Time zones: EST (UTC -5), MST (UTC -7), ART (UTC -3), UTC -4, UTC -4:30, UTC -3, UTC -2We are looking for a dynamic UI/UX designer. Who will be responsible for the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design of our various digital assets. You will ensure that all elements of the online user experience are optimized for improved usability, usefulness, and exceptional visual design.The successful candidate will evidence a passion for delivering adaptive and creative solutions to UI/UX design problems by staying up to date with best practices and emerging trends in user experience design and user interface technology.Job ResponsibilitiesInvestigating user experience design requirements for our suite of digital assets.Developing and conceptualizing a comprehensive UI/UX design strategy for the brand.Producing high-quality UX design solutions through wireframes, visual and graphic designs, flow diagrams, storyboards, site maps, and prototypes.Designing UI elements and tools such as navigation menus, search boxes, tabs, and widgets for our digital assets.Testing UI elements such as CTAs, banners, page layouts, page designs, page flows, and target links for landing pages.Job Requirements2+ years of proven experience as a UI Designer or in a similar role.A strong portfolio showcasing exceptional UI designs that reflect contemporary US design trends and standards.Proficiency in Figma and a solid understanding of design principles, typography, color theory, and layout.

The winner of the estimated 250,000 contract will draw up plans to redesign the level two south gallery within Tate Moderns Herzog & de Meuron-designed Switch House extension and to introduce new modular, movable and re-configurable walls.The project aims to reduce the costs and environmental impact of staging multiple temporary exhibitions within the space displaying a wide variety of artwork typologies with different wall configurations. Last financial year Tate Modern spent 400,000 on gallery space alterations.According to the brief: Last financial year, a large proportion of Tate Modern's Curatorial budget was spent on alternations of the gallery spaces, mainly dismantling and re-building walls, to suit the layout requirements for each exhibition. This practise also contributes to one of the largest portions of the carbon footprint generated by exhibitions production.AdvertisementTate Modern would like to turn this challenge into an opportunity, where we are taking advantage of a completely empty space to design a new gallery that could be adapted for multiple exhibition projects in a low cost and circular way.This project will commission specialised designers to design a set of modular, movable and re-configurable walls to use in Blavatnik L2 South Gallery. This would allow us to respond to project-specific spatial needs by achieving multiple layouts with flexible setworks, making substantial efficiencies in construction costs, materials, labour and waste.The Herzog & de Meuron-designed Tate Modern opened inside Londons former Bankside Power Station 24 years ago. The practice completed the Switch House extension to Tate Modern in 2016.The latest project will explore the potential for creating a modular, re-configurable, and sustainable set of walls which could be used to reduce fit-out costs and the environmental footprint of staging temporary exhibitions.A request for information was published notifying designers of the upcoming opportunity late last year.AdvertisementBids for the latest commission will be evaluated 100 per cent on quality. Applicants must hold employers liability insurance of 5 million, public liability insurance of 5 million and professional indemnity insurance of 5 million.Competition detailsProject title Tate - Tate Modern Blavatnik L2 South Gallery re-design - Creating a flexible and sustainable exhibition spaceClientContract value 250,000First round deadline Midday, 7 February 2025Restrictions TbcMore information https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/502cad43-3692-4578-bcef-c1ff0198f0eb

Dig out your dancing shoes for this closer look at our teams work on Venom: The Last DanceAfter working as lead VFX partner on the first two films of Sonys hit anti-hero trilogy, we were thrilled to return to the franchise this year to help bring the epic finale to life!The Last Dance gave our talented teams the chance to flex their character building, animation and FX simulation skills, delivering just under 500 shots across 11 key sequences. In a series of recent interviews, VFX Supervisor David Lee has been sharing detailed behind-the-scenes insights on the work our amazing global crews delivered on the film.Read on for a closer look at our work! Wraith VenomIn The Last Dance, Venom couldnt become his full form without attracting the Xenophages, which meant Wraith Venom, the version of the symbiote that comes out through tendrils attached to Eddie, played a much larger role.This, coupled with the scenery we find them in during The Last Dance, provided an interesting challenge for our team. Venoms lighting is driven primarily by reflections, which, in the previous films, typically consisted of dark, moody settings. In contrast, the desert environment with only the sun as a single, direct light source meant that the team had to adapt Venoms lighting so as to not lose any intricate detailing.To do this, they added a sense of iridescence to his skin to give an additional layer of complexity in the light. In an interview with Digital Media World, David said, We started adding multiple, smaller light sources, but biasing them towards the key light direction to keep to the lighting on the plates. This gave us the improved form and detailing, allowing him to keep a similar aesthetic to the previous films and not just losing him to one large, hot reflection coming in from the Image-Based Lighting. The increased specular points of interest gave us nice, tight highlights to illustrate the wet, fluid nature of Wraith, which we combined with a soft subtle bounce to help him form without flattening him out from broad, bright sky reflections.Venom HorseDeveloping the Venom Horse was another key challenge for our team to overcome. Referencing the filmed performance of a real horse on set, the team built a full CG asset, rather than use a tracking model, in order to keep the movement looking natural while incorporating Venoms additional size and muscle mass.Venom is always a much larger character than the characters he has inhabited, but Kelly [Marcel] really wanted to emphasise the size and power of the Venom Horse, so we ended up even a little bigger than our references on set, David told Digital Media World.The decision to keep Venom Horses strides longer and stronger than a normal horse emphasized the symbiotes power and speed and allowed our team to play around with other elements of his personality. Speaking with Post Magazine, David shared, We leaned into accentuating the comic nature of the horse in performance such as the tongue flopping out of the mouth and hitting Eddie as he rides!It was also important that the design of Venom Horse incorporate aspects of the original character, creating one cohesive look across the symbiotes different physical forms. For example, the mane and tail are a mass of tendrils that mesh together when they collide, giving a liquid-like behaviour and look similar to the Wraiths tendrils that attach to Eddies back.XenophagesOur crew also developed the look of the fearsome Xenophages, drawing inspiration from a variety of animals from praying mantises and crocodiles to snakes and porcupines!Because development started from a visual point of view before being passed over to our Build and Animation crews, the Xenophages movements could only be designed once the base look was more defined one of the primary challenges that arose when developing these creatures, particularly when it came to the leg articulation.How it moved was a fun challenge for the animation team, led by Chris Lentz, which spent a lot of time playing around with different movement styles, David shared with Digital Media World. It became an important step in the development process to run the asset through animation as quickly as possible, so adjustments could be made to avoid biomechanical issues while trying to limit changes to its look.David shared with Art of VFX, We settled on a variety of insectoid type movements to give us a staccato motion, with limbs and head movements that were almost mechanical, as evident in some larger beetles and spiders. As the animation team worked through their motion tests, we fed this back into adjustments to the model itself to ensure everything worked correctly, before updating to a fully functioning rig for the final asset.Another signature physical trait of the Xenophages is the mouth full of rotating teeth, which came to life through a combined effort between our Build and Effects teams. Speaking with Animation World Network, David said, We would have our build department construct the external teeth, which were rigid. Our effects team would populate the interior of the mouth with these rotating teeth that pop out through these little gummy slits. Its almost like a conveyor belt and then they come back down again.Green SymbioteOf the new symbiotes the film introduced, our team worked on the the Green symbiote bonded to Officer Mulligan. Director Kelly Marcel wanted a distinctly different look and feel for this symbiote. Leaning into the concept of a translucent type appearance that showed aspects of the internal structure and vascular system, our team added complexity to the design with a rougher exterior surface, dialling iridescence onto the torso to produce a cyan-ish shimmer as it catches the light, and finished it off with a subtle, almost frosted quality to the exterior.To compliment the symbiotes unique look, it needed a distinct style of movement. David told Art of VFX, The addition of a tail that split into multiple lengths allowed us to lean into a more smooth, hypnotic type of motion. Similar to a snakes movements, its calm and slow, and belies the power he could unleash if he so wanted.Aeroplane FightOur work also included the aeroplane fight between Venom and the Xenophage, which consisted of extensive environment and skyscape build, creature animation for both characters, and complex FX work for the cloudscapes and plane damage.Despite some of the sequence being shot in the studio with a section of a real plane, the final scene ended up being a fully CG sequence save for Tom Hardys face and arms, which were taken from his performance in the studio, where he was shot on wires on the side of the plane.We had a lot of fans going when we were shooting, but it just didnt have the terminal velocity that is so fast. David explained to Digital Media World. Given the extremity of the environment we would be adding in post, we would require the greater control working digitally would give us over such aspects as reflections, lighting and the character interactions as they fight.Driving home the speed and drama during the battle on top of the plane, additional cloth simulations were added to Venom to enhance the sense of him being liquid at his core. His entire body, head and skin start to get this flutter like a dog hanging out a window of a fast-moving car! David told Animation World Network.Dancing QueenOur team put on their dancing shoes to create another first: the iconic Venom and Mrs. Chen dance sequence! This light-hearted scene also featured work from our DNEG 360 team, who provided mocap services on set.One of the challenges of this sequence came again from Venoms size. When filming the choreography with the stand-in, the distance between the performers had to allow for the symbiotes true stature, which was achieved with extendable forearms as a guide for his reach, and a large head piece to account for his height and provide an eyeline for Peggy Lus Mrs. Chen.Another consideration was how Venoms size would impact the way he moved as a dancer. David told Digital Media World, Initially, we thought we would have to apply a much greater sense of weight and slower speed for Venoms character compared to our dancers performance, but it became apparent looking at reference material of dancers that these big guys can be pretty light on their feet. So we kept Venom a little bit pacier than anticipated, and let the contrast between his normal style of movement compared to his dancing add to the humour of the situation. We just made little adjustments where required to prevent him from feeling too light it was a fine balance.Sharing his thoughts on the film as a whole, David told Animation World Network, It was fun for me to work on this kind of film because if youve got an idea about how something can be more exciting or might help the narrative then everyone is open to those types of ideas, which is fantastic.Want a closer look at our work on Venom: The Last Dance? Check out our VFX Breakdown!

Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle has decided to delay her show, With Love, Meghan. Originally set to premiere this week, the show is now going to be bumped back several weeks at Markle's request."I'm thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California," Markle said in a statement.The show was filmed in Montecito, California, near where the Duke and Dutchesses' family live. The couple has been volunteering at an evacuation center and food bank for first responders and those displaced by the fires, as well as donating "clothing, children's toys and other essential supplies," according to CNN.If you're looking for ways to help those affected by the wild fires, these are some organizations working on the ground in Los Angeles County. We've also got a guide on everything you need to know about applying forFEMA assistance.Markle's Netflix lifestyle show focuses on sharing her expert tips and tricks for hosting, cooking, crafting, gardening and more. There are a number of special guests confirmed to make an appearance, including chefs Roy Choi and Alice Walker and TV showrunner Mindy Kaling. The trailer also teases appearances from Markle's friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and her husband Prince Harry.How to watch Meghan Markle's new showWith Love, Meghan premieres exclusively on Netflix on Tuesday, March 4 at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT. You'll need a Netflix subscription to watch the eight-episode season -- which, luckily for fans, is dropping all at once. James Martin/CNET Any level of a Netflix subscription will get you access to With Love, Meghan. You can grab the cheapest plan available for $7 per month. If you prefer to upgrade to ad-free services, you can grab the standard plan for $15.50 per month and the premium plan for $23 a month. See at Netflix With your Netflix subscription, you'll also be able to watch Harry & Meghan, the popular docuseries about the couple's relationship and royal life. You can also check out these other unmissable Netflix movies and how to access Netflix'ssecret menu codes.

January 13, 20254 min readAnnual U.S. Dementia Cases Projected to Rise to 1 Million by 2060A new study finds that dementia cases will increase at a much higher rate than expected, with lifetime risk rising to 42 percent after age 55Around one million Americans may develop some form of dementia every year by 2060, according to a study published on Monday in Nature Medicine. The latest forecast suggests a massive and harrowing increase from annual cases predicted for 2020, in which approximately 514,000 adults in the U.S. were estimated to be diagnosed with dementiaan umbrella term that describes several neurological conditions that affect memory and cognition.The new study also showed the lifetime risk of dementia increased progressively with older age. They estimated that after age 55, the lifetime risk of dementia is 42 percent, and continues to rise sharply to 56 percent after age 85. Groups that showed greater lifetime risks (between 44 and 59 percent after age 55) were Black adults, women and people who carried the allele APOE e4: this variation of the gene APOE, which codes for the protein apolipoprotein E, increases the risk of developing Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers is the most common cause of dementia, but the study focused on all forms.I knew the total lifetime risk would be higher than previous 20-year-old estimates, says Josef Coresh, senior author of the study and founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. But I didnt expect that it would land at 42 percent.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Coreshs team collected medical records from 15,043 people who had enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), a separate longitudinal study that has been investigating the connections between heart disease and cognitive health. The study cohort included adults between 45 to 64 years of age who did not have dementia at the time they were recruited. Approximately 31 percent of them were confirmed APOE e4 carriers.Most medical experts define dementia as a collection of symptomssuch as life-impairing loss of memory, language and other cognitive functionsthat stem from the degradation of brain cells. Coresh says a panel of medical experts evaluated participants symptoms and clinical data to make a dementia diagnosis. Dementia studies often rely on medical and death records, as well as on-site neuropsychological testing that measures a persons mental state and detects signs of cognitive impairment. Coresh explains that people can forget scheduled visits when their cognitive health declines, however. ARIC investigators performed comprehensive risk assessments of each participant. And for those who missed in-person visits, they checked in annually or semi-annually by conducting telephone interviews with those individuals or informants such as relatives. The investigators corroborated dementia diagnoses in hospital or death records with informants whenever possible.In the new study, the researchers reported 3,252 dementia cases and found the likelihood of developing dementia by age 95 after age 55 was 42 percent. Womens lifetime risk was projected to be greater after age 55, at 48 percent, compared with 35 percent in men. After age 55, adults with two copies of APOE e4 had a higher lifetime risk (59 percent) than people with only one copy (48 percent). At that age, those with no copies of the allele had a 39 percent lifetime risk. The team then used U.S. Census Bureau projections to estimate the annual number of dementia cases from 2020 to 2060.Coresh says the U.S.s growing population of aging people is likely the primary driver behind the new studys projected increase in dementia rates. You can see how steep [the risk grows] with age, especially as the population over age 85 increases dramatically, he says. The current average U.S. lifespan is about 75 years in men and 80 in women, although recent research suggests that from 2022 to 2050, global life expectancy will increase by approximately five years.Nancy McLinskey, a neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, who was not involved with the new study, says the results are not too surprising, considering the large number of older patients entering her clinic who require dementia care. As the population lives longer, were going to see a significant increase in cases, she says.The studys projected rise in dementia cases varied by race. Yearly dementia cases are set to alarmingly double among white adults. And cases among Black adults are even more staggering: their risk is expected to triple.Black Americans often have higher rates of heart disease, which some studies suggest could be a risk factor for dementia. Additionally, Black people disproportionately experience medical racism, often resulting in late diagnoses and the lack of dementia treatments. McLinskey says the new reports greater inclusion of Black participants compared with past studies could reflect a potentially more accurate picture of rising dementia rates.While the studys findings are consistent with some recent models, other data show different trajectories. A 2024 Alzheimers Association report states that Alzheimers and other types of dementia in the U.S. and other high-income countries may have actually declined in the past 25 years.McLinskey says this decline could come from the development of better treatments for dementia risk factors, such as high blood pressure and diabetes (both of which can increase the risk of brain blood vessel damage). Greater access to continued education for older adults may also promote learning, which helps people withstand age- and disease-related brain changes.Spurred by an increase in life expectancy and a decline in birth rates, the rapid growth of the countrys aging population could potentially thwart current improvements, Coresh says. He emphasizes the need for people to take preventative action noweven for those who are already older than age 55. Dementia risk is high at older ages, he says, but a good amount of it is still preventable with better vascular health.

PowerWash Sim kills off VR support in bid to provide "job security" for the team"I know that if you were in my position, you would have made the same decision," says CEO. News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 13, 2025 Powerwash Simulator studio FuturLab "won't be continuing support" of its VR version, PowerWash Simulator VR.In a statement, FuturLab CEO Kirsty Rigden said that whilst the team "absolutely love and believe in VR", it wasn't "able to continue with support right now".PowerWash Simulator VR Gameplay Demo Is Scruffy, Yet Satisfying - IAN'S VR CORNER.Watch on YouTube"We have been faced with a crossroads: we have a truly excellent and kind VR team who were working on a platform which costs us more than it makes, while also having a list of job openings that were looking to be filled on other projects," Rigden said in a statement posted to social media.The VR team has now been redeployed to "other projects/roles". To see this content please enable targeting cookies."Whilst I would love to live in a world where we could support PowerWash Simulator on every platform going, I will always choose job security for my team. Every time," Rigden concluded."While I know that you must be so disappointed, I also know that if you were in my position, you would have made the same decision."Following a festive bout of generosity with December's free PowerWash Simulator update, FuturLab recently announced the squirt 'em up's next blast of paid DLC, this time themed around Lancashire's premier Wensleydale gobblers, Wallace & Gromit. It doesn't have a release date yet, but FuturLab says it's out this year and "coming soon".

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereGrand Theft Auto 6 is already posed to be the biggest entertainment launch in history, according to highly-paid industry analysts. While Rockstars long-awaited follow-up will undoubtedly make a huge impact for publisher Take-Two Interactive, its release is a terrifying event for every other games publisher.GTA 6 is going to be a challenge for publishersIn an interview with Game World Observer, KRAFTON advisor and Professor of Interactive Media at the University of Southern California, Mike Fischer, explained that the upcoming launch of GTA 6 is actively keeping him up at night.GTA 6 is going to be so big and so successful it may suck up all of the time and all of the money of all gamers, the publishing advisor explained.Fischer explained that hes not alone in the worry that games outside of Grand Theft Autos genre will be massively hit by the launch of Rockstars game. The publishing advisor explained that the release of the new open-world game is an unknown territory due to the titles all-encompassing nature.When GTA 6 ships, it will be a challenging disruption, Fischer said. Hopefully, there will be a larger audience as a result, but its literally an unknown territory, so well just have to wait and see.Fischer explains that the release of Fallout 4 ended up distracting gamers from other AAA releases back in 2016. While that was an issue then, gamers are going to be far more rabid for the release of a Grand Theft Auto game over a decade in the making.I remember when Fallout 4 shipped and Microsoft was shipping their exclusive Tomb Raider game, they said. Theyre different genres, but I think the blast radius from Fallout just ate up much of the demand for Tomb Raider, which, as a result, missed some of its potential. So whenever Rockstar ships GTA 6, there will never have been a game as big, as immersive, as incredible, as all-encompassing as [it].The new Grand Theft Auto game still doesnt have a release date, and its PC release will happen sometime afterwards.Grand Theft Auto 6Platform(s):PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Action AdventureSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Built by William Randolph Hearst in 1929, the California Parks Service also confirmed that Topanga Ranch Motel has been destroyed in the Palisades fire. The bungalow cabins, which represented Californias coastal charm, were scheduled to be renovated. There were more than 30 structural losses across Topanga State Park and Will Rogers Historic State Park, according to the park service. We are deeply grateful to our parks staff and all partner agencies for their swift actions. Our top priority remains the safety of the public, our employees, and the responders bravely battling the fires, Quintero said.Villa Aurora and the Thomas Mann HouseIn a statement released early Thursday morning on January 11, representatives for Villa Aurora, a historic artists residence offering fellowships for creators in various disciplines, reported that it was partially harmed, though the extent of the damage was still being assessed. There are first indications that parts of Villa Aurora were able to withstand the destructive fires. However, the building continues to be in the danger zone, the statement reads. Another historic home on the property, the Thomas Mann House, was undamaged as of Thursday morning. This, too, is a momentary snapshot, as the situation can change any time: The building continues to be in the danger and evacuation zone, a representative warned. As of Monday, January 13, the area surrounding Villa Aurora and the Thomas Mann house is at elevated risk for fire weather, though not at critical or extreme risk.The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical GardensSurrounded by 120 acres of botanical gardens, the Huntington is a cultural and research center in Pasadena. According to a statement on Instagram, the property has lost a few trees due to high winds, but is otherwise undamaged. While we are currently outside the range of active fires, our buildings are equipped with features designed to enhance the safety of our art and library collections. Our HVAC systems continue to maintain safe collection storage environments, including the filtering of outside air, the post shared.Keeler HouseAnne Keeler confirmed to The New York Times that her Ray Kappedesigned residence was lost in the fires. Its gone, she said. Kappe cofounded the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and was known for his progressive approach to design. The Keeler home was one of his seminal works.Gamble HouseRecognized as one of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts design, the Gamble House was the residence of David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company and designed by Charles and Henry Greene. A National Historic Landmark, the home was unharmed as of late Friday. The house is safe. Our surrounding neighborhoods have taken savage blows, as have numerous others throughout Southern California, which deeply saddens us. We are in awe of first responders who have been working tirelessly for days to save lives and structures, read an update on the homes official Instagram account.The Bunny MuseumA quirky and whimsical Altadena institution, the Bunny Museum, which celebrated all things rabbit, was lost in the Eaton fire, according to the LA Times. We lost our wedding albums, my wedding dress, and 46,000 bunny objects, Candace Frazee, who owned the museum with her husband, Steve Lubanski, wrote to the publication in an email. In a statement on X, the owners vowed to rebuild the beloved attraction, adding tomorrow will be hoppier with so many good wishes.The Hollywood SignThe Hollywood sign was not on fire, despite fake images that appeared to depict flames around the landmark.Christian Adams

Projects to Look Forward to 2025January 13th, 2025Development, NewsDalai Felinto html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Planning session 2025.One of the long-standing traditions of the Blender project is to start the year announcing what to be expected in the coming period. It gets artists excited (and developers anxious) to think of everything that will be soon possible.Are we going to see new features, or a focus on stability? Improvement in long-standing areas, or investment in new tech?Last year the focus was on finishing up long-standing projects, and that was a success! All the projects announced for Q1-2024 are now available in the latest release.Projects to Look Forward to 20242025 started with the Winter of Quality project, aiming at stability and documentation of all areas of Blender. We can now shift focus to start (and finish!) brand-new projects.Some of them are regular module work, and projects previously agreed on. While others are development targets for the Blender Studio upcoming open projects, which helps with direction (and testing) in the traditional Blender fashion.The proposed projects for this year are organized into the following areas:Node SystemsIntegrate the node-systems across different workflows.Better integration across node trees will allow node groups to be shared between different types of node systems, like Geometry Nodes and the compositor.Hair dynamics represents a major milestone: Geometry Nodes is set to reach feature parity with the legacy particle hair system. This will be the first step towards replacing the existing high-level simulation systems.Node-based image/texture Data-blocks will introduce procedural texture generation (think texture nodes 2.0), possible thanks to the GPU compositor development.Make productions more accessible for small and medium-sized studios.Project Setup, meaning project-wide variables and environments, will provide a unified way to share settings and properties across multiple .blend files within a single production. This will make asset management and shot creation more efficient and ensure consistency throughout the pipeline.Online Remote Assets will allow artists to access resources directly from online libraries such as third-party, community-curated content and various stores. This feature will also help remote productions that need their own asset libraries. This is the next step for the Extension Platform.Overrides will be simplified and re-iterated upon to provide an intuitive way to define properties dynamically for specific contexts, such as files, scenes, or collections. These improvements will reduce the need for external tools to handle override conflicts, making production pipelines smoother and more reliable.PerformanceBring more responsiveness into asset creation.While improving performance is an on-going effort, there are two areas in particular that currently are blocking for some productions requirements.EEVEE material shader compilation is currently a blocking operation for certain production requirements, especially during look development with heavy assets. The focus will be on enabling parallel compilation, investigating issues with the shader cache, and optimizing material compilation in complex production scenes.Shape Keys are another area requiring attention, particularly for character pipelines that rely on multiple shape keys for finer details and adjustment layers. The current storage system significantly impacts scalability. The plan is to modernize their storage, transitioning it to a more generic attribute systemsimilar to the approach used for UVsand implement sparse storage, ensuring that only the parts of a shape key that differ are stored.SculptingNon-destructive sculpting with layers, and better keyboard-less workflow.Multires propagation spikes remain a critical issue. These occur when changes to lower subdivision levels are not properly reflected in higher levels, leading to infamous artifacts. Fixing this problem is a priority to ensure the multires modifier works reliably in production.Sculpting Layers are a natural next step now that sculpting mode can handle more data, thanks to last years performance improvements. Adding support for mixing multiple layers will enable higher levels of detail and deforming layers essential for animation workflows, giving artists greater control and flexibility.Tablet pen support is important for workflows like sculpting, painting, and 2D animation. While the mouse can often be replaced by a pen, Blenders heavy reliance on keyboard input makes it cumbersome to use. Even more so for display tablets and, in the future, portable devices. The initial focus will be on supporting touch inputs, with basic gestures for navigation, undo, and redo.Storyboarding and basic camera editing from the VSE (video sequence editor).Sequence data-block.Quick access to Grease Pencil drawing for the active scene strip.Edit/animate scene strip camera from VSE.Storyboarding tools (e.g., easy of use to create new scene strips).Editorial and Storyboarding are key to film production. Inspired by the Storypencil add-on, and with Grease Pencil 3.0 complete, some of the team is now shifting the focus to editorial tools. The goal is to create a seamless workflow for storyboarding, combining sketching, timing, and editing to help artists bring their stories to life efficiently.On-going ProjectsThere is on-going maintenance and development in the modules. Here are a few of the areas being worked on.Rendering (Cycles, NPR, ).Vulkan (including a presentation at Vulkanised 2025).UV syncing and other improvements.HDR support in all the editors.Layered Animation.USD and game interoperability via glTF.Blender 5.0 backward incompatible changes.Other module work.ReleasesWhile projects dont target specific releases, Blender Foundation follows the cadence of 3 releases a year. The planned releases for 2025 and their initial dates are:Blender 4.4 (March) will be focused on stability and polishing.Blender 4.5 LTS (July) to wrap up the Blender 4 series.Blender 5.0 (November), to kickstart a new development cycle.On top of this, LTS release updates are expected throughout the year:Blender 3.6 LTS until June 2025.Blender 4.2 LTS until July 2026.Blender 4.5 LTS until July 2027.In 2024 there were 24 LTS releases among Blender 3.3 LTS, 3.6 LTS and 4.2 LTS.Blender ConferenceIn other news, the date for the traditional Blender Conference in Amsterdam moved to September this year. Learn more.Make this PossibleAll of this progress is made possible thanks to the donations and ongoing community involvement and contributions.The ambitious plans for 2025 reflect the growing scope of Blender, but they are also limited by the current resources available. While Blender is a community-driven project, much of the work is carried out by developers employed by Blender Institute or working with development grants.Further, some of the targets outlined here may need to be delayed or put on hold if the development team gets too busy managing ongoing maintenance or dealing with unforeseen delays.The same applies to certain development goals that have been proposed over the years, such as Blender Apps and Layered Textures, which are not feasible with the current team size. Support the Future of BlenderDonate to Blender by joining the Development Fund to support the Blender Foundations work on core development, maintenance, and new releases. Donate to BlenderTo follow new developments keep an eye on theBlender Developers Blog.On behalf of everyone, I hope we have a great 2025, and happy Blending!Dalai FelintoHead of Product, Blender

Behind the Scenes: Afghan Girl Likeness By Alina Khan on January 13, 2025 Behind the Scenes Discover the intricate art process behind Gndzs 3D modeling of the iconic 'Afghan Girl' photograph, where every detail, from texture mapping to lighting, brings a new depth and dimension to Steve McCurry's timeless image.INTRODUCTIONHello, my name is Volkan Gndz.Before diving into 3D, I graduated from the Industrial Design department. During my final year at university, I realized that creating 3D models for manufacturing didn't suit me, so I transitioned to mesh modeling, and later, I moved on to digital sculpting.Switching to something completely different from the principles I was used to was challenging at first, but knowing that the possibilities are endless and trying out new things has always excited me.After graduating, I was unemployed for a while, which affected me emotionally, but I didnt stop working on improving my portfolio. Eventually, I received a job offer via social media from the studio I currently work with. I am still collaborating with them as a freelance artist.INSPIRATIONThe "Afghan Girl" photograph has been a deeply impactful image for me since my childhood. The green color of her eyes, the way the light falls on her face, and most importantly, the striking message it conveys... Because of this, Ive always wanted to create a piece inspired by the Afghan Girl.From a digital sculpting perspective, creating a model based on a single reference image is a real challenge, which makes it even more significant. Being able to achieve this is also important because, when working on likeness projects, it can sometimes be difficult to find sufficient reference photos.This combination of technical difficulty and the emotional impact of the Afghan Girl photograph is what motivated me to undertake this project.PROCESSSoftware ZBrush ZWrap Blender Camera SettingsIn this project, I first focused on setting up the camera and creating the base shapes through it, as I only had a single reference, and it was crucial for the model to match it exactly. I started by adjusting the focal length and position of the camera in Blender to determine the placement and distance. Once that was set, I created the primary forms of the base mesh in Blender.Afterward, I transferred the mesh to ZBrush for detailing. Using ZWrap, I wrapped the TexturingXYZ base mesh onto my sculpt.TexturingFor the texturing process, I edited it node-based in Blender. In some areas, I adjusted the exposure, while in others, I used projections from the original reference image to create the textures.(Yes, a lot of nodes )DistortionThe most challenging part was ensuring that the model didn't distort when viewed from other angles, as working from a single reference can easily lead to such issues. Preventing this distortion was the biggest challenge throughout the process.And that was it! Below is the final render and clay render.RENDER: Afghan Girl Likeness Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or feedback, please dont hesitate to share your thoughts.About the Artist Volkan Gndz is a character artist from Turkey. He is currently working as a freelance 3D artist at Jpeq Studios. Links