Preview and performance

Shader Native evaluates supported layers in Blender's material graph. Some sources, strokes and spatial filters require raster inputs. Use profiling and preview controls to locate expensive content while preserving the full stack for export.

Profile Layers

Choose Performance › Profile Layers and a reference resolution (256, 512 or 1024). The report shows compilation time, node and sampler counts, CPU input work, CPU reference time and each layer's Live, Cached, Frozen, Stale, Pending or Bypassed state. Cost badges highlight expensive layers; the Inspector's Performance section gives the breakdown. Clear Profile resets counters.

Bypass in Preview

The row toggle beside visibility, or Performance › Bypass Selected, removes a layer's preview work. A bypassed folder bypasses its descendants. Restore Selected and Restore All bring them back. Export, bakes and explicit CPU snapshots still evaluate the authoritative stack. Preview consumers of a bypassed output can see its backdrop.

Layer caches

Paint layers, fill layers and isolated folders can be cached. A passthrough folder depends on its backdrop and cannot be cached as one independent result. Layer opacity, visibility and blending remain live; an isolated folder also retains its own live mask. Use Refresh Cache or the refresh/clear actions for all caches when needed.

Caches are packed in the project. Resolution changes require refreshing; duplicated layers start without cache images, and portable materials save cached layers as Live. Each 4K float RGBA channel costs about 256 MiB. An anchor reading a child of a cached folder may require that child to remain live.

Freeze While Painting

This project setting is on by default and is also available in the Performance menu. Native brush strokes still update their canvas, while expensive boundary work, layer-cache refresh and scene analysis wait until the stroke ends. The status explains when the preview is catching up.

The 0.13 material brush updates continuously and settles changed stroke regions after release. On the documented 2K, 25-layer fixture, event-to-visible p95 was about 120–150 ms and four-channel settle about 0.4–0.5 seconds; at 4K settle was about 1.5 seconds. The first stroke can rebuild the graph. These are fixture measurements, not a responsiveness promise.

Preview quality and status

Texture Set Settings › Preview Quality offers Full or disposable 512/1024 previews. Explicit full-resolution evaluation and export use authored resolution. The Texture Set panel and tool header share Idle, Updating, Stale, Baking, Failed and Paused states. Inspect reported failures before assuming a cached display represents the latest edits.

Performance Inventory in the Performance menu reports resources. See troubleshooting and the references for layer performance and measured painting limits.