Shader View is a new add-on developed by DivideByZero that promises to speed up shader creation workflows in Blender. It enables users to preview the output of their nodes in real-time, with previews displayed right above each node. This eliminates the need to continuously switch nodes to the material output, making for a less frustrating experience, especially when dealing with complex materials.
The tool takes inspiration from an existing add-on named Node Preview by Simon Wendsche, expanding on the idea of real-time node previews to improve the shader creation process.
Shader View was designed for performance, rendering node output previews in a background process to ensure a fluid experience with no lag or slowdowns, even in node trees containing more than 200 nodes. The previews also work seamlessly with animated shaders, maintaining performance during playback.
Shader View automatically synchronizes and updates all connected node previews while efficiently managing them to prevent visual overlaps with other nodes. It also preserves the original "z-order" of shader nodes, keeping the node editor clean and organized.
Besides simply rendering previews, the add-on offers control over how they are displayed. Users can adjust each node preview independently with customizable settings. These include selecting the output socket to render, zooming in or out for detailed viewing, and choosing between plane or sphere previews. Users can also switch camera types for perspective or orthographic views and toggle between the EEVEE and Cycles rendering engines. These are just some of the available options, giving users flexibility while maintaining an intuitive workflow.
Shader View was designed to be non-destructive, meaning it does not modify project (.blend) files. This allows users to open and edit existing projects without requiring the add-on to be installed.
For more information, be sure to check the product page on Gumroad.
