Zen BBQ 2.0, a Bevel Add-On for Blender, Gets a New Map Baking System

Zen BBQ, a Blender tool for easy visualization of bevels by Sergey Tyapkin, received a major update. The new version, Zen BBQ 2.0, introduces a novel Map Baking system allowing for turning procedural bevels into production-ready texture maps directly within Blender.

This feature would come in particularly useful for hard-surface modeling. With Zen BBQ 2.0, you can bake normal, AO, Curvature, ID maps, and more; bake selected objects or entire collections; merge multiple objects into one texture set; control resolution, quality, output paths, and naming; and use the Explode system to prevent projection artifacts.

Overall, the add-on ensures a clean bevel workflow in Blender and allows for a more realistic look without changing geometry. The tool features precise bevel control, an option to create custom presets, advanced preview modes, and more. You can export game-ready assets with variable bevel widths transferred to Marmoset Toolbag using a vertex color mask.

Zen BBQ will fit into hard-surface modeling, game development workflow, and concept art and visualization. It keeps models lightweight during production and lets you quickly improve shapes, highlights, and surface readability.