Creating photorealistic renders with MCP for Blender

hayashimon is an indie developer who builds with AI. On October 10 they posted a ten-second clip of this laundromat on X, with the steps behind it in the replies. Many people followed the steps and posted scenes of their own.

700K+: views on the original post

hayashimon decided what looked right and said what to change. Claude did all the work inside Blender through MCP for Blender.

The seven steps

Each step adds a layer: the room, the objects, the surfaces, the wear, then motion.

Step	Tools	What happens
1. Reference	ChatGPT	A 2D image of the finished scene
2. Layout	MCP for Blender + Claude	Claude reads the layout from the image and builds the room
3. Blockout	MCP for Blender + Claude	Boxes first, then the space, the models and the materials, in that order
4. Grime	MCP for Blender + Claude	Chipped paint, dust, drip marks and fingerprints, all procedural
5. Printed matter	MCP for Blender + Claude	Signs and stickers made as prints, then faded and peeled
6. Critique	You, MCP for Blender + Claude	Notes like "a lot of this looks unnatural"; Claude checks close-ups and fixes
7. Motion	MCP for Blender + Claude	Dryer spin, light flicker, rain and a camera move, rendered to video

Start from a reference image

hayashimon generated a 2D image of the finished scene in ChatGPT first. Then they gave it to Claude and asked for a late-night laundromat in Blender.

The image settles what a text prompt leaves open: where the washers and dryers sit, where the bench goes, how the light falls. Claude read the layout from it and built the room through MCP for Blender.

The laundromat at night: rain on the glass front and a metal bench on the left, a row of washers with stacked dryers on the right, a folding table, laundry cart and blue bucket in the middle — The room: glass front and bench on the left, washers and stacked dryers on the right, a folding table at the back.

Block it out, then refine

Claude started with plain boxes. Then it raised the detail in a fixed order: the space first, then the models, then the materials.

Proportions are cheap to fix while everything is still a box. A detailed dryer in a room with the wrong proportions still looks wrong, and fixing the room later means redoing everything in it.

Add wear to every surface

Clean, new surfaces look like CG. Real places carry marks from use, so Claude layered them on: chipped paint, dust, drip marks and fingerprints.

None of the grime uses image textures. Claude built every layer procedurally, from shader nodes.

Dark stains streaking a grey wall below a wall-mounted fan and a light switch — Procedural grime on the walls and floor. Click any image to enlarge.

A blue bucket with a rag on a tiled floor, a puddle of water spreading toward the washers — Procedural grime on the walls and floor. Click any image to enlarge.

Signs and stickers as prints

Claude made the signs and stickers as printed material first, then added fading and peeling, the way paper ages on a laundromat wall.

Two paper notices taped to the back wall and a third on the grey door — Notices, price labels and an out-of-order note.

Washer control panels with 22 kg and 600 yen price labels, and a printed out-of-order note hanging on a door — Notices, price labels and an out-of-order note.

Critique, and make Claude look closer

hayashimon then reviewed the scene and gave blunt notes, like "a lot of this looks unnatural". Claude checked the scene in close-up and fixed what it found.

MCP for Blender lets Claude look at the viewport, so a one-line note is enough for it to go and find the problems.

Closer view of the back of the laundromat: stacked dryers on the right, one with laundry visible through its door, a folding table, a laundry cart and a potted plant — The end of the shot, close to the dryers.

Add motion last

Once the still scene held up, Claude added motion: the one dryer turning, the fluorescent tube flickering, rain on the glass and a slow push-in. Then it rendered the video.

The one dryer that's running.

Try it yourself

hayashimon suggests giving Claude the seven steps as they are, then adding your own memories and favourite things to make the scene yours.

To start, install MCP for Blender and connect it to Claude.