Blender Time Lapse Add-on

This add-on will take a screenshot of a specific 3D View repeatedly after a number of actions. Useful for making time lapses without the pauses.

Installation

• In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences.
• Go to Add-ons, choose Install and look for the downloaded file (blender_timelapse.py).

Usage

• In the 3D Viewport you want to capture, go to View > Record Time Lapse > Start. The recording's settings are:
  • Use Pivot Object: Check to enable rotating a Pivot Object before each screenshot.
  • Pivot Object: Object to rotate. Ideally it's the parent of the viewport's camera.
  • Pivot Increment: Amount to rotate the Pivot Object before each screenshot. Rotation is along the World Z axis.Steps: Number of actions between screenshots.
  • Minimum Time: Minimum time between screenshots. (When transforming objects/vertices, Blender considers each mouse movement as one action, so this prevents too many screenshots from being taken in such a short time span)
  • File type: The output file type (JPEG or PNG)
  • Hide UI Elements: Hides all overlays and gizmos. Sometimes they still show up even with overlays off, so this might prevent it (haven't tested it thoroughly yet though)

Other notes

• Requires Blender 4.0+
• The files are saved in a folder named Timelapse-(date)-(time) in the output path. The usual output path is C:\tmp on Windows.
• When transforming in Object/Edit mode, each mouse movement is one action. In Sculpt/Paint mode, each stroke is one action. Each left click on empty space (i.e. deselect all) counts as an action.
• Moving the camera DOES NOT COUNT as an action.