Make a 3D Animation With Claude and Blender, All in Code

Claude writes the Python, Blender renders in the background, and FFmpeg stitches the video. Here is the setup and the full prompt.

You don't need to learn Blender's interface to make a short 3D animation. Claude can write a Python script that builds and animates the scene, Blender can render it from the command line, and FFmpeg can join the frames and sound into an MP4. This guide gives you the setup, the full prompt and the commands.

What you need

• Claude. Claude Opus 5.5, released in late September 2026, is Anthropic's newest model, and any recent Claude model can write Blender scripts. Claude Code (paid plan) is easiest, because it can run the commands and fix errors itself. Claude.ai works too if you run the scripts yourself.

• Blender, free from blender.org. The current manual is for Blender 5.2 LTS.

• FFmpeg, free, to stitch frames and audio.

• Python 3 with numpy, to synthesise the sound effects and music.

• Chrome, optional, to turn the HTML interface into an image.

• A decent GPU helps. Render time depends entirely on your hardware.

Step by step

1. Check your tools. In a terminal:

blender --version
ffmpeg -version
python3 -c "import numpy; print('numpy ok')"

If `blender` isn't found, add Blender's install folder to your PATH, or tell Claude the full path to the Blender program.

2. Make a project folder and open Claude Code in it.

3. Paste the full prompt.

Build a 15-second 3D animation entirely from code. I will not open Blender's interface.

Concept: a small, cute character hops across the buttons of a video-editing app interface, one button per hop, and lands on a final "Export" button.

Create these files in this folder:

1. ui/ui.html: a dark, original video-editor interface at 1920x1080 with a timeline, a layers panel and a row of 6 large labelled buttons (Cut, Trim, Text, Color, Audio, Export). No real brand names or logos. Save the pixel centre of each button to ui/buttons.json.
2. Render ui.html to ui/ui.png at 1920x1080 using headless Chrome.
3. build_scene.py, a Blender Python (bpy) script that:
   - deletes the default objects
   - creates a 16:9 plane that shows ui.png using an emission shader
   - builds the character from simple primitives (round body, two eyes, two feet) with a soft toon-like material
   - reads ui/buttons.json, maps each button centre onto the plane, and keyframes 6 hops between them: anticipation squash before take-off, stretch in the air, squash on landing, settle
   - adds a camera with a slow push-in and three-point lighting
   - sets 1920x1080, 24 fps, frames 1 to 360, the Eevee engine (check bpy.app.version for the right engine name), PNG output to //frames/####
   - writes the landing frame numbers to landings.json and saves scene.blend
4. make_audio.py: using only numpy and Python's wave module, synthesise a short "boing" at each take-off, a soft thud at each landing (frames from landings.json at 24 fps), and a gentle 15-second music loop. Mix to audio.wav at 48 kHz with no clipping.
5. A run.sh (and run.bat for Windows) with the exact commands to build, render, make audio and stitch with FFmpeg.

Then run everything. If any step fails, read the error, fix the script and run it again. Comment the code so I can change colours, timing and the character later.

4. Know the commands Claude will run. If you're using Claude.ai, run them yourself:

blender -b -P build_scene.py
blender -b scene.blend -a
python3 make_audio.py
ffmpeg -framerate 24 -i frames/%04d.png -i audio.wav -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -shortest animation.mp4

`-b` runs Blender in the background with no window, `-P` runs a Python script, and `-a` renders every frame from start to end. Put the `.blend` file before `-a`, because Blender reads arguments in order.

5. Iterate with short follow-ups.

Make the hops bouncier and add a little spin on the last jump.

Render only frames 1 to 48 at half resolution so I can preview the timing quickly.

Change the character to orange, add a shadow under it, and make the camera end on a close-up of the Export button.

6. Optional: control a live Blender window. The community blender-mcp add-on (MIT, about 28.7k stars) lets Claude drive an open Blender session. In Claude Code: claude mcp add blender uvx blender-mcp, then uvx blender-mcp install-addon, enable "MCP for Blender" in Blender's add-ons, and click Start MCP Server.

Good to know

• Math check: 360 frames at 24 fps is a 15-second video. Render time varies a lot by GPU and settings. Eevee is much faster than Cycles.

• Expect a few fix rounds. Blender's Python API changes between versions, so the first script may need corrections. Claude Code can read the error and retry.

• This is code, not an AI video model. The scene, motion and sound are all generated by scripts, so you can edit every part. You can still say it was made with AI when you post it.

• Don't copy real apps. Design your own interface instead of recreating a branded one like Adobe's.

• blender-mcp runs any Python inside Blender and its server has no authentication. Save your work first and keep it on your own machine. It sends anonymous telemetry unless you turn it off.

• Costs: Blender and FFmpeg are free. Claude Code needs a paid plan. On the API, Opus 5.5 costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens.

Sources

• The Batch (DeepLearning.AI): Claude Opus 5.5

• SmartWorld: Claude Opus 5.5 pricing and availability

• Blender Manual: Command Line Arguments

• GitHub: ahujasid/blender-mcp

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