Precision empty placement and management for Blender — fast, deterministic, and undo-safe.
Part of the MØDLR SMART Tools suite.
Each section builds on the last — read top to bottom for full context.
Built for modelers who care about precision, structure, and speed:
Smart Empties extends Blender’s Empty system with intelligent creation, organization, and replacement tools designed for speed, precision, and control. It transforms empties from simple helpers into context-aware anchors that streamline placement, assembly, and scene management.
Here are short examples showing Smart Empties in action. These clips demonstrate the core workflows, speed, and clarity of the system.
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Below is the main Smart Empties panel.The screenshot on the right shows the interface, while the notes on the left explain what each section controls.
Highlights at a glance:
- Smart Placement: Create empties from mesh selections, objects, or the 3D Cursor with deterministic alignment and clear tagging for predictable results.
- Flexible Alignment: Placement modes ensure consistent orientation across triangles, quads, and N-gons — maintaining accuracy even on complex surfaces.
- Context-Aware Behavior: Operators adapt to mode and selection type — always behaves as expected, no surprises or mismatched results.
- Auto Functions: Optional Auto-Move and Auto-Size features organize and scale empties during creation — keeping scenes clean and consistent without manual tweaking.
- Replace System: Instantly replace empties with Linked or Unique duplicates — originals can be automatically hidden with Hide Empties for a cleaner, safer scene structure.
- Adjust Tools: Apply changes to all selected smart empties automatically — no need for Blender’s often-overlooked Alt multi-edit shortcut; it just works across your selection.
- Smart Selection & Visibility: One-click select, move, or toggle visibility of smart empties, non-smart empties, or both — simplifies navigation and organization at scale.
- Undo-Safe Workflow: Every operation is fully reversible using Blender’s standard undo stack — stable, predictable, and built for production use.
The behavior is intentional:
Smart Empties follows three principles:
- Good-first-click: Every operator produces an immediate, useful result.
- Graceful failure: No unpredictable behavior or silent breaks.
- Undo is sacred: Every operation is safe to reverse.
Deliberate safety: Cleanup operations always require confirmation — destructive actions are never automatic.
Every action reinforces trust — what you see is what you get, every time.
Under the hood, it behaves like a native tool:
- Dependencies: None — built entirely on Blender’s standard API.
- Blender: Fully tested in 3.3 LTS and 3.6 LTS. Designed to work beyond these versions — built on Blender’s standard API with no deprecated calls.
- Performance: In internal tests, handles very high empty counts; real-world limits vary by scene complexity and hardware.
- UI Tested: Responsive breakpoint system verified across all N-panel widths — stable from Standard (≥360 px) to Extreme (≈240 px).
Performance validation is ongoing. Beta feedback and real-world scene testing will continue refining optimization targets and confirming large-scale limits — part of MØDLR’s mission to keep improving precision, speed, and reliability.
Feels native. Performs like it belongs.
Where it’s headed next:
Smart Empties continues to evolve — expanding performance, flexibility, and ecosystem integration with every update.
- Vertex & Edge Support: Create empties directly from vertices and edges for full mesh-component coverage and precise anchor placement.
- Smarter Collection Routing: Replace outputs auto-route into Smart or Nested collections — preserving structure, hierarchy, and tags.
- Ghost Preview: Lightweight visual feedback before confirming placement — improves confidence and accuracy in complex scenes.
- Modal Rotate: Adjust orientation immediately after creation — stay in the flow without leaving the operator.
- Range-Based Adjust Scaling: Enhanced multi-empty scaling that maintains proportions or applies controlled variation.
- Popup Quick Menu: Assignable shortcut menu for core Smart Empties actions — instant access directly in the viewport.
- Smart Empties is designed to feel at home within the broader MØDLR workflow. As the ecosystem evolves, there may be opportunities for deeper cross-tool improvements and shared quality-of-life behavior.
- Future Additions: Advanced N-gon placement, safer Purge, adaptive alignment, and ongoing performance refinements.
Always moving forward — built to keep getting smarter.
Current guardrails:
- Output Routing: Replace results currently appear in the Scene Collection by default — user-defined routing and smarter hierarchy options are planned for later versions.
- N-gon Handling: Complex faces use simplified centers for placement — advanced geometric precision and refined N-gon logic are planned for future updates.
- Selection Behavior: Selection outcomes vary by operation — refinement and smarter reselect handling are expected as the system evolves.
- Multi-Scene Scope: Operators act within the active scene only — broader scene awareness and cross-scene routing are being considered for later development.
- Visual Preview: Objects appear instantly upon creation — adding visual cues, placement previews, and ghost indicators is being considered.
These limits are deliberate — each one ensures predictable behavior until the smarter systems roll out.
The ecosystem behind Smart Empties:
MØDLR SMART Tools is a collection of high-performance Blender add-ons built for precision, polish, and creative flow. Each tool stands on its own but follows a shared design philosophy: fast interaction, minimal friction, and clean, predictable workflows.
Every add-on is fully independent yet immediately familiar — consistent controls, aligned behavior, and a modern, production-minded experience.
Modular by design. Connected by purpose.
- Website: modlr.tools
- Support: support@modlr.tools
- Studio Contact: studio@modlr.tools
© 2025 MØD:LR • MØDLR Studio
Part of the MØDLR SMART Tools suite.