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Two 3DGS Add-ons for Blender: Features and Differences Between SkySplat and the KIRI Version
This article sorts out two open-source add-ons for working with Gaussian Splatting in Blender: SkySplat and 3DGS Render. The former focuses on training from drone video; the latter focuses on editing, rendering and simple lighting.
This article was generated by AI and published automatically without prior human review.
- Use cases
- Production, Tools, 3DGS
- Sources
- 2 (en) (2 primary)
Key points
- SkySplat (MIT) is a toolkit that handles frame extraction from drone video, COLMAP and Brush training inside Blender.
- 3DGS Render (GPL-2.0) edits and renders 3DGS PLY files in Blender, and also handles relighting and shadows on an experimental basis.
- 3DGS Render is moving from KIRI Engine to community-led maintenance, and official support and update timing are not guaranteed.
Contents
What happened
This article sorts out two Blender-related 3DGS GitHub repositories shared on X, based on what each repository states. Both are free and open source, but their purposes differ.
[SkySplat] An add-on by kyjohnso, licensed under MIT. The latest release is v0.4.2 (2026-04-25). It is described as bundling the process of building 3DGS from drone footage into Blender.
According to the README, it covers video import, frame extraction, reconstruction with COLMAP, model conversion, camera animation creation and 3DGS training. Training uses Arthur Brussee's Brush, and the executable is bundled.
v0.4.0 added support for multiple instances. It states that multiple videos can be processed in the same .blend file without file conflicts. The v0.4.2 release notes list image sequence support and a Windows Qt-related fix.
[3DGS Render] An add-on originating from KIRI Engine, licensed under GPL-2.0. The latest release is v5.1.0 (2026-08-26), and it has 1,250 stars. It handles importing, editing, animating, rendering and exporting 3DGS PLY files.
v5.1.0 adds support for Blender 5.2 (while keeping 5.1), improved proxy rigging deformation, and GPU acceleration of spherical harmonics (SH) rotation (falling back to CPU on failure). It also supports real-time relighting and Eevee mesh shadows.
How it works
The SkySplat workflow is as follows. Load the video and an SRT file (drone metadata), set the start, end and interval, and extract frames. The extracted images are reconstructed with COLMAP, and the resulting camera positions are adjusted in Blender by scaling, rotating and moving. Finally, the converted data is trained with Brush.
It can also automatically generate a keyframed camera from the COLMAP camera positions. It states that rotation is interpolated with quaternions. The README explains that this can be used for transition footage connecting captured video and 3DGS renderings.
3DGS Render has a mesh-based mode for editing and a render mode for drawing. In render mode, the proxy of each splat follows Blender's visibility and render-enable settings. Objects can be duplicated with Shift+D, and each duplicate has its own deformation, visibility and animation.
Shadows are approximated with a sampling-based proxy built from the splats, and it is explained that this is not true volumetric transmission. The release notes also call the relighting an "artistic approximation." World and HDRI lighting is diffuse only and does not produce sharp reflections.
By the numbers
| SkySplat license | MIT |
|---|---|
| SkySplat latest version | v0.4.2 (2026-04-25) |
| SkySplat supported Blender | 5.0 or later (the README also states it works on 4.0 or later) |
| SkySplat external dependencies | COLMAP (installed separately), Brush (bundled) |
| 3DGS Render license | GPL-2.0 |
| 3DGS Render latest version | v5.1.0 (2026-08-26) |
| 3DGS Render supported Blender | 5.1, 5.2 (stated as verified on Windows with 5.1.1 and 5.2.0 LTS) |
| 3DGS Render shadows / relighting | Point lights render shadow views in 6 directions. Mesh shadows for up to 4 lights, direct relighting for up to 16 lights |
Why it matters
For production, this adds options for compositing real-world 3DGS captures in Blender with existing meshes, lights and cameras. SkySplat covers capture through training, while 3DGS Render covers editing and compositing after training. Because their roles differ, they are less competitors than tools for different stages of the pipeline.
Creators and inspection staff who want to turn a site into 3D from drone footage and present it can try SkySplat starting from preprocessing. However, accuracy and suitability for inspection use cannot be confirmed from the sources.
3DGS Render uses a lot of GPU VRAM. Each duplicate loads a full set of splats onto the GPU, so caution is advised when duplicating large scans.
How to try it
- SkySplat: Install the release zip from Blender's Edit → Preferences → Add-ons, and install COLMAP separately. A sample video is linked in the README. On macOS and Linux, the bundled Brush needs to be given execute permission.
- 3DGS Render: From GitHub Releases, get the zip that matches your Blender version and environment, without unzipping it. Install it with Install from Disk in Get Extensions, then load a PLY from the "3DGS Render" tab in the N panel.
- For both, first check operation with small data, and back up any important .blend files before trying them.
Caveats and open questions
- The X posts serve as a lead to the topic, and the poster's explanations cannot be confirmed from the sources. The facts are based on what each repository states.
- Only part of the SkySplat README could be retrieved, so the later sections have not been checked.
- The licenses differ: 3DGS Render is GPL-2.0 and SkySplat is MIT. Check each LICENSE for the terms of commercial use and redistribution.
- External tools such as SkySplat's Brush have their own separate licenses. How the bundled components are handled cannot be confirmed from the sources.
- 3DGS Render's relighting, shadows, proxy rigging and lighting bake are described as experimental. Behavior may vary depending on the environment.
- The 3DGS Render maintainers are volunteers, and response timing and support are not guaranteed. Documentation and tutorials may not have caught up with the latest features.
- Neither source contains data comparing processing speed or quality.
Glossary
- COLMAP
- An open-source SfM (Structure from Motion) tool that estimates camera positions and sparse 3D points from multiple photos.
- Brush
- A 3DGS training and viewing app by Arthur Brussee. It is written in Rust and SkySplat integrates with it.
- Spherical harmonics (SH)
- Coefficients in 3DGS that represent how color changes with viewing angle. When a splat is rotated, these coefficients must also be rotated.
- Proxy rigging
- A method of making splats follow the movement of bones in a simple mesh or similar proxy.
Sources
Primary sources (publisher, paper, repository)
- kyjohnso/skysplat_blenderGitHub（github.com）・en
- Kiri-Innovation/3dgs-render-blender-addonGitHub（github.com）・en
The X post that surfaced this story
This article was generated in Japanese by AI from the sources listed (primarily primary sources) and published automatically, without prior human review, after automated checks such as source matching (how we use AI). Figures and specifications are as stated by the publishers and have not been independently verified by us. Please consult the original sources. To report an error, use our contact form; we will review it promptly and correct it. This page is an AI translation of the Japanese original. If anything differs, the Japanese version prevails. Japanese original
From the operator3DGS Universal Viewer（3Dasset.io）（IZUTSUYA Inc.）