QuickSDFTool v0.1.0-preview

This is the first public preview release of QuickSDFTool, an Unreal Engine 5 editor-mode plugin for painting toon-shadow masks and generating SDF threshold maps.

Recommended Audience

• Technical artists experimenting with stylized rendering.
• Solo and small-team anime/toon projects.
• UE plugin developers interested in Interactive Tools Framework, Slate overlays, material baking, and shader-module examples.

Tested Environment

UE 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6 are not tested for this preview.

Highlights

• Dedicated Quick SDF editor mode.
• Direct mesh painting and 2D UV preview painting.
• Light-angle timeline with thumbnails and snapping.
• Static Mesh and Skeletal Mesh component support.
• Mask import/export and non-destructive UQuickSDFAsset workflow.
• CPU SDF generation and half-float texture export.
• Example materials and textures included in plugin content.

Installation

1. Download the source archive for this release.
2. Copy the plugin to YourProject/Plugins/QuickSDFTool/.
3. Regenerate project files.
4. Build the project.
5. Enable QuickSDFTool in the editor plugin browser.
6. Restart the editor.

Verification Steps

1. Open a C++ UE 5.7.4 project.
2. Add a test mesh to a level.
3. Enter Quick SDF mode.
4. Paint two or more masks at different light angles.
5. Generate a threshold map.
6. Confirm a texture is created under /Game/QuickSDF_GENERATED/.
7. Connect the texture to the included or project-specific toon material.

Known Defects

• UV layout can affect the relationship between brush size and painted area.
• Timeline thumbnails/handles can become misaligned after interaction.
• SDF output direction still needs final verification against the preview material.
• GPU JFA shader files exist, but the public generation path currently uses the CPU FSDFProcessor path.

Suggested GitHub Release Assets

• Source archive from the tag.
• A short demo video or GIF showing mask paint -> SDF map -> toon result.
• A PNG export of .github/assets/social-preview.svg.