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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: 

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Notice Tutorials Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 for Blender 2.8 file 345094   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 23, 2019 23:35
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Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2018 file 344998   Jan 23, 2019 Jan 25, 2019 10:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2018: Winners Annouced file 381721   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:20
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2018 Blender Retrospective file 376129   Jan 02, 2019 Jan 02, 2019 13:42
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2017 file 969070   Jan 09, 2018 Jan 25, 2019 23:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2017 Blender Retrospective file 696865   Jan 01, 2018 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2017: Winners Annouced file 550831   Dec 26, 2017 Jan 09, 2018 04:55
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials (Videos) Released in 2016 file 765481   Jan 16, 2017 Jan 16, 2017 05:18
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2016 Blender Retrospective file Admin 1060386   Dec 29, 2016 Feb 01, 2017 10:28
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2015: Seven Winners Annouced file 790636   Jan 20, 2016 Feb 02, 2016 03:35
Notice Blender Retrospectives 2015 Blender Retrospective file 762344   Jan 12, 2016 Feb 20, 2016 22:40
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2015 file 805700   Jun 26, 2015 Jan 01, 2016 05:33
Notice Render of the Year Render of the Year Awards 2014: Five Winners Annouced file 813923   Jan 02, 2015 Jan 02, 2015 16:04
Notice Tutorials Top 12 Free Online Blender Tutorials Released in 2014 file 852787   Dec 11, 2014 Jan 24, 2015 21:31
568 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 27, 2017 file 15937   Dec 02, 2017 Dec 02, 2017 22:21
 
567 Render of the Week 'Daenerys Targaryen' by Sardushkin Maxim - the Winner of the Week of November 20, 2017 file 34970   Nov 25, 2017 Nov 25, 2017 01:57
 
566 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 20, 2017 file 16606   Nov 25, 2017 Nov 25, 2017 01:20
 
565 Suzanne Awards 2017 Suzanne Awards: The Winners and Nominees Are ... file 14627   Nov 18, 2017 Nov 25, 2017 02:05
 
564 Render of the Week 'Cathedral of Clermont Ferrand, France' by Wayne Loxley - the Winner of the Week of November 13, 2017 file 20399   Nov 17, 2017 Nov 17, 2017 21:57
 
563 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 13, 2017 file 17119   Nov 17, 2017 Nov 17, 2017 21:33
 
562 Render of the Week 'Corridor' by Ramon Scortanu - the Winner of the Week of November 6, 2017 file 18794   Nov 11, 2017 Nov 11, 2017 03:13
 
561 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of November 6, 2017 file 18568   Nov 11, 2017 Nov 11, 2017 02:50
 
560 Render of the Week 'Wildlife' by Nick Brunner - the Winner of the Week of October 30, 2017 file 18436   Nov 04, 2017 Nov 04, 2017 03:33
 
559 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 30, 2017 file 18560   Nov 04, 2017 Nov 04, 2017 03:21
 
558 Render of the Week 'Hellcat' by Bogdan Korsunov - the Winner of the Week of October 23, 2017 file 20517   Oct 28, 2017 Oct 28, 2017 02:41
 
557 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 23, 2017 file 19840   Oct 28, 2017 Oct 28, 2017 02:29
 
556 Render of the Week 'The Allied Guest House' by Rigved Wankhade - the Winner of the Week of October 16, 2017 file 19711   Oct 21, 2017 Oct 21, 2017 01:33
 
555 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 16, 2017 file 21481   Oct 21, 2017 Oct 21, 2017 01:41
 
554 Render of the Week 'Forest Environment' by Maciej Stok - the Winner of the Week of October 9, 2017 file 20304   Oct 13, 2017 Oct 13, 2017 04:03
 
553 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 9, 2017 file 19782   Oct 13, 2017 Oct 14, 2017 00:53
 
552 Render of the Week 'Head Manufacturing' by Roman Zhuravlev - the Winner of the Week of October 2, 2017 file 20029   Oct 07, 2017 Oct 07, 2017 19:40
 
551 Architectural Visualization ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of October 2, 2017 file 18785   Oct 07, 2017 Oct 07, 2017 19:20
 
550 Product Visualization PRODUCT VISUALIZATION IN BLENDER for the week of September 25, 2017 file 18875   Sep 30, 2017 Sep 30, 2017 02:26
 
549 Render of the Week 'Runner 4.9' by Max Puliero - the Winner of the Week of September 25, 2017 file 19636   Sep 30, 2017 Sep 30, 2017 02:11