NodeMaster - Node Tree Automation Addon for Blender

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About the Addon

As a full-time GLB modeler, I found myself repeatedly creating the same node structures hundreds of times a day. While it only takes a few minutes to set up the nodes and load the textures, I wanted a faster, more efficient solution. This addon was created to automate that process.

With a single click, you can select your texture folder for the model, and NodeMaster will automatically generate the required Node(s) and load the corresponding textures for each.

A few times I used this in conjunction with the "Batch Exporter GLB/GLTF" addon too in cases where I needed to export 30+ models from the same collection all with the same material/material name to .GLB, but load the textures specifically for each on export. Saved even more time!

Key Features:

• Streamlined Texture Loading: Load textures based on the material name automatically.
• Node Tree Creation: Automatically generates a custom node tree with image nodes and custom structures.
• Load/Reload Function: Reload textures into their corresponding nodes and update them when textures are modified externally.
• Export and Import Node Structures: Export and import node structures as JSON files for easy reuse.
• Image Format Definition: Useful for testing multiple image formats, especially for textures from tools like Substance Painter with different compression levels.
• GLTF Output: Supports ambient occlusion for GLTF exports.
• Suffix Definition: Adjust suffix definitions to match your texture naming conventions (e.g., "base_Color" instead of "Color").
• Duplicate Material/Image Cleaning: Automatically clean up duplicate materials and images (e.g., materials named ".001", ".002", etc.).

Installation

1. Download the project as a .ZIP file via the green "<> Code" dropdown on GitHub.
2. In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.
3. Click Install in the top-right of the Add-ons window and select the downloaded .ZIP file.
4. Enable or disable the addon by checking the box next to it.
5. Once enabled, the NodeMaster panel will appear in the Shader Node Editor under a new tab.

To access the panel, press the 'N' key to open the side panel in the Shader Node Editor.

How to Use

Load/Reload and Set Texture Path

• The Set Texture Path button prompts you to select the texture folder for your model.
• NodeMaster loads textures based on the pattern MaterialName+Suffix.format, so ensure the path matches the folder for your specific material (e.g., for a "Trim" material, the path might be Textures/Trim).

Apply To Setting

• Apply To determines which materials have their textures loaded. You can choose:
  • Only the selected material
  • All materials attached to the active object
  • All materials in the scene (ideal for shared texture folders across multiple materials).

Node Structure Settings

• Load Image Nodes: Enable or disable the creation of image texture nodes in the node tree.
• Clear All Nodes: Clears the existing node tree, ensuring a clean slate before loading the new structure.
• Load Image Assets: Determines whether image assets are actually loaded into the material or just the nodes.

Node Structure

• Select your base node structure from the dropdown. These node structures are located in /Props/NodeStructures.

Material Settings

• This section is deprecated and is no longer in use.

Texture Suffixes

• This feature is deprecated and no longer in use. Refer instead to the SuffixDictionary in Json/SuffixDictionary.JSON

Tools

• Clean Duplicate Materials: Removes duplicate materials (e.g., materials named ".001", ".002", etc.) and consolidates them into the first occurrence.
• Clean Duplicate Images: Removes duplicate image textures.
• Load Node Tree (JSON): Load a previously exported node tree from a JSON file.
• Export Node Tree (JSON): Export the current node tree structure as a JSON file for future use.
• Add Custom Property: Add custom properties to your node tree.
• Apply Property: Apply custom properties to nodes in the tree.
• Custom Property: Manage and assign custom properties to your materials or nodes.

Report Issues

If you encounter any issues or bugs, please report them here:
NodeMaster Issues

Support NodeMaster and Other Projects

If you find this addon helpful, consider supporting its development:
Donate via PayPal