January 6, 2014 1:30 PM
by Editor in Chief
| 10. Blender Use for Game Creation Midoki studio have successfully used Blender for creating their latest game 'Plunder Pirates,' which was picked as 'Editor's choice' on Apple iTunes app store. Blender continues to be an attractive option for game creation. Related link:
http://www.blender.org/press/angry-birds-maker-rovio-plunder-pirates-featured-on-app-store/ | |
| 9. Shorts & Videos Demonstrating Blender's Potentials As more trained artists and studios join in learning and using Blender, more quality shorts and videos have been released. Related link: 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDHTmhd9B6o 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/08/11/capn-shmelly-and-the-sperm-whale-blender-compositing/ 3. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/12/26/the-most-wonderful-gift/ 4. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/12/26/bloody-xmas/ 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHLjZkpdnyQ | |
| 8. Commericals Made with Blender As in last year, Impressive TV commercials and in-house promotional videos have been created with Blender. Related links: 1. http://www.3d-station.fr/2014/10/22/portfolio-agostino-davilla/ 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/11/07/circle-of-streams/ 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsMo-yCaA5o 4. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/11/29/blender-used-in-samsung-smart-tv-ad/ | |
| 7. Connectivity with Other Tools Improved Portability with other tools like V-ray and Mocha have been improved, with Chaos group now officially supporting Add-on for Blender. Related links: 1. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/02/21/v-ray-for-blender-getting-official/ 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/01/20/add-on-mochablend-imports-mocha-tracking-data/ 3. http://www.chaosgroup.com/en/2/vray_blender.html | |
| 6. More Free Add-ons Talented artists and programmers continued to create and offer their add-ons (plugins) that make your job a lot easier. Though you might need to sort out production quality add-ons, it's worth your time. One of the great places to locate them is: http://www.blendernation.com/category/blender/add-ons/ Related link: 1. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/02/08/use-dolly-and-crane-camera-rigs-with-the-add-camera-add-on/ 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/02/13/add-on-snowflake-fractal-generator/ 3. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/06/03/bool-tool-0-2-released/ | |
5. Improved Blender Tutorials Digital-tutors have added Blender in their "arsenal" in 2014. It might be a welcome news for CG artists who are used to well-though-out, good oral presentation. The quality of other free online Blender tutorials have significantly improved as well, as artists armed with unprecedented knowledge of CG principles join in creating free Blender tutorials . Related link: 1. http://blendernews.org/xe/Feature_Articles/9644 2. http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/1692-Introduction-to-Modeling-in-Blender | ||
4. Project Gooseberry Initiated Blender Institute's 5th open movie project have been launched. Although the initial goal of making a full-length feature film was unrealized, the project is a blessing for every Blender users, since every open movie project have served to add and improve Blender as a production tools. Related link: 1. http://gooseberry.blender.org/ 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/01/28/project-gooseberry-studio-line-up-announced/ 3. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/03/09/project-gooseberry-launches-seeks-10000-supporters-to-write-film-history/ | ||
3. Blender Cloud Launched Blender Cloud--the new hub for Blender Institute's official training tutorials--have been launched where you can get access to all the official tutorials and production files of previous open movies---of course--through a paid membership. Related link: 1. https://cloud.blender.org/ 2. http://www.blendernation.com/2014/03/18/video-intro-to-the-blender-cloud/ | ||
2. Refined Commercial Add-ons for Blender Introduced With the launch of CG Cookie's "Blender Market" in 2014, refined production quality add-ons are being created and sold. Although some in the Blender community have raised concerns over the "free" spirit of Blender, what matters to the professional users seems to be is what the add-ons are capable of. It's a notable change, since it's the plugins that made other 3D tools where they are in the industry today. Related link: http://cgcookiemarkets.com/blender/all-products/category/scripts-and-addons/ | ||
| 1. New Features: 2014 has seen new features like Cycles baking, Cycles smoke & fire, and volume rendering--not to mention the amazing new fracture tools and the grease pencil tools that made headline in the industry. (GPU support for Cycles smoke & fire is yet to come.) Related link: http://www.blender.org/features/2-72/ |