Silhouette 0.8 — your first Folk

Create a stylized character inside Blender, shape its face and body, compare it from several views, and keep an editable master. You can use the same tools from your AI assistant. Editing works offline and needs no account or API key.

Install and open

Supported and tested: Blender 5.2.2 LTS on Windows. Other versions are untested. Unzip the product bundle, then install the inner Silhouette-addon.zip through Blender's Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → menu → Install from Disk. Enable Silhouette — Stylized Character Studio. Keep the inner ZIP intact.

In the 3D viewport, press N and select Silhouette. If the sidebar is narrow, drag its left edge to make the labels readable. The source-code download from GitHub does not contain the packed character library; use the prepared product bundle.

On the development workstation, run OpenSilhouette.ps1 from E:/BlenderTools/Silhouette. This opens the canonical source directly and does not install another copy into Blender's profile.

A ten-minute first character

Save any open project, then start a new Blender file. Select its default cube, camera and light and delete them to make an empty studio. Choose Quinn or Manny, then click Create Folk. These are two body templates; choose the one you want to work on.
Under Choose a face, try the four included face bases. Face names are source identifiers, not restrictions on the character you make.
Open Face. Change Face width a little, then try Chin depth and Eye spacing. Search finds controls by their readable names. Ctrl+Z undoes an edit; Reset these controls resets only that section.
Open Body. Try Height and Fuller figure or Leaner figure. These are independent shape targets; large opposing combinations can produce poor shapes.
Open Expression and try Smile and Blink. Blink paints closure onto the original face surface; Tired combines painted closure with its facial shape. The saved current look exports as a texture snapshot. These controls do not supply portable animated eyelid targets. Return expressions to zero for a neutral export.
Use Body, Face, 3/4, Side and Back to review your work. These buttons change the review camera, not the character's geometry. The rectangular frame marks the render crop; Blender darkens the area outside it. Choose Body to review the assembled neck and shoulders.
Click Check character. It checks mesh data, UVs, rig links and missing images. Inspect the appearance yourself too, especially eyelids, seams and extreme shapes.
Click Save editable character and choose a .blend location. This saves your meshes, controls, packed textures and scene. This is your master.
Click Save look for a small .json recipe. Reset a section, then Load look to restore it. A recipe needs the same template and library; it contains settings, not geometry or textures.
Choose Export rigged character, then select GLB or FBX under Format. The visible face and body export with a rig and morph targets. Import the result into your destination tool and test materials, deformation and scale there.

What is included

Two current Meshy Folk templates, four selectable faces per template, 49 control channels per template, five expressions, studio lighting, five review views, editable saves, compatible look recipes, checks, GLB/FBX export and local Python/JSON/MCP tools. The library uses packed textures so it can reopen away from the source workstation.

The current new-Folk library contains the head and body. It does not contain a validated hair or clothing library for these bases. Bring your own fitted assets in Blender. The earlier hair-authoring panels remain specialist tools and have not been certified against every new face or body shape. Do not assume a legacy hairstyle fits. For specialist work, open Advanced and enable Hair authoring tools; fit and review compatibility yourself. These tools stay hidden during the everyday workflow.

Files and recovery

Blend is the editable master. JSON stores a compatible look. GLB/FBX are interchange outputs and do not recreate Silhouette's entire workspace. Rendered PNGs are pictures, not editable characters. Save your blend before closing Blender.

Older Silhouette scenes keep the earlier sidebar and character controls. They are not silently replaced. The new Folk workflow opens in an empty scene. Legacy recipes and new Folk recipes have different contracts and cannot be interchanged. Eye revision 2 uses recipe schema 2; earlier painted-cap recipes need their values recreated and saved as a new look. Earlier saved blend files keep their existing assets. The full specialist reference is docs/legacy-guide.md in the source bundle.

If a library is missing, install the complete prepared ZIP. Silhouette reports the missing new library instead of loading an old model. If a look is rejected, use the template and library it was created with. If an output path is unwritable, choose a folder you own. Keep custom work in its own blend file when updating the add-on.

Use an AI assistant

The assistant can discover controls and ranges, create and shape a Folk, change its face, inspect it, read/apply recipes, reset sections, set review views, render, save and export. Use docs/automation.md to connect the official Blender Lab MCP or the bounded Silhouette adapter. Both paths use the official MCP for Blender work. No language model is embedded in Silhouette; your chosen assistant supplies it.

The MCP adapter uses a dedicated official Blender MCP bridge. It uses the scene on that dedicated bridge. Edits persist only when an explicit save path is supplied. Open the resulting blend in Blender to review it.

Limits and support

Tested paths and supported release scope are recorded in PRODUCT_READINESS.md. Structural checks do not certify animation, all control combinations, garment fit, or any game engine. The new eye workflow replaces the earlier raised lid patches with painted closure on the face surface. Review extreme shapes and deformation for your own project.

For help, email alex@stonefletcher.com with the version, Blender version, action, and a small reproducible example. Remove private project material before sharing. For updates, save your projects, close old Blender sessions, replace the installed add-on with the new ZIP, enable it, and reopen a copy of your project. To uninstall, disable/remove Silhouette in Add-ons; your saved blend files remain yours to keep.