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https://github.com/webrotate360/turntable-animator-for-blender

WebRotate 360 Turntable Animator for Blender
https://github.com/webrotate360/turntable-animator-for-blender

360-view 360-viewer 3d-models 3d-models-images 3dviewer 3dvisualization animation blender blender-addon blender3d ecommerce plugin rendering shopify

Last synced: 29 days ago
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WebRotate 360 Turntable Animator for Blender

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README 

          
# WebRotate 360 Turntable Animator for Blender



Create highly interactive **360° and multi-row 3D product views** straight from Blender. This add-on turns your existing 3D models into smooth turntable animations with clickable hotspots and interactive polygonal areas, ready for online or offline publishing.



It integrates directly into Blender's **Scene Properties** and uses the 3D Viewport as a live "viewfinder" to set up your shot. Instead of moving the camera, it animates the selected object, so your lighting rigs and backdrops stay put for photo-realistic, studio-style results.



## Demo



▶️ [Watch the demo video](https://s1.pixriot.com/433181dfa6/Blog/2026-turntable-animator/webrotate-360-turntable-animator.mp4?t=1769475405)



🔎 [Browse live interactive examples](https://www.webrotate360.com/examples/browse-all-examples.aspx) to see what you can build.



> Learn more on the official product page: [WebRotate 360 Turntable Animator for Blender](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/cms-and-e-commerce-plugins/plugin-for-blender.aspx)

>

> Read the full [User Guide](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/cms-and-e-commerce-plugins/plugin-for-blender.aspx?section=User%20Guide) for step-by-step instructions.



---



## Features



- Seamlessly integrates into Blender's Scene Properties (`Properties > Scene > WebRotate 360`).

- Uses the 3D Viewport as a camera "viewfinder" for quick animation setup.

- Animates the **selected object** instead of the camera, keeping lights and environment stationary.

- Simple, intuitive setup for both single-row 360° spins and **multi-row 3D / hemispherical** views.

- Create **indicator hotspots** from Blender *Empties* tied to points of interest.

- Create **polygonal hotspots** from vertex groups or meshes (2D and 3D surfaces).

- Integrated camera and crop-region controls for fast framing adjustments.

- **Fast Render** option for quick draft previews before committing to a full render.

- Multiple build targets: a plain image sequence, a [SpotEditor](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/webrotate-360-product-viewer.aspx) project, or a web-ready interactive 360° asset.

- Works with the free **QuickView** app (Windows) for instant offline previews.

- Published 360° assets are ready to upload to [PixRiot](https://www.webrotate360.com/services/pixriot.aspx) for fast CDN hosting, sharing, and analytics, and can be integrated via [CMS plugins](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/cms-and-e-commerce-plugins.aspx) or the [ImageRotator API](https://webrotate360.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/webrotate360/downloads/Resources/IntegrationTemplates.zip) ([npm component](https://github.com/webrotate360/imagerotator)).



---



## Requirements



- **Blender 2.80 or newer.**

- Optional companion apps from WebRotate 360 (free):

  - **QuickView** - instantly preview and test published interactive 360° views. [Download (QuickView for Windows)](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/webrotate-360-product-viewer.aspx#other).

  - **SpotEditor** - desktop publishing software for advanced editing (non-destructive image processing, image filters, advanced 360 viewer tuning, hotspot styling, custom skins, templates, and more). [Download (WebRotate 360 Product Viewer)](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/webrotate-360-product-viewer.aspx) | [SpotEditor Readme (PDF)](https://webrotate360.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/webrotate360/downloads/Resources/Readme.pdf).



---



## Installation



This repository **is** the add-on source. The `__init__.py` at the repo root is the add-on entry point, so the whole folder needs to be installed into Blender.



### Option A: Install from a ZIP (recommended)



1. Download this repository as a ZIP (use the green **Code → Download ZIP** button on GitHub, or `git clone` and zip it yourself).

2. Make sure the ZIP contains a **single folder** with `__init__.py` directly inside it, e.g.:

  ```

   webrotate360_blender/

   ├── __init__.py

   ├── wr360_panel.py

   ├── ...

   ├── assets/

   └── icons/

  ```

  > GitHub's "Download ZIP" already wraps everything in a folder named like `webrotate360_blender-main`, which is exactly the structure Blender expects.

3. In Blender, open **Edit → Preferences → Add-ons**.

4. Click **Install from Disk...** (top-right) and select the ZIP file.

5. Enable the add-on by ticking the checkbox next to **WebRotate 360 Turntable Animator**.

6. (Optional) Click **Save Preferences** so it stays enabled.



### Option B: Manual install (clone into the add-ons folder)



Copy or clone this repo into Blender's `addons` directory so that `__init__.py` lives at `.../addons/webrotate360_blender/__init__.py`.



- **Windows:** `%APPDATA%\Blender Foundation\Blender\\scripts\addons\`

- **macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Blender//scripts/addons/`

- **Linux:** `~/.config/blender//scripts/addons/`



Example using git:



```bash

cd "%APPDATA%\Blender Foundation\Blender\\scripts\addons"   # adjust for your OS

git clone https://github.com//webrotate360_blender.git

```



Then restart Blender, open **Edit → Preferences → Add-ons**, search for **WebRotate 360**, and enable it.



### Verify it's installed



Open the **Properties** editor, select the **Scene** tab, and you should see a **WebRotate 360** section. Hotspot tools appear in the 3D Viewport sidebar under the **WR360** tab.



---



## Quick Start



1. **Set the project folder & object.** In `Properties > Scene > WebRotate 360`, pick a **Project Folder** on disk and choose the **Selected Object** to animate. (If your model has multiple meshes, parent them to an *Empty* at the rotation center and select that *Empty*.)

2. **Frame the shot.** Position the object in the 3D Viewport at the angle and distance you want as the animation's starting point.

3. **Set up the animation.** Enter **Frames Per Row** (20–80 is a good range), optionally set **Rows Up/Down** and **Vertical Step** for multi-row views, then click **Setup animation**. Scrub the Timeline playhead to review.

4. **Fine-tune the camera.** Use the **Camera** section to adjust distance, focal length, and resolution.

5. **Add hotspots (optional).** Use the **WR360** sidebar tab in the 3D Viewport to create indicator hotspots (from *Empties*) or polygonal hotspots (from vertex groups or meshes).

6. **Build the target.** Under **Render and view**, optionally check **Use Fast Render** for a draft, choose a **Target**, and press **Build Target**.



For a draft pass, check **Use Fast Render** and choose **"Publish view and open in QuickView"**. Published 360° assets land in your project folder under `published/360_assets/`. When happy, uncheck Fast Render to use your real engine (Cycles/Eevee) and rebuild.



---



## Build Targets



You can output any of the following:



- **Image sequence**: a set of standalone PNG or JPG images (e.g. for marketplaces like Amazon, marketing decks, or import into SpotEditor).

- **Interactive 360° view**: web-ready viewer you can upload to your site, integrate via free [CMS plugins](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/cms-and-e-commerce-plugins.aspx) (WordPress, Adobe Commerce, etc.) or the [ImageRotator API](https://webrotate360.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/webrotate360/downloads/Resources/IntegrationTemplates.zip) ([npm component](https://github.com/webrotate360/imagerotator)), view offline in QuickView, or host on [PixRiot](https://www.webrotate360.com/services/pixriot.aspx).

- **SpotEditor project**: `.wr360` project for advanced editing and publishing in SpotEditor.



Target options in the panel:



- *Publish view* / *Publish view and open in QuickView*

- *Publish project* / *Publish project and open in SpotEditor*

- *Do not publish and just render images*



> Tip: enable **Skip Re-render on Publish** when you only change viewer/hotspot settings (skin, first frame, new hotspot) to re-publish instantly without re-rendering images.



### Hosting & sharing



Published 360° assets can be hosted on **[PixRiot](https://www.webrotate360.com/services/pixriot.aspx)**, a dedicated CDN platform for 360 product media. Simply drag and drop the folder you'll find under `published/360_assets/` to get a shareable link or embed code.



> Note: an upcoming PixRiot release will include an editor that can create interactive spins directly from uploaded images.



---



## Hotspots



Two interactive hotspot types are supported, each with a click/tap info popup:



- **Indicator hotspot** - a small configurable graphic that spins with a chosen point of interest. Add an `Empty → Plain Axes`, snap it to a vertex, parent it to your selected object, then click **Hotspot From Empty** in the WR360 panel.

- **Polygonal hotspot** - an active polygonal area over a region:

  - **From Vertex Group**: best for flat 2D areas (projection: *Gift wrap* or *2D polygon*).

  - **From Mesh**: best for 3D surfaces (projection: *Gift wrap* or *Consecutive quads*).



All hotspots can be styled and extended further in [WebRotate 360 SpotEditor](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/webrotate-360-product-viewer.aspx) (video/image/HTML popups, custom indicators, connecting lines, scripted actions, JavaScript callbacks, and more).



---



## Project Structure



| Path                                          | Purpose                                                                |

| --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| `__init__.py`                                 | Add-on entry point, `bl_info`, and module registration.                |

| `wr360_panel.py`                              | Main Scene Properties panel (animation, camera, render & view).        |

| `wr360_panel_hotspots.py`                     | 3D Viewport sidebar panel (WR360 tab) for hotspots.                    |

| `wr360_settings.py` / `wr360_settings_mac.py` | Property definitions / settings (platform-specific variant for macOS). |

| `wr360_settings_hotspot.py`                   | Hotspot-related properties.                                            |

| `wr360_state.py`                              | Scene/state synchronization.                                           |

| `wr360_ot_animate.py`                         | Animation setup operator.                                              |

| `wr360_ot_render_view.py`                     | Render & build-target operator.                                        |

| `wr360_ot_make_hotspot.py`                    | Hotspot creation/removal operator.                                     |

| `wr360_publisher.py`                          | Publishing logic for viewer / project / image targets.                 |

| `assets/`                                     | Project and viewer templates used when publishing.                     |

| `icons/`                                      | Hotspot indicator graphics.                                            |



---



## Support



- **Product page & user guide:** [Turntable Animator for Blender](https://www.webrotate360.com/products/cms-and-e-commerce-plugins/plugin-for-blender.aspx)

- **Email:** [support@webrotate360.com](mailto:support@webrotate360.com)

- **Forum:** [WebRotate 360 Support Forum](https://www.webrotate360.com/support/forum.aspx)



---



## License



Released under the [MIT License](LICENSE). Copyright (c) WebRotate 360 LLC.