From Blender to the Game Engine on Every Save

In this tutorial we take a painted model into Godot, with the model updated in Godot every time you save the .blend, unlit and with crisp pixels. Then we see what changes for Unity and Unreal Engine.

What you need:

• A model with a Pixel Art Studio canvas, painted (see Your First Model: a Crate or A Model That Already Has a Texture). I’m using a wooden crate here.

• A Godot 4 project (an empty one made in Godot’s Project Manager is fine).

Godot: export a model on every save

Let’s start with the most common setup: the .blend lives outside the Godot project, and Pixel Art Studio writes a GLB model into it.

1. Save the .blend (Ctrl+S), somewhere outside the Godot project. Every integration needs a saved file.

2. Open the sidebar (N), tab Pixel Art Studio, and open the Others panel at the bottom (it’s closed by default).

3. Click the Godot header to open its section, then click Integrate with Godot.

   

4. A file browser opens. Go to your Godot project folder (the one with project.godot in it, a subfolder of it is fine too) and click Select Project.

   

5. The Integrate with Godot dialog opens. Keep Export on Every Save ticked and The project's models folder picked, then click OK.

   

6. The first export runs right away. The last line of the Godot section says what was written, for example Exported Crate.glb in 0.1 s.

Now switch to Godot: the model is in res://models/, named after the .blend. Drag it into a scene. It’s unshaded, the pixels are crisp at any distance, and transparent texels are cut out (only when the canvas has them).

Paint, save, and it’s in Godot

1. Back in Blender, paint something on the model.

2. Press Ctrl+S.

3. Switch to Godot. It sees the new file and reimports it by itself.

That’s it, from now on it’s paint and save. Good to know:

• Re-export writes the model into the project without saving the .blend (strokes you haven’t saved yet go along).

• The model’s name, its folder, GLB or glTF and whether the texture goes inside the model or as a PNG beside it are all in the Godot section, any time. See Game Engines for each setting.

• Already imported this model into Godot by hand before? Click Fix Models in Project: it lists what Godot is reading wrongly and fixes it.

• Your own File > Export > glTF 2.0 gives you the same unlit, crisp model too, as long as Unlit Pixel Art in glTF (Others panel, above the engine sections) stays on.

Let Godot import the .blend itself

Godot can also open a .blend that lives inside the project, by running Blender itself. Pixel Art Studio then keeps Godot’s import settings and the texture up to date on every save.

1. Save the .blend inside the Godot project.

2. In Godot, point Editor > Editor Settings > FileSystem > Import > Blender at your Blender. It has to be the same version you use, or newer: an older Blender can’t open the file, and Godot then only says “not a blend file”.

3. In Blender, click Integrate with Godot, pick the project, Select Project.

4. In the dialog pick Godot imports this .blend and click OK.

Tip

The Godot section tells you when Godot’s Blender is missing or too old, and its Copy Blender Path button copies this Blender’s path, ready to paste into Godot’s editor settings.

Unity: what changes

The steps are the same, from Others > Unity > Integrate with Unity. The differences:

• Pick the Unity project folder, the one with Assets and ProjectSettings in it.

• The model is an FBX, with a PNG per canvas beside it. The project's Models folder is Assets/Models.

• A small editor script goes into Assets/PixelArtStudioBlender/Editor/. Switch to Unity and it compiles first, then imports the model: unlit, point filtered, transparent texels cut out.

• A rigged model? Keep Armature Safe is picked for you when the scene has an armature.

• With the .blend saved inside Assets, you can pick Unity imports this .blend instead. Unity then opens the .blend with the Blender your system opens .blend files with, so that one has to be your version or newer.

Unreal Engine: what changes

Unreal can’t open a .blend, so this one always exports a model, and a small plugin goes into your project to make it pixel art inside Unreal.

1. Save the .blend, then Others > Unreal Engine > Integrate with Unreal Engine.

2. Pick the Unreal project folder (the one with the .uproject) and click Select Project.

3. In the dialog, pick FBX or GLB, keep Export on Every Save, The project's PixelArtSource folder and the Unreal Folder /Game/PixelArt, then click OK.

4. Start (or restart) the Unreal editor once, so it loads the plugin. The model shows up in /Game/PixelArt, sharp and unlit.

5. Paint and save in Blender: with Update Unreal Automatically on, the open Unreal editor brings the new model in a few seconds later, with no prompt.

Note

The model file goes in a folder outside Content on purpose: Unreal imports everything in Content by itself and asks to reimport on every save. From outside, the plugin brings it in quietly.

Any other engine

Not using one of these three? Others > Generic Exporter > Export to a Folder writes GLB, glTF or FBX into any folder you pick, on every save. See Game Engines.