FiberBake · Section 01

Getting Started

Installation, addon preferences, opening the bake scene, the recommended workflow and the custom keymap.

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Requirements

  • Blender 5.0, 5.1 or 5.2 LTSA single build runs across all three, including the 5.2 LTS series.
  • CyclesShips with Blender by default. Every bake pass renders with Cycles.

Installation

Download the addon as a .zip file. Do not extract it.

The quickest way: drag fiberbake.zip from your file browser onto the Blender window. Blender installs and enables it on the spot.

If you would rather go through the menus, either route works:

  • Get ExtensionsEdit > Preferences > Get Extensions, then the options menu in the top-right corner and Install from Disk.
  • Add-onsEdit > Preferences > Add-ons, then the same options menu and Install from Disk.

However you install it, the addon is available immediately. No restart is required.

Updating from an earlier version? Install the new .zip the same way, over the old one. Projects saved with a previous version need one extra step, below.
Bringing an older project up to date

Projects you already saved keep their own copy of FiberBake's node groups, so features added since they were made do not show up in them on their own.

Open such a project and the panel's About > Updates section says so and offers Update Node Groups, which brings that file up to date. Your settings and hand-drawn curves are kept, since those live on the modifiers rather than in the groups.

Save the file first, as with any change you want to be able to undo by not saving.

Addon Preferences

After installation, open the addon's preferences to configure the working folders.

  • Default Output FolderWhere textures are exported when the current scene does not define a custom output path.
  • Presets Root FolderRoot folder for user presets. The addon creates FiberBake Presets with separate GN (strand) and Material subfolders.

If no presets folder is defined, presets are stored in Blender's user scripts presets path (scripts/presets/FiberBake Presets/).

Recommended: Keep both folders outside the Blender installation so they survive Blender or addon updates.
FiberBake addon preferences screenshot

Open Bake Hair Cards

In the 3D Viewport, press N, open the FiberBake tab, and click Open Bake Hair Cards. The first time, a notice reminds you to save your work, use the addon's tools to create and edit strands, and not to rename or hand-edit FiberBake objects, materials or node groups.

  • FiberBake workspaceA dedicated workspace with its own scene.
  • Orthographic cameraFrames the strands automatically while you work.
  • Render setupConfigured per the selected viewport display mode (see Viewport).
  • Addon sidebarAvailable directly inside the bake workspace.

All bake work is done inside this workspace. Use Exit in the Scene & Advanced section to return to your regular layout.

Why the first run feels slower

On a brand-new install the workspace opens in Preview mode, so the strand can take a few extra seconds to appear while Blender compiles the preview shaders. The first Ambient Occlusion bake also starts a little slower while Cycles compiles its kernels.

Both are one-time costs per install, not per session, and neither affects bake speed afterward.

Open Bake Hair Cards screenshot

The Bake Hair Cards

The FiberBake bake workspace after opening the bake scene

The bake workspace you land in after Open Bake Hair Cards.

  • StrandsCreate or adjust strands in Strands and shape them in Strand Settings.
  • MaterialAssign and tune the material in Material.
  • PassesChoose which maps to produce in Passes & Preview.
  • BakeSet render quality and texture size in Bake and press Bake. Textures are generated in memory (not written to disk yet).
  • PreviewCheck any pass with Open in Image Editor.
  • ExportWrite the chosen set to disk from Export, optionally with OBJ planes.
  • Groom Hair CardsGroom the cards onto a head as sculptable layers, then bake them into one mesh and export to FBX. Jump there with Groom on Character, or import a previously exported OBJ in a standalone session. See Groom Hair Cards.
The bake and groom loop. The two stages stay in sync, so you can go back to the bake, adjust it and refresh the cards without losing your grooming. See the loop in detail.
Note: Bakes live in memory until you export them. They are not stored in the .blend and are lost on reload. Use Export to keep them on disk.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The FiberBake workspace uses a custom keymap adapted to a 2D orthographic workflow. The most important change: the middle mouse button pans the view instead of orbiting, so you do not need to hold Shift. Every other shortcut is Blender's native one. This change only applies inside the FiberBake workspace.

You do not need to memorise any of this. The same list sits permanently in the bottom-left corner of the bake viewport, so it is always on screen while you work. These are the only shortcuts the workspace asks of you.

Suggestion: Always create, duplicate and delete strands with the panel buttons, not Blender shortcuts (Shift+D, X, Delete). The native shortcuts can leave orphaned data, such as the emitter linked to a strand.
  • ScrollZoom.
  • MMBPan the view (orbits by default in Blender; remapped to pan only inside this workspace).
  • Click + Drag / GMove. G > X / G > Y constrain horizontally / vertically.
  • RRotate.
  • Click / A / BSelect / select-deselect all / box select.
  • H / Alt+HHide selected strand / show hidden strands.
  • Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+ZUndo / redo.
Index

FiberBake Docs

Back to the FiberBake documentation hub and all sections.

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Bake Hair Cards

The full bake workspace on one page: strands, material, passes, baking, export and more.

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