Yesterday marked the first anniversary of BlenderNews.org, which was launched

on April 9, 2012. How successful has it been to its founding objective, that is, to
meet the needs professional users of Blender? On the right side of this articles are
some of the top 100 most read articles for the last 365 days.*  Obviously. there are more that could have been or should have been discussed. If there are specific topics that you think should be addressed or explored in a future article please feel free to leave a comment here or at the official Facebook page of BlenderNews.org.

Some Policy Changes after the Launch of BlenderNews.org

What changes have BlenderNews.org gone through after its launch one year ago? One of them is to include highly advanced "hobbyists" as part of its main target audience on the premise that they are available as freelancers.

Old Policy Reminders

The introductory article for the launch of BlenderNews.org has noted: "[C]onsidering the international nature of Blender users, this website shall be cleared of any political or religious comments and posts." The purpose of this policy is to make professionals and artists from any background to feel at ease when visiting
BlenderNews.org. website. That is why no artwork or event featuring anti-religious views or a religious event or a religious holiday have hardly been featured. 

Regular Member-only Free Portfolio Board Available

In celebration of the first anniversary of BlenderNews.org, Free portfolio boards have been launched for Regular Members who have demonstrated their competence as CGI/VFX artists through their sign-up information. To see if you have been given one, click the new Portfolios tab and look for your ID under the "MEMBER PORTFOLIOS (CERTIFIED)" section. If your ID is not found there, please make sure that you sign up or check if you have filled out in the "Homepage" field with your on-line portfolio information. 

To qualify for Regular Membership, your portfolio or your website (as noted in your "Homepage" field) should serve as a reasonable proof that you are a competent CGI/VFX/Digital artist or studio. Just typing in "Blender.org" or "google.com" would fail to serve its purpose. In such cases, you would be accepted as an Associate Member who can leave a comment but generally cannot upload any digital files. If you want the admin to reconsider your personal profile, please update your sign-up information and leave a brief message stating your wish through the CONTACT US page.

Quarterly CGI/VFX Competitions Planned 

Clients are interested in locating competent artists and studios. As such, a regular Competition will provide professionals with excellent opportunities to showcase their works. And it will be a fine opportunity for over 100 Associate Members to prove their competence through such competitions and get recognized as a Regular Member.

If you are a film-maker or a director looking for a competent Blender Studio or a generalist, it would be a good idea to provide a short raw footage for the Competition. If you are interested, please contact the admin of BlenderNew.org at admin@blendernews.org. If you are a third party business entity interested in advertising your product or services to our members, please contact the admin as well.

Regular Series

The article series "Render of the Week" / "Render of the Year" / "Architectural Visualization in Blender" / "Product Visualization in Blender" will continued to be a main feature of BlenderNews.org. 

Related Links:

1. http://www.blendernews.org/xe/Front_portfolios

2. http://www.blendernews.org/xe/Challenge_membership

* Top 100 most read article list will continue to be updated at: http://blendernews.org/xe/index.php?mid=NEWS_LIST