AssetsBridge Blender Addon

Bidirectional asset bridge between Blender and Unreal Engine.

AssetsBridge enables seamless round-trip asset workflows between Blender and Unreal Engine. Import meshes from Unreal, modify them in Blender, and send them back—preserving materials, transforms, skeleton references, and morph targets.

Sister Project: Unreal Engine Plugin

This Blender addon works in tandem with the AssetsBridge Unreal Engine Plugin:

🔗 AssetsBridge UE Plugin

Both components are required for the full workflow:

Component	Purpose
UE Plugin	Export assets to glTF, read modified assets back, manage UE-side integration
This Addon (Blender)	Import assets from Unreal, edit meshes/skeletons/shape keys, export back

Standalone vs. Combined Use

While each component can be used independently, the full workflow requires both:

• Blender Addon Only: Export meshes to FBX with Unreal-compatible settings, manage asset paths and collection hierarchies, split meshes into wearable parts
• UE Plugin Only: Export assets to a bridge directory for external editing
• Both Together: Full round-trip editing with automatic metadata preservation, skeleton references, material paths, and folder structure synchronization

Features

Import/Export

• Import from Unreal - Reads from-unreal.json, imports glTF files, creates collection hierarchy matching Unreal folder structure
• Export to Unreal - Writes from-blender.json, exports selected meshes as FBX with Unreal-compatible settings
• Metadata Preservation - Maintains object IDs, material paths, skeleton references, and world transforms
• Collection Hierarchy - Blender collections mirror Unreal's /Game/... folder structure

Mesh Tools

• Split to New Mesh - Separate faces into new wearable pieces (preserves weights, shape keys)
• Set Unreal Export Path - Configure the Unreal destination path for an object and optionally move it into a matching collection hierarchy
• Reorganize to Container - Move a mesh (and its baked textures) into the collection/container that mirrors its Unreal content path
• Assign UE5 Skeleton - Reuse existing skeleton on reimport instead of creating new

Texture Tools

• Bake PBR - Bake a mesh's procedural/Principled materials into a UE-ready PBR texture set: T_<asset>_D (BaseColor, sRGB), T_<asset>_ORM (packed R=AO, G=Roughness, B=Metallic), T_<asset>_N (tangent-space normal, DirectX/green-flipped for Unreal), and T_<asset>_E (emissive). Auto re-unwraps degenerate UVs (Smart UV Project), can consolidate to a single material, and writes a textures manifest block into from-blender.json targeting the M_ORM master material.
• Generate UCX - Create a convex-hull UCX_<name> collision mesh for a static mesh so Unreal imports per-asset collision

Shape Key Tools

• Transfer All Shape Keys - Copy morph targets between meshes using closest-point mapping
• Selective Transfer - Choose specific shape keys to transfer (helmet doesn't need mouth morphs)

Skeleton Retargeting

• Automatic Bone Mapping - Fuzzy matching algorithm maps bones between different skeletons
• Manual Override - Adjust individual bone mappings in a list UI
• Weight Transfer - Transfers and remaps vertex group weights to the new skeleton

Installation

1. Download the latest .zip from Releases
2. In Blender: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Install
3. Select the downloaded .zip file
4. Enable "AssetsBridge" in the addon list

Configuration

1. Go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → AssetsBridge
2. Browse to any file in your AssetsBridge exchange directory
3. The addon automatically uses the directory containing that file

Tip: Use a shared folder that both Blender and Unreal can access. The Unreal plugin should be configured to use the same directory.

Usage Workflow

Unreal → Blender (Import)

1. In Unreal: Export assets using the AssetsBridge UE plugin
2. In Blender: Click Import Objects in the AssetsBridge panel (View3D → Toolbar → AssetsBridge)
3. Assets appear with collection hierarchy matching Unreal folder structure

Blender → Unreal (Export)

1. Make your modifications in Blender
2. Select modified objects
3. Click Export Selected in the AssetsBridge panel
4. In Unreal: Use the UE plugin to import modified assets

Mesh Tools

• Split to New Mesh - Select faces in Edit Mode, click Split to New Mesh, configure name and path
• Set Export Path - Set destination like /Game/Assets/Wearables/Armor/SK_F_Trooper (optionally move the object to a matching collection)
• Reorganize to Container - Select the object, click Reorganize to Container, and enter a /Game/... path; the mesh moves into the mirrored collection and any baked textures are relocated to the new Textures folder
• Assign UE5 Skeleton - Link mesh to existing skeleton: /Game/Characters/Skeleton

Texture Tools

• Bake PBR - Select a mesh with node-based materials, click Bake PBR, and choose resolution/samples/margin. The bake produces the T_<asset>_{D,ORM,N,E}.png set in a Textures folder next to the exported asset and records it for export. On the next Export Selected, the texture set plus an MI_<asset> material-instance reference (driven by the /Game/Materials/_Core/M_ORM master) are written into from-blender.json for the UE plugin to import.
• Generate UCX - Select a static mesh and click Generate UCX to add a convex-hull UCX_<name>_## collision. If Auto-generate convex UCX on export is enabled in preferences, missing collisions are created automatically on export; otherwise a warning is shown when Warn if UCX collision missing is on.

Supported Asset Types

Type	Export	Import	Notes
Static Mesh	✅	✅	Full support with materials
Skeletal Mesh	✅	✅	Includes skeleton and weights
Morph Targets	✅	✅	Shape keys preserved by name
Materials	✅	✅	Material slots tracked

Requirements

• Blender 5.0+
• Unreal Engine 5.5+ (for full workflow with UE plugin)

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"Import file not found"	Export from Unreal first to create from-unreal.json
Objects not appearing in Unreal	Ensure the UE plugin is configured to the same bridge directory
Skeleton mismatch on import	Use Assign UE5 Skeleton to specify which skeleton to reuse
Collection hierarchy wrong	Use Set Export Path or Reorganize to Container to fix the /Game/... path
Unreal generates wrong collision	Use Generate UCX to author a UCX_<name> convex collision before export
Baked textures import into the wrong UE folder	Re-run Reorganize to Container so the Textures path matches the asset's /Game/... container

Documentation

Detailed documentation available in Docs:

• Docs Index - Documentation table of contents
• MeshTools - Split to New Mesh, Set Unreal Export Path, Reorganize to Container, Assign UE5 Skeleton
• Texture Tools - PBR bake pipeline (BaseColor/ORM/Normal/Emissive), ORM channel packing, the from-blender.json textures block
• Collision - UCX collision pre-check and Generate UCX

Support

If you find this project useful, consider supporting development:

☕ Buy me a coffee

License

This project is open source under the GPL license.

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Made with ❤️ by Nitecon Studios LLC