How do I install Pillow and/or Pip in Blender Python in Windows OS [duplicate]

Question

Folks, I've spent the last couple of days reviewing all the info on this and am getting nowhere fast. The most recent information I've found is about two years old, so I'm HOPING that things have gotten better in 2.79.

I understand Pillow is a module that doesn't come with Blender's Python (referring thereafter as BP). I also know you can install modules like Pillow with Pip, but that also doesn't come with BP. So I downloaded a script that is supposed to install Pip if you run it on the command line (https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installing/#do-i-need-to-install-pip) , which I tried in the BP directory that contains BP executable. It did not throw an error, but it didn't appear to do anything and BP still reports the Pip module not found (so I obviously can't do something like:

import pip
pip.main(['install', 'pillow'])
from PIL import Image

which says it has no module named Pip.

At this point I'm assuming my only real option is to uninstall BP and install another, recent Python that (I guess) Blender then will default to using. Is this the recommended procedure? How do I safely uninstall BP? And what version of Python for Blender 2.79 should I install? (I don't want to screw up all my Python stuff, both that comes with Blender, as well as Sensei and the stuff I've written).

TIA for any help.

Answer 1

Okay, I got it to work and in the off chance it might help a fellow (old) person, here's exactly what I had to do.

In the Windows PowerShell I first installed Pip by typing this command in the Python executable directory for Blender:

.\python -m ensurepip --default-pip

Then I downloaded the Pillow wheel file for the version of Python I had (which I found by typing in .\python --version). I put this file in the same directory as the Python executable (I don't know if I had to do this, but I did anyway). Then I typed, again, specifically:

.\python -m pip install Pillow

Finally, inside of Blender itself my script did this:

From PIL import image

This worked -- and so I assume now I can use the stuff in the Pillow module (haven't tried that yet, but now I'm a LOT further along and I didn't have to uninstall my Blender Python).