🌿 CardCutter: Nanite-Ready Foliage Generator

Turn textures into optimized 3D meshes – instantly.

CardCutter is the essential Blender addon for Environment Artists and Game Developers. It converts your textures into clean, high-density 3D meshes, perfect for reducing overdraw in game engines.

Designed with Unreal Engine 5 in mind, it bridges the gap between simple planes and heavy geometry.

🚀 Why CardCutter for Nanite?

Nanite handles millions of polygons with ease, but transparent pixels (masked materials) still kill GPU performance. Using simple planes for leaves creates massive "Overdraw" where the engine wastes resources rendering empty space.

CardCutter creates the perfect hybrid:

1. Zero Overdraw: The mesh hugs the exact outline of your asset, removing expensive transparent pixels.
2. Nanite-Dense Topology: The "High Quality Optimization" mode generates the uniform, high-density triangulation that Nanite clusters need to function correctly.
3. Better Wind Shaders: Unlike low-poly planes, the dense geometry allows for beautiful, fluid vertex displacement (WPO) without blocky artifacts.

✨ Key Features

• Versatile Input: Works with Black & White Masks OR standard Albedo/Diffuse Textures with an Alpha Channel.
• Automatic Atlas Splitting: Detects multiple loose parts in a texture atlas (e.g., a leaf sheet) and automatically creates separate mesh objects for each.
• High-Quality Topology: Uses advanced relaxation algorithms to create uniform triangles.No messy N-gons or long slivers.
• Game-Ready Presets:
  • Fast: For background assets.
  • Balanced: Standard game-ready assets.
  • High Quality: Nanite-optimized density for hero assets.

📦 Installation Guide

1. Download: Download the .zip file (or .py file) from your Gumroad/ArtStation account. Important: Do not unzip the file!
2. Open Blender: Go to Edit → Preferences.
3. Install: Select the Add-ons tab on the left and click the Install... button at the top right.
4. Select File: Navigate to your downloaded file, select it, and click Install Add-on.
5. Enable: Search for "CardCutter" in the list and check the box to enable the addon.

📍 Where to find it? In the 3D Viewport, press N on your keyboard to open the Sidebar. You will see a new tab labeled "CardCutter".

💡 Best Use Cases & Limitations

CardCutter shines when processing distinct, organic shapes. It is optimized for:

• 🍃 Individual Leaves: Perfect for assembling trees and bushes.
• 🌿 Simple Fronds & Ivy: Great for ivy leaves and separated plant parts.
• 📜 Debris & Trash: Papers, cardboard, and scattered floor elements.
• 🎨 Decals: Give flat stickers real geometry and depth.

> Pro Tip: The tool is optimized for solid shapes and individual elements. Extremely complex, noise-heavy structures (like entire, fine-detailed fern plants with thousands of micro-holes) are best processed as separate leaflets or simplified masks.

💎 License Options

License: Individual / Freelance – €12

• For individual artists and freelancers.
• Includes full addon functionality + future updates.
• Single seat license.

License: Studio / Enterprise – €50

• For teams and companies.
• Unlimited Seats: Install on all machines at one location.
• Priority Support: Direct assistance for pipeline integration.
• Contributions support the continued development of the tool.

⚙️ Technical Specs

• Blender Version: 4.0+
• Input Formats: PNG, TIF, JPG, TGA.
• Channels: Supports luminance (B&W) or Alpha Channel transparency.
• UVs: Automatically generated 0-1 UVs matching your texture.

Legal Disclaimer: "Unreal® Engine" and "Nanite®" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. CardCutter is an independent tool developed by Philipp Russo and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Epic Games, Inc. or the Blender Foundation.