Blender add-on · $29 one-time

Tumbol.

Roll and tumble any object to a point you mark — the way its shape would actually roll. Boxes tumble edge over edge, balls roll in a smooth arc, cylinders roll like a car tire and steer. On floors, walls, and ceilings. It's directed animation, not a physics sim — every roll bakes to normal, editable keyframes you can tweak by hand afterward. Works in Blender 4.2+, fully local.

01Install

Open Preferences

In Blender (4.2+): Edit → Preferences → Add-ons, top-right dropdown → Install from Disk…

Pick the zip

Select tumbol-1.0.0.zip — the file you downloaded. Don't unzip it first.

Enable it

Tick the checkbox next to Tumbol. In the 3D viewport press N → the Tumbol sidebar tab.

02The four-step flow

1 · Attach

stick to a surface

Select your object, choose the surface — floor, ceiling, or a wall — and click Attach. The object sticks to that surface, ready to roll along it.

2 · Set the marker

where it lands

Move the 3D cursor to where you want the object to end up — Shift+Right-click on the surface.

3 · Roll

the payoff

Click Roll to Cursor. The object rolls from its attached spot to the marker, in the style you picked. Press Spacebar to watch it.

4 · Repeat / Reset

iterate freely

Move the marker and Roll again — it always starts fresh from the attach spot, no reset needed. Reset undoes a roll and returns the object home; Detach (in More options) lets go of the surface.

03The three modes — pick by your object's shape

ModeForWhat it does
Rockboxes, dice, angular / irregularTumbles edge over edge. Stair-steps to reach an off-axis marker and settles flat on a face.
Ballspheres, round shapesRolls smoothly to the marker.
Wheelcylinders, tiresRolls upright on its round edge and steers toward the marker like a car wheel. Lay it on its side before attaching.

04Path & timing

Path

Direct — a straight line to the marker. Curve — a sweeping arc; the Bow slider sets how wide it is, and a negative Bow swings it to the other side.

Speed

on by default

Every roll moves at the same pace, near or far — so a short roll and a long roll feel consistent. Turn Speed off to set an exact Frames length instead.

Start frame

choreograph

When this object's roll begins. Give each object a different Start to choreograph several rolling on one timeline — a box at frame 1, a ball at 90, a cylinder at 140.

The timeline auto-extends so a roll is never cut off, and rolls always start from where the object was Attached — so move the marker and re-Roll as much as you like. Everything bakes to real keyframes; tweak them by hand afterward like any animation.

05Surfaces

Attach to a floor, a ceiling (it hangs and rolls upside down), or a wall (it sticks and rolls along it) — the headline move nothing else does easily. Flat surfaces for now. For Wheel, lay the cylinder on its round side before attaching; Attach keeps floor objects in the orientation you give them.

$Get Tumbol

paid · one-time · Blender 4.2+ · local, no lock-in

Tumbol is $29, yours to keep.

One purchase, a permanent download — no subscription, no account needed to buy.

Get Tumbol — $29 → ← Back to the guide
Starting Frame. — the guide · startingframe.com
Tumbol · roll anything to a mark, the way its shape would — up walls and ceilings.