MCPInstall

blender-rendering

by roble3Media & Creative

Render Blender scenes with the right engine and settings — Cycles for photoreal, EEVEE for speed/stylized, sample counts, denoising (OptiX/OIDN), light path tuning, color management (AgX/Filmic), file output (PNG/EXR/MP4), animation rendering. Use whenever the user asks to "render this", "produce an image", "render a frame / animation", "make a final image", "save the render", or any output-generation request. Make sure to use this skill even if the user does not say "render" — also covers "make a picture", "save the result", "produce a final image", "export as image".

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/roble3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-rendering
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads blender-rendering automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

MCP backend

Use when: Any image or animation render output request in Blender.

Before the first Blender call, read ../text-to-blender/references/mcp-backends.md. Prefer official MCP for shared capabilities; preserve the selected backend for the whole task. Tool names in recipes are client/legacy examples: map them through that reference and its agent-host guide.

Blender Rendering

Render efficiently. The defaults are wrong for production; the recipes below are tuned for the common cases.

Engine decision tree

Need photoreal? Caustics? Accurate SSS? Glass-rich?
├── YES → Cycles (path tracer)
└── NO  → Need speed? Stylized look? Animation iteration?
          ├── YES → EEVEE
          └── NO  → Cycles (default fallback for photoreal)

Quick rule:

  • Stills, archviz, product, hero shots → Cycles
  • Animation previews, motion graphics, stylized → EEVEE

Reference-look handoff

If the goal is to match an original/reference image rather than make a generally attractive render, chain-load reference-look-calibration. It owns measurement of hue/saturation/value, object extent, glow/aura color, and before/after look metrics. This skill should then apply the requested material/lighting/render changes within that calibrated target.

Recipes

Recipe 1 — Cycles production preset (256 samples + denoise)

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene
scene.render.engine = 'CYCLES'
scene.cycles.device = 'GPU'

# Sampling
scene.cycles.samples = 256
scene.cycles.use_adaptive_sampling = True
scene.cycles.adaptive_threshold = 0.01
scene.cycles.adaptive_min_samples = 32

# Denoising (recommended)
scene.cycles.use_denoising = True
scene.cycles.denoiser = 'OPENIMAGEDENOISE'   # safe default; switch to 'OPTIX' on NVIDIA RTX

# Light paths (defaults are reasonable; bump transmission for glass-rich scenes)
scene.cycles.max_bounces = 12
scene.cycles.transmission_bounces = 12

# Resolution
scene.render.resolution_x = 1920
scene.render.resolution_y = 1080
scene.render.resolution_percentage = 100

print('render:cycles_production_preset')

Recipe 2 — Cycles draft preset (faster iteration)

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene
scene.render.engine = 'CYCLES'
scene.cycles.device = 'GPU'
scene.cycles.samples = 64
scene.cycles.use_adaptive_sampling = True
scene.cycles.adaptive_threshold = 0.05
scene.cycles.use_denoising = True
scene.render.resolution_percentage = 50    # half res for tests
print('render:cycles_draft')

Recipe 3 — EEVEE preset

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# Engine name changed across versions:
#   Blender ≤ 4.1:        'BLENDER_EEVEE'
#   Blender 4.2 only:     'BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT' (transitional; replaced)
#   Blender ≥ 5.0:        'BLENDER_EEVEE' (the new EEVEE replaced the old)
# Try the new name first; fall back if it doesn't exist on this Blender.
try:
    scene.render.engine = 'BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT'
except (TypeError, ValueError):
    scene.render.engine = 'BLENDER_EEVEE'

# Preserve older EEVEE options only where the installed API exposes them.
settings = dict(taa_render_samples=64, taa_samples=16, use_gtao=True,
                gtao_distance=0.2, use_bloom=True, use_ssr=True,
                use_ssr_refraction=True, use_volumetric_lights=True)
eevee = getattr(scene, 'eevee', None)
unavailable = []
for name, value in settings.items():
    if eevee is not None and hasattr(eevee, name):
        setattr(eevee, name, value)
    else:
        unavailable.append(name)
if (eevee is not None and not hasattr(eevee, 'use_gtao')
        and all(hasattr(eevee, n) for n in ('use_fast_gi', 'fast_gi_method', 'fast_gi_distance'))
        and 'AMBIENT_OCCLUSION_ONLY' in
        {item.identifier for item in eevee.bl_rna.properties['fast_gi_method'].enum_items}):
    eevee.use_fast_gi = True
    eevee.fast_gi_method = 'AMBIENT_OCCLUSION_ONLY'
    eevee.fast_gi_distance = 0.2
    unavailable = [n for n in unavailable if n not in ('use_gtao', 'gtao_distance')]
scene.render.resolution_x = 1920
scene.render.resolution_y = 1080
print(f'render:eevee_preset unavailable_legacy_options:{unavailable}')

Removed options are reported, not treated as enabled. In newer EEVEE, use supported ray-tracing settings for reflections/refraction and compositor Glare for requested glow; consult the installed API or reference-look-calibration before changing look. This preset does not silently create or overwrite a compositor setup.

EEVEE limitations to know:

  • Reflections are screen-space (can't reflect what's off-screen) — workaround: place Reflection Plane / Cubemap probes
  • Same for refraction
  • Indirect light baked, not real-time — bake Light Probes for accurate bounce
  • No accurate caustics

Recipe 4 — Color management

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# View transform — controls the "look" mapping HDR → display
scene.view_settings.view_transform = 'AgX'         # default Blender 4.x; replaces Filmic
scene.view_settings.look = 'AgX - Medium High Contrast'

# Or: 'Filmic' (older but still supported), 'Standard' (oversaturates highlights)

scene.view_settings.exposure = 0.0
scene.view_settings.gamma = 1.0
print('render:colormanagement_AgX')

Rule: Never use 'Standard' for photographic output — it blows out highlights. AgX or Filmic almost always.

Recipe 5 — Render a single frame to PNG

⚠ bpy.ops.render.render() fails with Error: Cannot render, no camera if scene.camera is None. Always run the camera guard first. The guard auto-assigns the first CAMERA-type object if the scene has any, and raises a clear error otherwise.

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# Camera guard — required before every render
def ensure_camera(scene):
    if scene.camera is not None:
        return scene.camera.name
    cams = [o for o in bpy.data.objects if o.type == 'CAMERA']
    if not cams:
        raise RuntimeError("No camera in scene — add one before rendering")
    scene.camera = cams[0]
    return cams[0].name

cam_name = ensure_camera(scene)
print(f"camera:{cam_name}")

scene.render.image_settings.file_format = 'PNG'
scene.render.image_settings.color_mode = 'RGBA'
scene.render.image_settings.color_depth = '16'    # 16-bit for compositing later
scene.render.filepath = '/tmp/output_hero.png'

bpy.ops.render.render(write_still=True)
print(f"render:saved {scene.render.filepath}")

After this, verify with the shell tool: ls -la /tmp/output_hero.png — confirm file exists and report size.

Recipe 6 — Render an animation as PNG sequence

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# Camera guard — same pattern as Recipe 5
def ensure_camera(scene):
    if scene.camera is not None:
        return scene.camera.name
    cams = [o for o in bpy.data.objects if o.type == 'CAMERA']
    if not cams:
        raise RuntimeError("No camera in scene — add one before rendering")
    scene.camera = cams[0]
    return cams[0].name

cam_name = ensure_camera(scene)
print(f"camera:{cam_name}")

scene.frame_start = 1
scene.frame_end = 240
scene.render.fps = 24

scene.render.image_settings.file_format = 'PNG'
scene.render.filepath = '/tmp/anim/frame_'   # output: frame_0001.png, frame_0002.png, ...

# Resilience: keep partial work on crash
scene.render.use_placeholder = True
scene.render.use_overwrite = False

# Reuse mesh data between frames (faster)
scene.render.use_persistent_data = True

bpy.ops.render.render(animation=True)
print('render:animation_done')

Pro pattern: render to PNG sequence, then encode to MP4 with ffmpeg afterward:

ffmpeg -framerate 24 -i frame_%04d.png -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 18 anim.mp4

Recipe 7 — Performance tuning for slow renders

import bpy

scene = bpy.context.scene

# 1. Cap subdivision in render
scene.render.use_simplify = True
scene.render.simplify_subdivision = 1
scene.render.simplify_subdivision_render = 2

# 2. Higher noise threshold (faster, more denoiser-dependent)
scene.cycles.adaptive_threshold = 0.05

# 3. Lower light path bounces (lose some realism)
scene.cycles.max_bounces = 8
scene.cycles.diffuse_bounces = 3
scene.cycles.glossy_bounces = 3
print('render:performance_tuned')

Recipe 8 — Configure GPU compute device (one-time)

import bpy

prefs = bpy.context.preferences.addons['cycles'].preferences
prefs.compute_device_type = 'OPTIX'   # or 'CUDA', 'HIP' (AMD), 'METAL' (Mac)
for device in prefs.devices:
    device.use = True
print(f"gpu:{prefs.compute_device_type} devices:{len(prefs.devices)}")

This is a Blender preference — only needs to run once per machine.

Sample count guide

Scene typeSamplesWhy
Outdoor, direct sun64–128Mostly direct light
General product/portrait256Standard quality
Indoor with bounce512More indirect = more noise
Caustics, glass, complex SSS1024–2048Hardest to converge

Always pair with denoising. 256 samples + denoise ≈ 4096 raw samples in visual quality.

Common pitfalls

SymptomFix
Error: Cannot render, no camerascene.camera is None. Use the ensure_camera() guard at the top of Recipes 5/6 — it auto-assigns the first CAMERA object or raises a clear error if none exists
Render takes hoursReduce samples; enable adaptive; lower bounces
Cycles GPU not usedConfigure compute device in preferences (Recipe 8)
Render direct to MP4 lost on crashRender PNG sequence, encode after
Standard view transform → blown highlightsUse AgX or Filmic
Glass renders blackIncrease transmission_bounces (16+)
EEVEE missing reflectionsAdd Reflection Plane / Cubemap probes
Animation flickers between framesUse persistent data; consider temporal denoising
Output file empty / nothing renderedSet scene.render.filepath first; check write_still=True for stills

When to load references/overview.md

Load when:

  • Need detailed engine comparison (Cycles vs EEVEE feature matrix)
  • Tuning light paths for specific scene types (caustics, foliage, hair)
  • Light groups for re-lighting in compositor
  • AOV / custom render passes
  • Distributed / farm rendering

The reference covers: full Cycles vs EEVEE matrix, sample-count guides per scene, denoiser comparison (OptiX vs OIDN), light-path bounce tuning, color management deep-dive, and animation rendering best practices.

FAQ

What does the blender-rendering skill do?

Render Blender scenes with the right engine and settings — Cycles for photoreal, EEVEE for speed/stylized, sample counts, denoising (OptiX/OIDN), light path tuning, color management (AgX/Filmic), file output (PNG/EXR/MP4), animation rendering. Use whenever the user asks to "render this", "produce an image", "render a frame / animation", "make a final image", "save the render", or any output-generation request. Make sure to use this skill even if the user does not say "render" — also covers "make a picture", "save the result", "produce a final image", "export as image".

How do I install blender-rendering?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/roble3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-rendering in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/blender-rendering/ (personal) or .claude/skills/blender-rendering/ (project).

Which AI agents can use blender-rendering?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is blender-rendering safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains blender-rendering?

It is published by roble3 in roble3/cc-blender-skill. It has 1,365 recorded installs.

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