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  BlenderRetrospective2016.jpg   

December 29, 2016 3:00 PM

 

by Editor in Chief

 

What were the biggest Blender news in 2016--especially for professional users of Blender? Here are some of the top 10 Blender news from 2016. Please remember hobbyist-grade news or well known facts--such as use of Blender in product and arch viz--may have been omitted. 

Retro2016_10.jpg

  

10. Blender Cloud Service Launched


Blender Foundation has launched a membership service; where, for less than $10.00 a month, a user can have access to all the contents from official training DVD and videos and the assets and blend files from previously released Open Source movies as well as 1,500+ textures and HDRIs that are directly accessible within your copy of Blender through internet connection.


Related link: 
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9. Game Development


Blender continued to serve as a quality tool for game development. Blender has been more than good enough for game content creators.
Related link: 

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8. Use in Commercials, Game trailers, and Music Videos

Blender continues to be an attractive 3D solution for established professionals as well as new startups

Related link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cEH7uL0S-k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWEMq0JiB0Y

https://www.facebook.com/outputmedialtd/

https://vimeo.com/184682770

https://www.blendernation.com/2016/09/12/alessandro-dalla-fontana-vfx-reel-2016/

https://www.blendernation.com/2016/09/20/jamberoo-action-parks-perfect-storm-tv-commercial/

https://www.blendernation.com/2016/09/01/rujienas-ice-cream-commercial/

https://www.blendernation.com/2016/05/03/warhammer-40k-inquisitior-martyr-destruction-trailer/


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7. AMD and Nvidia's Support for Blender Development


AMD as well as Nvidia have been supportive for Blender development. AMD reportedly has even helped to hire full time developer on Cycles. And Nvidia has provided latest GTX cards to Blender developers.

Related links: 

Retro2016_06.jpg   

6. Blender-driven Entries Noted at CG Competitions


Some of the CG competition entries created in Blender have made it all the way to the 2nd place in even in the noted CG challenge organized by the CGSociety. This reflects growing recognition among industry experts on Blender’s potentials.

Related link: 
Retro2016_05.jpg

 

5. Blender’s Potentials Recognized 


MAXON’s move to import Blender’s Cycles render engine into C4D has drawn much attention in the industry. Even the VFX supervisor for Warcraft (2016) have confessed using Blender for a character in the movie for budget reason—but with good reviews.

Related link: 

Retro2016_04.jpg

 

4. RenderMan21 Support Blender


Perhaps the most notable sign of industry’s acceptance of Blender is PIXAR’s move to support Blender in RenderMan.

Related link: 
https://renderman.pixar.com/view/non-commercial-renderman
Retro2016_03.jpg

 

3. Success of Short Films Created in Blender


Short films created in Blender have successfully demonstrated Blender’s potentials and some of them have been honored by industry experts. Cosmos Laundromat, for example, have won the SIGGRAPH 2016 Computer Animation Festival's Jury Award. Caminandes series have made it to the Disney Channel. And the short “Alike” has reportedly won 64 awards in film festivals.

Related link: 

Retro2016_02.jpg  

2. Blender-specific Third Party Add-ons and Products 

Amazing third party addons and products—mostly paid versions—specifically designed for Blender continued to put Blender to a newer level:

Related link: 
Retro2016_01.jpg

  

1. New Features in Blender 2.77 to 78a


The most exiting news regarding Blender during 2016, of course, are the new features added to Blender, such as native stereoscopic VR rendering, fire and smoke rendering in GPU, Grease Pencil, Bendy Bones, Micro Displacement, Alembic support and so forth.

Related link: 

List of Articles
No. Subject Author Views Votes Date Last Update
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2020 Blender Retrospective 211357   Feb 20, 2021 Feb 21, 2021 01:20
Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2019 Worthy of Your Note - for Animation & VFX file 563521   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:13
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Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2019 file 432376   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:15
Notice Tutorials Top 15 Highest-Rated Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2019 file 376284   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:12
Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 for Blender 2.8 file 345478   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 23, 2019 23:35
Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 Worthy of Your Note - for CG, Games & Viz file 684807   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 25, 2019 23:34
Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 Worthy of Your Note - for Animation & VFX file 408828   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 23, 2019 15:48
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 file 345397   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 25, 2019 10:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2018: Winners Annouced file 382121   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:20
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2018 Blender Retrospective file 376474   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:42
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2017 file 969437   Jan 09, 2018 Jan 25, 2019 23:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2017 Blender Retrospective file 697254   Jan 01, 2018 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2017: Winners Annouced file 551189   Dec 26, 2017 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials (Videos) Released in 2016 file 765864   Jan 16, 2017 Jan 16, 2017 05:18
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2016 Blender Retrospective file Admin 1060772   Dec 29, 2016 Feb 01, 2017 10:28
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2015: Seven Winners Annouced file 791015   Jan 20, 2016 Feb 02, 2016 03:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2015 Blender Retrospective file 762771   Jan 12, 2016 Feb 20, 2016 22:40
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2015 file 806110   Jun 26, 2015 Jan 01, 2016 05:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2014: Five Winners Annouced file 814313   Jan 02, 2015 Jan 02, 2015 16:04
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2014 file 853167   Dec 11, 2014 Jan 24, 2015 21:31
748 Render of the Week 'Spruce - Backyard House' by Paweł Pęcherzewski - the Winner of the Week of December 2, 2019 file 11532   Dec 08, 2019 Dec 15, 2019 02:33
 
747 Render of the Week 'RX Unit' by Nicodemus Mattisson - the Winner of the Week of December 9, 2019 file 10555   Dec 15, 2019 Dec 15, 2019 02:33
 
746 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of December 2, 2019 file 9810   Dec 08, 2019 Dec 08, 2019 02:49
 
745 Render of the Week 'Courage' by Daniel Vesterbæk Jensen - the Winner of the Week of November 25, 2019 file 13617   Dec 01, 2019 Dec 01, 2019 02:35
 
744 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 25, 2019 file 10160   Dec 01, 2019 Dec 01, 2019 02:21
 
743 Render of the Week 'Halloween-o-forest' by Sanidhya Kabeer- the Winner of the Week of November 18, 2019 file 10522   Nov 24, 2019 Nov 24, 2019 02:01
 
742 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 18, 2019 file 10396   Nov 24, 2019 Nov 24, 2019 01:35
 
741 Render of the Week 'Sungoori Gaga' by Kim Chul Min - the Winner of the Week of November 11, 2019 file 10597   Nov 16, 2019 Nov 16, 2019 04:52
 
740 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 11, 2019 file 10572   Nov 16, 2019 Nov 16, 2019 04:34
 
739 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 4, 2019 file 10660   Nov 10, 2019 Nov 10, 2019 02:39
 
738 Render of the Week 'Alien Homage' by Andy Walsh - the Winner of the Week of November 4, 2019 file 10691   Nov 10, 2019 Nov 10, 2019 02:38
 
737 Render of the Week '3D Castle Set Extension' by Jasper Schubert - the Winner of the Week of October 28, 2019 file 14698   Nov 03, 2019 Nov 03, 2019 04:34
 
736 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 28, 2019 file 10545   Nov 03, 2019 Nov 03, 2019 04:20
 
735 Render of the Week 'URAN-1 in Space' by Gesy Bekeyei - the Winner of the Week of October 21, 2019 file 10873   Oct 27, 2019 Oct 27, 2019 00:48
 
734 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 21, 2019 file 10731   Oct 27, 2019 Oct 27, 2019 00:21
 
733 Render of the Week 'Lake among the Dunes' by Paweł Pęcherzewski - the Winner of the Week of October 14, 2019 file 11275   Oct 20, 2019 Oct 20, 2019 06:03
 
732 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 14, 2019 file 13929   Oct 20, 2019 Oct 20, 2019 05:52
 
731 Render of the Week 'Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver' by Helmut Stark - the Winner of the Week of October 7, 2019 file 10684   Oct 12, 2019 Oct 12, 2019 10:37
 
730 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 7, 2019 file 10249   Oct 12, 2019 Oct 12, 2019 00:53
 
729 Render of the Week 'Moss-Imp' by Michi Brandstetter Lagunovich - the Winner of the Week of September 30, 2019 file 9803   Oct 06, 2019 Oct 06, 2019 02:28