Facial animation is easy now! By Jamie on February 17, 2025 Videotutorials Animating realistic faces is one of the hardest things to do in 3D animation. Thankfully we now have tools that allow you to record your face and apply those movements directly to your characters. Jamie Dunbar shows how.In this video I'll show you a completely free method to achieve this, as well as some paid tools to speed up your pipeline.

How to create a watercolor effect and line art in Blender By Kai on February 17, 2025 3D News Kai describes how he achieved the gorgeous painting effect in his 'Bard' video.In this tutorial, I break down the process step by stepcovering shader setup, textures, stylized shading techniques, and different line art approaches using Eevee, ensuring everything runs smoothly in real time within the viewport.This tutorial is a follow-up to my Bard animation post, which you can check out here. You can see moreI had a great time putting this togetherhope you find it useful! :)

Blender 4.4 beta is out and brings a lot! One that everyone will enjoy are the performance improvements to Geometry Nodes, Baking and Denoising, but there's much more. Southern Shotty gives a full overview. The 4.4 release note that outline all the changes are available here. You can download 4.4 beta here.Source

'Flow' is the Splash Screen for Blender 4.4 By Bart on February 16, 2025 Blender Development The touching feature-length movie Flow will decorate your favorite app starting in March!Flow was made fully in Blender by a small team and achieved recognition with over 60 awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Animation and two Oscar nominations.The upcoming Blender 4.4 release is scheduled for March 18, 2025, and is currently in its beta phase until March 12, 202 (see the release schedule here).

Short Sci-Fi Film: Haedean By Bart on February 15, 2025 Video Robin Zeeb shares his Sci-Fi horror movie (no gore), that he worked on for more than a year! It has impressive visuals and great sound design. Enjoy!HAEDEAN is my latest DIY animation project from the ZEPHID universe that I have been working on for more than a year.Basically, I want to let my films have an effect on you without much content description, so feel free to interpret the movie by yourself.I would also like to thank you all for so much amazing feedback. Your interpretations give me a lot of inspiration and I am sometimes simply flashed by the blatant trains of thought and theories that arise about my films. Absolutely crazy!Part two is already in work, but unfortunately youll have to wait a little longer. Just one army man problems.All scenes are rendered in Evee/Evee NEXT.Some post-processing in Adobe premiere.Many thanks to the blender community and everyone involved for making it possible for me to realise my hobby and my art!If you want to support me and my work, feel free to leave a like and a subscription!Many thanks for watching! (NO AI WAS USED IN THIS PROJECT!)

Advanced Blender Tutorial: Colorful Abstract Motion Graphics with Geometry Nodes By TripTilt on February 15, 2025 Videotutorials In this advanced Blender 3d tutorial TripTilt builds a very groovy colorful abstract motion graphics animation in Blender Geometry Nodes. It is up to you to decide if the tutorial is for advanced users or if you are an advanced geonodes user after this tutorial :)The tutorial teaches a procedural workflow and showcases some of the many nodes out of Geometry Nodes and talks about how to practically use them. In the end we have a complex geometry construct and can control important properties dynamically with a few values and sliders.We also create a procedural texture for the generated geometry (without images or texture maps) and we make geometry nodes and shader nodes work together. All this is garnished with elaborate explanations and background information and gives interesting insights about thinking procedurally.Get the complete Blender project file for the mograph animation from the Intro and support me on Patreon (paid and appreciated!)

Widhi Muttaqien shares a quick and effective method for creating stairs in Blender using the 'Scale Cage' tool, requiring no add-ons or complex math.Source

From Concept to Render: Crafting a Stylized Fantasy Environment in Blender By Pietro Chiovaro on February 14, 2025 Timelapse Pietro Chiovaro shares a relaxing video where he shows us how he created this fantasy scene.Let me know your thoughts, and if you'd like to see more videos like this, write your project suggestions in the comments section! :DSoftware: Blender 4.4 (Beta)Render Engine: EeveeFull Time: 6 Hours

Every week, hundreds of artists share their work on the Blender Artists forum. I'm putting some of the best work in the spotlight in a weekly post here on BlenderNation.Source

KeenTools 2025.1: Blender 4.4 Beta Support, Wireframe Render By KeenTools on February 14, 2025 Add-ons KeenTools just dropped their 2025.1 update, bringing support for Blender 4.4 Beta and a new wireframe render option for GeoTracker and FaceTracker. If you're into 3D tracking and facial animation, KeenTools is one of the best add-ons for enhancing your Blender workflow.Lets get this straight. This release is mostly about maintenance, so you have the best experience with our GeoTracker, FaceBuilder, and FaceTracker add-ons. But dont think we didnt bring some new features for you!Check out our short Release Notes video for a quick overview of the new features:So, whats new?First up, our add-ons now support Blender 4.4 Beta. Yes, were just as eager to see the new Flow splash while tracking and facebuilding as you are!GeoTracker and FaceTracker received a handy Start frame selector for both Clip input and Sequence Masks. This allows for quick adjustment of your footage and the masks position on the timeline.Another pleasant novelty is the wireframe render option inside of GeoTracker and FaceTracker for Blender. Perfect for creating tracking previews, demos, and dailies, allowing you to showcase the wireframe performance in your renders exactly how you need it. Find the new button in the Export tab.Want to see the new features in action? Check out this tutorial on subpixel tracking refinement with Jetset app and GeoTracker for Blender. This shows a quick and efficient pipeline combining onset and post-production tracking:Update your KeenTools Blender Pack here.As always, theres a 15-day full-featured trial available for all new users.

What In Blender Needs a GPU? By Michael Bridges on February 14, 2025 3D News Ever wondered where a powerful GPU truly shines in Blender? Michael Bridges dives deep into the specifics, helping you optimize your hardware for the best performance.Does Blender need a powerful GPU? Yesbut only in the right areas. In this video, I break down exactly where a GPU makes a difference and where it doesnt, so you can optimize your hardware for the best performance.Ever wondered what your GPU actually does in Blender? You might have upgraded your graphics card, expecting massive performance improvements, only to find things still running slower than you'd hoped. Today, Im diving into exactly how Blender uses your GPUand where it doesntso you can make informed hardware choices and optimize your workflow.We start by breaking down RAM vs. VRAM and how each plays a role in performance. While VRAM is crucial for handling textures, rendering, and viewport performance, running out of it can slow things down significantly. I also demonstrate how different Blender tasks impact memory usage, showing real-time examples of how VRAM and system RAM are allocated.Next, we explore viewport performance, highlighting when the GPU helps and when it doesnt. While rendering modes like Material Preview and Cycles benefit from GPU acceleration, solid and wireframe views remain CPU-driven. I also test sculpting to reveal that while the viewport may get a small boost from a good GPU, the actual vertex manipulation is entirely CPU-based.Rendering, however, is where a strong GPU shines. I show a direct comparison between CPU and GPU rendering times, proving how crucial GPU acceleration is for faster rendersespecially for animations. But simply having a powerful GPU isnt enough; I also guide you on enabling the correct settings to ensure Blender is actually using it.We then move on to animations, compositing, and geometry nodes, revealing which tasks are GPU-heavy and which remain CPU-bound. Modifiers and geometry nodes, for example, mostly rely on the CPU, but viewport performance benefits from a good GPU when working with textured scenes.Textures and environment lighting can also have a major impact on performance. I demonstrate how high-resolution textures quickly eat up VRAM, slowing down renders if Blender has to offload them to system RAM. Similarly, large HDRI environments can take a toll on memory, affecting both real-time lighting and rendering efficiency.For simulations and VFXsuch as smoke, fire, water, and clothBlender is fully CPU-dependent, meaning a better GPU wont speed up these calculations. I show live examples of how increasing simulation resolution slows down playback and why pre-baking simulations is essential for smooth performance.Finally, I touch on Blenders Video Sequence Editor, which does not benefit from GPU acceleration. Since all video decoding and effects are CPU-driven, editing high-resolution footage in Blender can be frustrating without proxies. I explain how this process works and why a dedicated video editing software like DaVinci Resolve might be a better choice.So, does Blender need a powerful GPU? The answer is yesbut only in the right places. Rendering, materials, and lighting see massive improvements, but simulations, modeling, and video editing remain mostly CPU-bound. If you've ever struggled with performance in Blender, what was your biggest bottleneck? Let me know in the comments, and dont forget to like and subscribe for more tech insights!

Lets learn how to animate textures in Blender and create this keypad animation from start to finish.Source

Ogbog's Grog Barrel Generator By ogbog on February 11, 2025 Models & Rigs Oscar Baechler shares his new Geometry Nodes based model generator.I spent the weekend getting sick and making a barrel generator. It's $5, check it out!Poly Modeling Barrels Is DeadNever model a barrel again thanks to the Ogbogs Grog Barrel Generator! Its all generated off a curve, so hop into Edit mode and use Beziers, twist, and radius scale for the exact barrel profile you need.So Many Parameters on TapHop into the geometry nodes parameters and customize your barrels staves, hoops, head, rivets, and bung. The possibilities are endless!Other Uses As WellNeed a low poly version? Sure, just click the box and itll be included for output! (Youd have to apply/separate/bake it yourself, dear.) Wanna make something more abstract, like Colossus arm rings or a weird cage thing? Yeah! It can do that, kind of!Wood material CC-By Pixelpoops

In this video Johnny Matthews looks at rigging a strange little machine I put together and in the process learn about rigging gears and crankshafts, as well as using drivers with your armature bones.Source

How does a displacement work with EEVEE and Cycles in Blender? What's the difference between texture and modifier displacement? Let's see.Source

Creating a Huge Battle Scene in Blender By Bart on February 10, 2025 Behind the Scenes Inspired by Lord of the Rings (of cours), FXForge set to recreate the epic battle scenes in Blender. What do you think of the result?Key Techniques Covered: Utilizing Blenders powerful animation tools to design large-scale battle scenes. Incorporating motion capture data for realistic character movement. Enhancing visual effects to add depth and intensity to your scene. Best practices for efficient rendering and scene optimization. Tips and tricks for using the Rokoko Indie Creator Bundle for motion capture integration.

Behind the Scenes: Short Film Pan Si Background Environment By Alina Khan on February 10, 2025 Behind the Scenes Explore how Tianyi Zhu crafted the captivating background for her short film Pan Si, from sculpting terrain to scattering plants, using Blender to bring the scene to life.INTRODUCTIONMy name is Tianyi Zhu, a CG freelancer from China.I started working in architectural visualization in 2002 and have received several industry awards, including: First Place in the 2005 Architectural Visualization Competition (Organizer: CG Architect) Best Animation in the 2007 Architectural 3D Awards (Organizer: CG Architect) My 3D works have been featured in many industry magazines, such as 3D World, CG World, CADesigner, and Autodesk Architectural Visualization.I have been self-studying Blender by watching YouTube and Bilibili since the end of 2022.INSPIRATIONThis project was inspired by photographs of Kanas Lake.I am currently working on a short film, and this scene serves as its background environment. Some interesting events will take place here.PROCESSTools UsedHardware: Processor: Intel Xeon E5-2687W (2 processors) @ 3.10GHz Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro K5000 + NVIDIA Tesla K20c Memory: 32GB RAM Software: Blender Photoshop WorkflowThe entire 3D work was created in Blender. First, I painted the displacement map for the ground in Photoshop and used the Displace Modifier in Blender to generate the center ground.Next, I created several low-poly mountains around the center ground for placing the plants.I then painted the base color map, roughness map, and normal map and applied them to the shader. This completed the center ground. To achieve a rich and varied water surface, I incorporated complex surface bumps.Test renders:Next, I created plant assets. I used the Blender add-on Sampling Tree to make two types of trees: fir and aspen.The shrubs were also generated using Sampling Tree, but I recombined their branches and leaves to form several groups of shrubs with different densities.The small grass models were the simplest, while the small stone models came from Poly Haven.I then used Blender's particle system to scatter these plants on the ground.Finally, I added water plantsalso created using displacementto enhance the scenes details.There was no artificial lighting used in the scene, only HDRI environment lighting. The final rendering was done in Cycles. A slight contrast adjustment was made in Photoshop.RENDER: Short Film Pan Si Background Environment Below are the clay renders: Thats all for now! I appreciate you taking the time to read my article. Wishing you a wonderful day!If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out.About the Artist Tianyi Zhu is a 3d artist from China, currently as a freelancer working on her own short film. Links

DroneCam, the Blender Drone Simulator Addon By globglob3d on February 10, 2025 3D News DroneCam is an FPV Drone Simulator Addon for Blender that let you fly using a gamepad/controller. You control the drone directly in the viewport, in real time.Why? It's fun, it's fast, and it makes realistic camera movements. Add the drone, Fly around the scene, and Render.It's a better solution than making those stiff camera moves that are so omnipresent in CGI. And it's a much much better solution than trying to animate a virtual camera to feel like drone footage. With DroneCam you get that human touch for free, and it's much faster than animating.Drone footage is everywhere, and being able to fly a drone directly in Blender is extremely useful.Or just use it as a Drone Simulator to train your flying skills! DroneCam relies on a realistic flying simulation, with real-world formulas for drag, gravity, and thrust. It's very close to flying a drone in real life.Thanks to its 4 different modes (from the fully manual acrobatic mode to the assisted auto-leveling modes) you'll be able to produce great results regardless of your skills.All you need is any controller or gamepads that has at least 2 joysticks! If it's recognized by your computer, you can use it in DroneCam!Compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac.You can contact me on Discord if you have any question.Links

Meet the Render Layers Manager A New Blender Add-on for Organizing Render Passes, Compositor Nodes and More By Robert Rioux on February 10, 2025 Add-ons Blender Bob's Render manager v01 for Blender is good to go - go get it for free! Now you can easily manage your render layers and collections and add Nuke compatibility.This addon will create a new section in the renderder setting that will allow you to create or delete new render layers, change their order, copy and past pass settings.The collection manager shows a spreadsheet that will allow you to turn on/off collections, holdout or indirect.The render layer manager, which is like a speadsheet, turns on and off any render passes and overrides on shaders, world and sampling.The create render node button will setup the compositor nodes in order to export the files as needed.A precomp will be created by adding all the image outputs from the render layer nodes, hence the importance of being able to change their order. The color passes will be saved in Multilayer EXR 16 bits, per render layer (possibility to switch to 32) The data passes and cryptomattes will be in and EXR 32 bits per render layerThe sequences will be saved in a folder named after the render later name.There's an option called Make Y Up. This will modify the normal, position and vector passes so that they work in compositing software that are working Y up, like Nuke or Resolve/Fusion. Note that the image will be named rgba instead of image so that Nuke can read them without the need of a shuffle node.The combine color/Glossy/Trans will combine the three color, glossy or trans passes into one pass, making it easier for compositing.The denoise options offers to denoise all passes, as needed.Special thanks to Tinkerboi and MJ for there awesome support.Link Github: Render Manager

Creating a wooden Barn By Texture Haven on February 9, 2025 Videotutorials Learn how to create a detailed wooden barn in this free 2-hour tutorial! From modeling the basic structure to adding wooden planks and designing the interior, this step-by-step guide will help you build a realistic barn from scratch. Perfect for Blender users looking to enhance their modeling and texturing skills. Watch the full tutorial now and start creating your own wooden barn.

VFX Breakdown "A World Divided" By tobkum on February 9, 2025 Behind the Scenes "A World Divided" is a six episode historical drama series based on true events seamlessly integrating never before seen archival footage with engrossing fictional drama (IMDB). Our VFX breakdown for "Die Spaltung der Welt/A World Divided" is ready! All things 3D were made in Blender :)

BlenderKit 3.14.0 is here By Vilem Duha on February 9, 2025 Add-ons The newest version of our huge the BlenderKit 3D asset library focuses on automatic port switching, improved compatibility with the latest Blender alphas, better brush handling, and more responsive polling intervals.Improvements Brush Appending ImprovementsResolved compatibility problems with brushes from pre-Blender 3.5, ensuring they work correctly in Blender 4.3, 4.4-alpha, and beyond. Automatic Client Port SwitchingThe add-on now attempts different ports when the Client fails to start on the default one, eliminating manual port changes in Preferences. Blender 4.4.0-alpha CompatibilityFixed issues where the Asset Bar, drag-and-drop, and disclaimers were not functioning in Blender 4.4.0-alpha, ensuring a seamless experience even in cutting-edge Blender builds. Better ThumbnailsThumbnails with alpha channels are now handled more gracefully in the asset detail window, resolving the problem with sometimes glitchy thumbnail previews. Configurable Client Polling IntervalThe add-on now polls the Client more frequentlyevery 200ms by default instead of 500msmaking searches and online interactions snappier. If you encounter timeouts or find this too CPU-intensive, adjust the polling interval in the add-on preferences to suit your needs.See all updates and have a ball:-)

UVPackmaster - all the goodness of the recent releases By glukoz on February 8, 2025 Add-ons Here's an overview of the features and improvements added to UVPackmaster in the recent releases. Support for GPU accelerated packing on Macs (using the Vulkan API). New variant of the pack operation: Repack With Others. Repack all selected islands with all unselected islands which are already placed in the target box: Support for a new packing paradigm Fixed Scale (Max Margin): packing with a fixed scale while searching for the maximum margin between islands: New utility operator: Measure Area (Merged): measure merged area of selected UV islands (area of overlapping UVs will be added to the result only once): But there is more! Refer to our Release Notes page.Get UVPackmasterBest regards,UVPackmaster team

A simple tutorial to learn how to add image textures to your models. Aimed at beginners.Source

Every week, hundreds of artists share their work on the Blender Artists forum. I'm putting some of the best work in the spotlight in a weekly post here on BlenderNation.Source

In this 3 part Blender tutorial series Ryan King creates this stylized low poly forest river animation.Source

Widhi Muttaqien shows how to quickly model a door complete with the frame, leaf and handle, using Blender 4.2.Source

Realistic Rural Agriculture Farm Ranch 3D Environment Assets By hknoblauch on February 4, 2025 Models & Rigs This is a quick start Realistic agricultural farmland 3d assets and props for realistic rural environment renders.It will radically speed up concept development, freelance art look-dev or environment building.Included: A standard file - where you have to append the models to bring them in, or link then dynamically. An asset browser file - Locate it in your asset folder, and then drag and drop from the Blender UI, radically speeding up environment building 15 Categories of products, with a lot of modular content, perfect for assembling scenes!

Blender Geometry Nodes Boats: A Procedural Approach to Shipbuilding By 3D Tudor on February 3, 2025 Videotutorials \Neil here from 3D Tudor introduces his geometry node Jedi's new course - 'Blender Geometry Nodes Boats', bringing node-powered shipbuilding straight to your screen.Why spend hours on repetitive modeling tasks when you can procedurally generate entire fleets in minutes?'Blender Geometry Nodes Boats' lets you fine-tune boat detailslike seats and UV mappingwithout redoing entire meshes. Youll learn advanced lofting and curve techniques, all while keeping your workflow flexible and entirely non-destructive.Dive into our node-based approach thats perfect for those who live for parametric design. With just a few tweaks, you can switch from a pirate dinghy to a futuristic hovercraftno manual remodeling needed, just a few slider adjustments.The modular boat designs you will create through the course will integrate seamlessly into any real-time engine or cinematic pipeline. Adjust keels, scale seats, and apply new textures at breakneck speed.Read more on my Gumroad page.Until next time, happy modelling everyone!Neil - 3D Tudor

Florent Rebrun created this fantastic short film in Blender. The music, a collaboration with Louis Lacoste, reinforces the Ghibli-like atmosphere. It's a fantastic production, and I'm left wanting to see more!Source