Figaro - Fast Base Meshes

What is Figaro?

Figaro is a tool designed for creating base meshes for characters and creatures quickly and easily.  This is achieved by allowing users to add volumes around vertices, edges, and faces, with the shape of the volumes being determined by interpolating each radius assigned to each vertex.  It is based on tools like ZBrush's ZSpheres and Blender's Skin modifier while extending their core concepts to allow for more complex shapes.

Installation instructions are available within the provided files and the documentation section of this page.  You can also check out more detailed documentation here: Figaro Docs

Compatible with Blender 4.1+

Features

Stick Figure Modeling

Use points and edges to define shapes and adjust volumes. Each point has a radius and each edge will interpolate between the radii of neighboring vertices.  Press Shift + R to change the radius on selected vertices in Edit Mode.

Solid Faces

In addition to points and edges, Figaro supports the creation of faces for more complex shapes while retaining the simplicity of stick figure modeling.

One-Click Voxelization

Convert your object into a voxel mesh and begin sculpting. Control voxel size, adaptivity, and smooth shading vs. flat shading all in the Figaro side panel.

Template Manager

You can spawn and manage custom Figaro Templates via the Template Manager.

Split & Pull

For vertices that are only connected to one edge, you can split them into two vertices to form a triangle based on the source edge direction and camera angle you are viewing the edge from.  Press Shift + U on a valid selected vertex to activate the functionality.

Quick Display Options

The Figaro side panel has convenient options for displaying the Figaro object in different ways for both Solid Mode and Material Preview / Rendered Mode.

Seamless Modifier Integration

Figaro objects integrate seamlessly with Blender's modifier stack system, thus allowing for more flexibility and creative possibilities.

Documentation Page

Visit the Figaro Docs for detailed documentation of the add-on.

Change Logs

Update - June 25, 2025

• NEW: Reworked Templates to now utilize a Template Manager, now part of the Object Mode side panel, and adding the following functionality:
  • The Template List – Stores both the default and user-made Figaro templates.
  • Instantiate — Creates a new instance of the selected Figaro template.
  • Update Template — Updates the selected template in Template List to the current active selected Figaro object.
  • Add New Template — Adds currently active selected Figaro object in the scene to the Template List as a new template.
  • Remove Template — Removes the selected template from the Template List.
  • Factory Reset Template Manager - A button is added in the Add-on preferences of Figaro if you wish to restore the original versions of the provided default templates.
    
• NEW: Subdivision option for the Figaro Geometry modifier. You can now subdivide the edges and faces via the Edit Mode side panel. This is particularly useful for the Attach Target and Vertex Sharpness options.
  
• NEW: Vertex Sharpness option for Figaro Geometry modifier. You can mark whether a vertex should make neighboring edges conform to the underlying edge rather curve when using subdivision levels.
  
• NEW: Attach Target option for the Figaro Geometry modifier. You can specify an object for the Figaro object to shrink wrap around. This will utilize the Figaro Geometry modifier's subdivision functionality as well.
  
• CHANGE: Manual Apply now has a side panel option to set a Figaro object to “Manual Apply” mode (non-destructively convert the generated geometry by the Figaro geometry node as if the modifier was applied.)
  
• CHANGE: Added a side panel option in Edit Mode to activate Split & Pull mode, as well added a toggle that controls whether to fill the split vertices with a face or to keep it as separate edges.
  
• CHANGE: Both Convert to Mesh and Convert to Voxel Mesh no longer deletes the original Figaro object, but rather hides it.
  
• CHANGE: Added icons and reorganized layout of side panel UI elements for clarity.

Update - May 15, 2025

• Added a dropdown in the 3D Mage Addon Wrangler add-on preferences section to allow configuration of which shortcut hot key to use for changing radius.  You can choose Shift + R, Ctrl + A, or Alt + S.  The shortcuts are derived from shortcuts utilized by the skin modifier and curves.

  

Update - March 7, 2025

• Fixed an issue where the default Blender behavior of Shift + R was being completely overridden by the 'The_3DMage_AddonWrangler' add-on.  Now the add-on specific version of Shift + R will only apply the add-on specific objects and everything else should retain the default Blender Shift + R behavior.
  

Update - February 15, 2025

• Added new Add Object context menu item called "Figaro Templates", which will allow you to insert pre-made Figaro objects into the scene.  However, some issues dealing with the new Figaro Templates code caused compatibility for Blender 4.0 to be dropped.
  
• Added ability to"split" a vertex that is only connected to one edge.
  
• Added two new "Apply" operations Scale (Figaro) and Apply Transforms (Figaro), which will take into the account vertex radius values if scaling a Figaro object in Object Mode.
  
• Fixed a bug dealing snapping, particularly the "Include Active" setting.
  

Update - January 16, 2025

• Added new required dependency(The_3DMage_AddonWrangler_1_0_0) to allow for better shortcut management with other 3D Mage add-ons. However, issues with Blender’s add-on detection caused compatibility for Blender 3.6 LTS to be dropped.
  
• Added ability to apply the Figaro Geometry modifier directly. This is done by checking the “ManualApplyModifier” checkbox within the modifier itself before applying it directly.
  
• Rearranged side panel items for clarity.
  
• Fixed minor bugs.

Other Add-Ons

This add-on works very well with Vertex Volumes, an add-on that allows you to define volumes using faces and per-vertex radii.

You can check it out here:  Vertex Volumes