings panels are about building the palette; UV Tools and Apply & Export are about putting it on your model. The split keeps each panel short and the workflow obvious.
Panel order & state¶
Panels are collapsible, and Blender remembers their expanded/collapsed state per .blend
file. The Apply & Export panel is open by default so the key actions are always one click
away.