For those who don’t know the tool: 3DGS Render brings Gaussian splat import, editing, conversion and rendering into Blender. It works with PLY data and complements the KIRI Engine scanning app.
Splats learn to move
KIRI Innovation has released 3DGS Render 5.0, a free and open-source Blender add-on for handling 3D Gaussian Splatting data. The major addition transfers deformation from a proxy mesh to a Gaussian splat object. Artists can rig and animate a conventional mesh, then use that mesh to drive the splats. This brings familiar armature and character-animation methods into a data type better known for capturing static objects and environments.
The workflow does not turn the splat into a conventional polygon model. The mesh acts as the deformation source. The add-on transfers its changing shape to the Gaussian data, which can then be baked over time.
Rigging and animation tools stay on the mesh side, where Blender artists already know how to work. The splats receive the resulting deformation instead of demanding an entirely separate animation system. A demonstration transfers a stock Mixamo animation to a scanned character. The proxy carries the animation, while the splat representation follows its deformation.
The animation feature remains VERY experimental. Performance is currently limited, even though the workflow functions. That makes version 5.0 useful for tests, research and less time-sensitive work, rather than an automatic invitation to place tomorrow morning’s delivery on its shoulders.
Proxy business
The new deformation transfer begins with a proxy mesh that corresponds to the splat object. A rigged character can fill that role. Artists animate the mesh through standard Blender tools, including an armature. The add-on then transfers the deformations to the Gaussian splats. This separates animation control from the captured representation and avoids asking artists to rig a cloud of anisotropic primitives directly.
https://www.youtube.com/@3D-Tools-by-KIRI-Engine
The approach also permits existing character animation to enter the workflow. A suitable proxy can receive motion first, after which 3DGS Render passes the deformation to the splat object. That does not erase the preparation step. The mesh still needs to function as a usable proxy for the captured subject. Version 5.0 provides the transfer mechanism rather than replacing rigging, skinning or animation work.
Once transferred, the animation can be baked as a sequence of PLY files. Software that supports animated splat data through frame sequences can then receive the result outside Blender. But beware: Blender will burn during that, and you WILL take a long break.
The export method is refreshingly literal. Each frame becomes splat data rather than a compact rig with reusable controls. This gives the receiving application the baked result, while the editable rig and proxy workflow remain inside Blender.
Anyone expecting a universal character interchange format should read the filename twice. This is a sequence of PLY files, with the practical storage and pipeline implications that such a sequence brings. Meaning: Your storage will be F….illed.
Light joins the ride
Version 5.0 can also bake lighting information from the proxy mesh to the 3DGS object. That gives the proxy another job beyond deformation. Its surface can carry lighting information that transfers to the splats, joining the animation bake. Earlier versions already let imported splats react to lighting and cast shadows through the add-on’s real-time rendering mode. The new bake path connects proxy-based lighting with exported splat animation.
Inside Blender, 3DGS Render can relight splats and render them with Eevee. Artists can therefore keep capture data, proxy geometry, animation and lighting in one DCC while preparing the result. The release does not claim that baked proxy lighting replaces every lighting workflow. It provides a route for transferring that information to the splat object and carrying the result into the baked sequence.
The existing toolbox stays
Animation arrives on top of the add-on’s established editing and conversion tools. 3DGS Render imports 3DGS data stored in PLY files. Imported splats behave as Blender objects for common transformations, allowing artists to move and rescale them within a scene. The tool can crop unwanted areas from raw scans and merge separate scans. Those operations address the untidy reality of capture data, where the desired subject often arrives with pieces of floor, background or neighbouring geometry attached.
Colour editing and modifiers remain part of the workflow. The repository also describes point-cloud editing and optimisation before conversion into 3DGS data. The add-on can convert conventional meshes into 3DGS PLY files. That opens the opposite direction of travel: a mesh can become splat data for export into other software that supports the format.
The 3DGS format sits at the centre of all these operations. For a closer explanation of splats and their place in realtime production, Digital Production’s Volinga 3DGS workflow for Unreal covers the underlying representation and its practical use in an engine pipeline.
The new functionality does not promise interactive playback at production speed. Its experimental status and current performance limits should remain visible during scheduling, especially with dense scans or long frame ranges.
A short test sequence should reveal more than a triumphant press-release adjective ever could. New tools and innovations should always be tested before use in production.
Free, open and experimental
3DGS Render 5.0 costs nothing to download. Its source code is available under the Apache License 2.0. Free access does not remove the cost of validation. Teams still need to test installation, dependency compatibility, animation transfer, lighting bake, export size and playback in the destination tool.
The experimental animation feature makes that validation particularly important. It works, but current performance remains limited. The honest reading is more useful than a glossy one: splats can now follow a rigged proxy, though they have not promised to sprint.
For artists exploring animated capture data inside Blender, version 5.0 supplies a concrete workflow. Build or obtain a suitable proxy, animate it with familiar tools, transfer deformation and lighting, then bake the Gaussian result into PLY frames.
https://www.kiriengine.app/3d-tools
https://github.com/Kiri-Innovation/3dgs-render-blender-addon
