BRef — Minimalistic Reference Addon for Blender 4.4

BRef is a clean and lightweight addon for managing reference images directly inside the 3D viewport or the scene itself.
Simple, fast, and built for Blender 4.4+.

GitHub Page

For Bugs and Issues, open an issue in GitHub

Features

🖼️ Viewport Overlay Reference Images

• Add image references as draggable overlays directly in the 3D viewport.
• Support for multiple images with independent:
  • Size
  • Position (X, Y)
  • Opacity (Alpha)
  • Flip (X/Y)
  • Maintain aspect ratio
• Drag and resize interactively in "Drag Mode" (K key to resize or corner handles).
• Layer system to organize references.
• Show all layers toggle.
• Smart Arrange tool to auto-layout images cleanly.
• Center selected image to viewport.
• Grid snapping (with customizable grid size and color).

🧭 Orthographic Reference Images

• Enable reference images in 6 orthographic directions:
  • Front / Back / Left / Right / Up / Down
• Each with individual:
  • File path
  • Size
  • Opacity
• Automatically placed as Empty objects in 3D view.
• Spawn or clear all orthographic references with one click.

🧰 UI Integration & Custom Panel

• Custom "BRef" tab in the 3D View Sidebar.
• Organized sections for overlay and orthographic images.
• Interactive list UI for managing references.
• Fully integrated with Blender's property and operator system.

Controls

Action Shortcut Enter/Exit Drag Mode Click "Enter Drag Mode" or use Right Mouse / ESC Move Image Drag Right Top Green Corner to Resize or Left Click and Drag Resize Image Hold K key while dragging Center Selected Image Button in Sidebar

Installation

1. Download the bref.py file.
2. Open Blender, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.
3. Click Install, select the bref.py file.
4. Enable "BRef" in the Add-ons list.
5. Open the Sidebar (press N in 3D Viewport), and find the BRef tab.

Requirements

• Blender 4.4.0 or newer.

Notes

• Orthographic references are scene objects and will be saved with your .blend file.
• Viewport overlays are temporary and meant mainly for workflow, not final renders.
• Works best with Image Editor-friendly formats like PNG or JPEG.