Raya for Blender - free AI rendering add-on
Raya adds an AI rendering panel to Blender. Open it from the Raya tab in the 3D Viewport sidebar, capture the view you are looking at, describe the look you want and get client-ready visualizations back in under a minute.
How does the Raya AI visualization plugin for Blender work?
Raya for Blender is a free AI rendering add-on that turns your Blender 3D view into a photorealistic visualization in under a minute. Instead of setting up materials, an HDRI and lights and waiting for Cycles to clear its noise, you capture the active viewport from the Raya tab, describe the scene in plain words and get high-quality images back, with materials, lighting and surroundings handled by AI. It works with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer on Windows 10 and 11, uses your free Raya account, and shares the same credits as the Raya web app and every other Raya plugin. Your scene stays untouched, because Raya only reads the image of the 3D view. It suits architects, interior designers and product designers who model in Blender and need fast concept visuals and client-ready renders.
Photorealistic AI visualizations in Blender - examples of the Raya plugin in use
AI rendering in Blender without complex setup
Blender comes with Cycles and Eevee, so a render costs you no licence, but it does cost time: you assign materials, light the scene, pick an HDRI and wait for the samples. Raya takes a different route: this Blender render add-on captures the 3D view and turns it into a finished visualization in under a minute, computed in the Raya cloud. Your computer and graphics card do no rendering work. You open the panel from the Raya tab, pick the type of lighting and click Generate. You can steer the result with a reference photo of a material or a setting, decide whether a person or a pet appears in the shot, and add your own comment.
What you can do?
Render straight from the 3D Viewport
Raya captures the 3D view you opened it from in the shading mode you see on screen (Solid, Material Preview or Rendered), with the grid, gizmos and overlays left out of the image.
AI materials and lighting
Describe the scene in plain words and Raya adds realistic materials, lighting and surroundings, even to a clay model in Solid mode.
One account, every tool
Use the same free Raya account and credits in Blender, in the Raya web app and in every other Raya plugin.
Why use Raya in Blender?
A visualization straight from the 3D view
You work with what is on your screen: the framing, the camera angle and the shading mode of the 3D view you opened the panel from. Raya reads only that image, so the .blend file stays exactly as it was.
Variants outside the shader editor
You can view the same shot in sunshine, under a cloudy sky, at golden hour, at dawn and after dark, and try the form in several materials along the way. None of it is built in node trees, so your scene keeps its own materials.
Photorealism from a clay model
A model in Solid mode with no materials is enough to start. The image is built from the active viewport, and you pick 2K or 4K with one click.
Faster visualizations in Blender for architects and designers
A render add-on for Blender pays off where the model is ready quickly and the visualization is needed right away.
Architects
A building modelled in Blender can be shown in its surroundings and in the light you choose before you set up a single render scene. The visualization comes from the same viewport you model in, so the first images can reach the client the same day.
Interior designers
An interior from Blender can be shown to the client with materials and light while the layout is still changing. A change of colour or finish is tested on the image, and the scene stays as it is.
Product designers
You see a product form in realistic material and light straight from the modelling viewport. Several finish versions of the same shape sit side by side, so you can pick a direction before you refine the detail.
3D artists and quick concepts
A full set of views of one model takes a few minutes, at any stage of the work. An early blockout is enough to keep the conversation with the client on an image rather than on a grey shape on screen.
Video from an AI visualization in Blender
From a visualization you make a short video that shows the design in motion. In the panel you set the length, resolution and aspect ratio, and describe the motion in your own words or pick a preset. The film costs from 5 credits and needs no keyframes or camera animation in Blender. In a presentation a few seconds of camera travel say more about the space or the form than a single frame.
See how video generation works →Requirements
- Software
- Blender 4.2+
- Operating system
- Windows 10 / 11
- Account
- Raya
- Price
- Free
How to install
- 1Download the Raya for Blender ZIP file from this page and keep it zipped, because Blender installs extensions straight from the archive.
- 2In Blender open Edit > Preferences > Get Extensions, click the arrow in the top-right corner, choose Install from Disk and pick the ZIP file.
- 3Check that Allow Online Access is on in Preferences > System > Network. Then press N in the 3D Viewport, open the Raya tab and click Open Raya.
- 4Sign in with your Raya account in the browser window that opens and start generating. The Language setting in the Raya tab switches the panel language.
Generate, don't render!
Download the plugin and start generating with your Raya account.
Download the Raya pluginFrequently asked questions
Is the Raya add-on for Blender free?
Yes. The add-on is free to download and install. You use it with a free Raya account and it runs on Raya credits. New accounts start with free credits, and you can top up later.
Which Blender versions are supported?
Raya works with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, including the 5.x releases, on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). Blender on macOS and Linux is not supported yet.
Do I need an account and internet connection?
Yes. Raya renders in the cloud, so you need an internet connection and a Raya account. In Blender, Allow Online Access has to be on (Preferences > System > Network), otherwise the add-on does not open the panel. Sign in with the same account you use on raya.design.
Does Raya change my Blender scene?
No. Raya only captures the 3D view as an image to render from. It never changes your objects, materials, render settings or .blend file.
Does Raya replace Cycles or Eevee?
It depends on the project. Raya builds the image from your 3D view, so it does not give you the control over every detail that Cycles or Eevee does, and it does not guarantee pixel-level repeatability. It works well for concepts, variants and client presentations, where time matters, and a final client image is made in it just like a quick pass at the form. Keep Cycles for animations rendered frame by frame and for images that must match the scene down to the detail.
Do I need a powerful graphics card to use Raya?
No. Generation happens in the Raya cloud, so the add-on needs no more from your graphics card than displaying the viewport already does. You need Blender 4.2 or newer, an internet connection and a Raya account.
Can Raya make a photorealistic visualization from a model without materials?
Yes. A clear view with basic materials gives the best results, but a clay model in Solid mode also works, because the AI takes the shapes and proportions from it. You can generate in 2K or 4K, and fix individual elements later in the editor by selecting an area on the visualization.
Is Raya a Blender add-on or a separate program?
You install Raya like any other Blender extension and open it from the Raya tab in the 3D Viewport. The Raya panel then opens in its own window above Blender, and the image is computed in the cloud, so you need no separate render program.
Does the Blender add-on work on a Mac or on Linux?
Not yet. The add-on runs on Windows 10 and 11. On a Mac or on Linux you can use Raya in the browser: you upload a screenshot of the 3D view and generate the visualization the same way.
Are my views and visualizations used to train AI?
No. The view captured from Blender, your description and the finished visualization are not used to train or fine-tune models, neither ours nor our providers'.
Can I use visualizations from the add-on commercially?
Yes. You hold commercial rights to the generated images whether you are on free credits or a paid plan. You can use them in projects modelled in Blender, in offers and in marketing materials.
What happens if a generation fails?
If a visualization fails for a technical reason, the credits return to your account automatically. You do not have to ask for them or recover them by hand.
