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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. 

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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 211305   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 563443   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:13
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Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2019 file 432296   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:15
Notice Tutorials Top 15 Highest-Rated Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2019 file 376206   Jan 25, 2020 Mar 24, 2020 10:12
Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 for Blender 2.8 file 345377   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 684709   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 408749   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 23, 2019 15:48
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 file 345288   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 25, 2019 10:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2018: Winners Annouced file 382022   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:20
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2018 Blender Retrospective file 376389   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:42
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2017 file 969357   Jan 09, 2018 Jan 25, 2019 23:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2017 Blender Retrospective file 697176   Jan 01, 2018 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2017: Winners Annouced file 551105   Dec 26, 2017 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials (Videos) Released in 2016 file 765753   Jan 16, 2017 Jan 16, 2017 05:18
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2016 Blender Retrospective file Admin 1060677   Dec 29, 2016 Feb 01, 2017 10:28
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2015: Seven Winners Annouced file 790919   Jan 20, 2016 Feb 02, 2016 03:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2015 Blender Retrospective file 762677   Jan 12, 2016 Feb 20, 2016 22:40
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2015 file 806002   Jun 26, 2015 Jan 01, 2016 05:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2014: Five Winners Annouced file 814210   Jan 02, 2015 Jan 02, 2015 16:04
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2014 file 853093   Dec 11, 2014 Jan 24, 2015 21:31
248 Render of the Week '... Reality TV?' by Didier Barreteau - the Winner of the Week of September 22, 2014 file 37438   Sep 22, 2014 Sep 22, 2014 17:42
 
247 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of September 22, 2014 file 33269   Sep 22, 2014 Sep 22, 2014 17:12
 
246 Render of the Week 'Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea' by Grant Parsley - the Winner of the Week of September 15, 2014 file 37500   Sep 15, 2014 Sep 15, 2014 17:42
 
245 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of September 15, 2014 file 39880   Sep 15, 2014 Sep 15, 2014 17:04
 
244 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of September 8, 2014 file 34669   Sep 08, 2014 Sep 08, 2014 21:33
 
243 Render of the Week 'Mercenaries' by Kalinin Dmitrii - the Winner of the Week of September 1, 2014 file 36108   Sep 01, 2014 Sep 01, 2014 23:26
 
242 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of September 1, 2014 file 32596   Sep 01, 2014 Sep 01, 2014 22:22
 
241 Render of the Week 'Rainy Day in the Forest' by Niko Maisuradze - the Winner of the Week of August 25, 2014 file 34712   Aug 26, 2014 Aug 26, 2014 17:15
 
240 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of August 25, 2014 file 32624   Aug 26, 2014 Aug 26, 2014 16:56
 
239 Render of the Week 'Green Basilisk' by Michael Grebstad - the Winner of the Week of August 18, 2014 file 38300   Aug 18, 2014 Aug 18, 2014 22:37
 
238 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of August 18, 2014 file 33056   Aug 18, 2014 Aug 18, 2014 22:15
 
237 Render of the Week 'The Waterfall House' by Mateusz Kociolek - the Winner of the Week of August 11, 2014 file 37721   Aug 11, 2014 Aug 11, 2014 13:15
 
236 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of August 11, 2014 file 33242   Aug 11, 2014 Aug 11, 2014 12:29
 
235 Render of the Week 'Fiend of Chaos' by Kfir Merlaub - the Winner of the Week of August 4, 2014 file 33877   Aug 05, 2014 Aug 05, 2014 21:09
 
234 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of August 4, 2014 file 34633   Aug 05, 2014 Aug 05, 2014 20:22
 
233 Render of the Week 'Gladiador de las arenas' by Pablo Rethemias - the Winner of the Week of July 28, 2014 file 34749   Jul 29, 2014 Jul 29, 2014 03:35
 
232 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of July 28, 2014 file 32063   Jul 29, 2014 Jul 29, 2014 03:11
 
231 Render of the Week 'Construction Site' by Roberto Dailey - the Winner of the Week of July 21, 2014 file 38421   Jul 21, 2014 Jul 21, 2014 22:33
 
230 Blender Whiz The Artist Behind 'Creek:' Abdul-mu'min Smith file 49364   Jul 21, 2014 Jul 21, 2014 22:05
 
229 Render of the Week 'Nectar: Media Center Bar' by Enrico Cerica - the Winner of the Week of July 14, 2014 file 36275   Jul 14, 2014 Jul 14, 2014 12:45