Your First Blueprint

In this guide we’ll build a spinning cube, export it, and summon it in a Minecraft world. It covers the whole Animated Java workflow from start to finish.

Prerequisites

• Animated Java is installed. See Installing Animated Java if it isn’t.
• A Minecraft world with an empty Data Pack in its datapacks folder, and an empty Resource Pack in your resourcepacks folder. Each one needs at least a pack.mcmeta file.

Part 1: Create the Blueprint

1. Create a new Blueprint

   Go to File New Animated Java Blueprint, or pick Animated Java Blueprint on the start screen.

2. Add a Group

   In the Outliner, click Add Group and rename the new group to cube_bone. Groups are the bones of your rig: they’re what moves when you animate.

3. Add a Cube

   Click Add Cube, then drag the cube onto cube_bone in the Outliner. Position and size it however you like.

4. Texture it

   In the Textures panel, create or import a texture and apply it to every face of the cube.

Part 2: Configure the Blueprint

Animated Java needs to know where to write your packs.

1. Open Blueprint Settings

   Click Animated Java Blueprint Settings in the menu bar.

2. Set the Blueprint ID

   On the General page, set Blueprint ID to something unique, like my_pack:spinning_cube. Every function Animated Java generates lives under this ID.

3. Set the Target Minecraft Version

   Set Target Minecraft Version to the version you play on, like 26.2.

4. Pick the Resource Pack folder

   On the Resource Pack page, leave the format on Folder and select your Resource Pack’s folder (the one containing pack.mcmeta).

5. Pick the Data Pack folder

   On the Data Pack page, leave the format on Folder and select your Data Pack’s folder inside the world’s datapacks folder.

6. Close the dialog

   Settings save automatically when you switch pages or close the dialog.

Part 3: Animate It

1. Switch to the Animate tab

   Click Animate in the top-right corner of Blockbench.

2. Create an animation

   In the Animations panel, click + to create an animation and name it spin. Right-click it, choose Properties, and set Loop Mode to Loop.

3. Add rotation keyframes

   Select cube_bone. At 0 seconds, add a rotation keyframe with a Y rotation of 0. Move to the end of the animation and add another rotation keyframe with a Y rotation of 360.

Part 4: Export and Test

1. Export

   Click Animated Java Export (Debug), or press Ctrl + E. Animated Java writes the model and textures to your Resource Pack, and the functions to your Data Pack.

2. Load the packs

   In Minecraft, enable your Resource Pack (or press F3 + T if it’s already on), then run /reload.

3. Summon the rig

   Run this to summon the cube at your feet, facing south:

   execute positioned ~ ~ ~ rotated 0 0 run function my_pack:spinning_cube/summon {args: {}}

4. Play the animation

   execute as @e[tag=my_pack.spinning_cube.root] run function my_pack:spinning_cube/animations/spin/play

5. Remove the rig

   execute as @e[tag=my_pack.spinning_cube.root] run function my_pack:spinning_cube/remove/this

Next Steps

• Blueprints covers every Blueprint setting.
• Variants and Texture Slots let one rig switch between looks.
• The Function API lists every function you can call from your own Data Pack.