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Blender (software)

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Blender
Company typeOpen-source software
IndustryComputer graphics software
FoundedJanuary 2, 1994; 32 years ago (1994-01-02)
FounderTon Roosendaal
Headquarters
Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ton Roosendaal (lead developer)
Products3D computer graphics software
Number of employees
26 full-time staff and 12 freelancers
ParentBlender Foundation
Websitewww.blender.org

Blender is a free, open-source software package for 3D computer graphics, compatible with operating systems such as Windows, macOS, BSD, Haiku, IRIX, and Linux. It enables users to create animated movies, visual effects, digital art, 3D printed objects, motion graphics, interactive 3D content, virtual reality experiences, and video games.

A notable example of Blender’s application is its role in producing the Academy Award-winning film Flow (2024).

History

Originally developed as an internal tool by the Dutch animation company NeoGeo, Blender was officially introduced on January 2, 1994. The initial version 1.00 launched in January 1995, with significant contributions from co-owner and lead developer Ton Roosendaal. The name Blender was inspired by a track from the Swiss electronic group Yello, which featured in NeoGeo’s demo reel. Some of Blender’s design concepts trace back to an earlier program called Traces, created by Roosendaal for the Commodore Amiga between 1987 and 1991.

On January 1, 1998, Blender was made available online as freeware for SGI systems. Following NeoGeo’s closure, Roosendaal founded Not a Number Technologies (NaN) in June 1998 to advance Blender’s development. Initially distributed as shareware, NaN’s bankruptcy in 2002 interrupted further progress on the software.

In response, Roosendaal established the non-profit Blender Foundation in May 2002 to guide Blender’s evolution as an open-source project. The "Free Blender" fundraising initiative began on July 18, 2002, targeting €100,000 to release Blender's source code publicly. This target was achieved by September 7, 2002, enabling Blender to become free and open-source software. Presently, Blender is maintained by a dedicated community alongside a team of 26 full-time staff and 12 freelancers at the Blender Institute.

Initially, the Blender Foundation considered offering dual licensing options—including a proprietary "Blender License"—but this plan was never realized and was indefinitely suspended in 2005. Currently, Blender is distributed exclusively under the GNU GPLv2 or later license and has not adopted GPLv3 due to minimal advantages perceived. However, official binary versions include Apache-licensed libraries and are released under GNU GPLv3 or later.

With the release of version 2.80 in 2019, Blender discontinued its built-in game engine used for video game prototyping and recommended users switch to more advanced open-source engines such as Godot.

Suzanne

In February 2002, just before NaN’s closure, Blender version 2.25 was released featuring a distinctive addition: a 3D model of a chimpanzee head named "Suzanne." This model was created by Willem-Paul van Overbruggen (SLiD3) and named after the orangutan character from the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Suzanne has become Blender’s standard test mesh, serving a similar purpose to well-known industry models like the Utah Teapot and Stanford Bunny. This low-polygon figure consists of 967 faces and is included among basic primitives such as cubes and planes to facilitate quick experimentation with materials, animations, rigs, textures, and lighting.

The importance of Suzanne is further recognized through the Suzanne Award, which is presented during Blender’s largest competition event.

Modeling

Blender accommodates a wide range of geometric primitives such as polygon meshes, Bézier curves, NURBS surfaces, metaballs, icospheres, text objects, and an n-gon modeling method known as B-mesh. Its sophisticated polygonal modeling framework in edit mode includes tools like extrusion, bevelling, and subdivision.

Modifiers

Modifiers apply non-permanent transformations that take effect during rendering or exporting. These are divided into generate and deform categories. Essential modifiers encompass subdivision surface, geometry nodes, solidify, and shrinkwrap, all of which contribute to enhanced modeling versatility and streamlined workflows.

Sculpting

Blender provides digital sculpting capabilities with multi-resolution support, featuring dynamic topology, baking processes, remeshing options, re-symmetrization tools, and decimation. The decimation function reduces model complexity for export purposes, frequently utilized in game asset creation.

Geometry nodes

The node-based system in Blender facilitates procedural and non-destructive geometry generation and editing. Introduced in version 2.92, it focuses on object instancing and scattering. Implemented as a modifier that can be layered with others, it manipulates object attributes such as position, normals, and UV coordinates. These attributes can be altered or overridden via string inputs and reviewed in an attribute spreadsheet interface. Geometry Nodes also enables the creation of primitive mesh shapes.

With Blender 3.0, the system expanded to incorporate curve objects and underwent a workflow overhaul using fields to enhance user experience and align more closely with shader node logic.

Simulation

Blender supports various physical simulations including those for smoke, rain, dust, cloth, fluids, hair, and rigid bodies.

Fluid simulation

The fluid simulator models liquid behavior—such as water—employing Lattice Boltzmann methods (LBM) alongside smoothed-particle hydrodynamics. This allows fine-tuned control over particle dynamics and simulation resolution.

Additional features include soft-body dynamics tools, mesh-based collision detection, LBM fluid dynamics simulation, smoke effects, Bullet rigid-body physics, an ocean generator capable of producing wave patterns, a particle system supporting hair simulation, and real-time physics adjustments during both simulation and rendering.

Version 2.82 introduced Mantaflow as the replacement for the previous FLIP fluid system. Later in version 2.92, APIC was added to Mantaflow to improve vortex behavior and calculation stability.

Cloth Simulation

Cloth effects in Blender are achieved through vertex-level rigid body physics that mimic soft body dynamics on three-dimensional meshes.

Animation

Blender’s animation toolkit includes keyframing complemented by inverse kinematics, armatures, hooks, deformations based on curves and lattice-based deformations, shape keys, non-linear animation editing, constraints, and vertex weighting techniques. The Grease Pencil feature allows for creating 2D animations directly within the 3D workspace.

Rendering

Starting with version 2.80, Blender offers three distinct rendering engines: EEVEE, Workbench, and Cycles.

Cycles is a path-tracing renderer compatible with both CPU and GPU processing, incorporating support for Open Shading Language since version 2.65. The release of version 2.92 introduced Cycles Hybrid Rendering using OptiX technology, enabling a combination of GPU and CPU tile-based computations.

EEVEE serves as a physically accurate real-time rendering engine, ideal for rapid asset development as well as final frame production.

Workbench focuses on quick rendering during the stages of modeling and animation previews. It allows color assignment to objects but is not intended for producing final high-quality renders.

Cycles

Cycles operates as a path-tracing renderer engineered for user-friendly interaction and advanced feature integration. It has been part of Blender since version 2.61 (2011) and utilizes CPU acceleration through AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512 instruction sets on supported hardware.

GPU rendering

Rendering speed in Cycles is enhanced via GPU acceleration, offering three primary modes: CUDA for legacy Nvidia GPUs; OptiX, which leverages hardware ray tracing available on Nvidia's Turing and Ampere series; and HIP targeting AMD Radeon graphics cards. Furthermore, oneAPI extends support to Intel and Intel Arc GPUs. These frameworks require separate installation outside the Blender environment.

Support for multiple GPUs is available (excluding the EEVEE engine), facilitating render farms that distribute frame or tile processing concurrently. However, GPU memory remains isolated per device, restricting accessible memory to each individual GPU. Since version 2.90, Nvidia’s NVLink technology addresses this constraint for SLI configurations.

Blender 3.1 introduced Apple’s Metal API to improve performance on Apple M1 processors and AMD graphics units.

Supported features
Feature CPU CUDA OPTIX HIP oneAPI Metal
Hardware Minimum for 3.0 x86-64 and other 64-bit architectures CUDA 3.0+: Nvidia Kepler through Ampere (CUDA Toolkit 11.1+) OptiX 7.3 with driver 470+: Full compatibility with Nvidia RTX series; partial support for Maxwell+ AMD RDNA generation or later, Radeon Software Drivers (Windows, Linux) Intel Graphics Driver 30.0.101.3430+ (Windows), OpenCL runtime 22.10.23904+ (Linux) Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12.2+, AMD GPUs on macOS 12.3+
Basic shading Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Shadows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Motion blur Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hair rendering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Volume rendering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Subsurface scattering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Open Shading Language (OSL 1.11 / 1.12.6 in 3.4) Yes No Template:Partial No No No
Correlated multi-jittered sampling Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bevel and ambient occlusion shaders Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Baking support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
"Ability to use CPU memory" "Supported" "Supported" "Supported" "Supported" "Supported" "Supported"
"Memory distribution across devices" "Yes" via render farm configurations "Yes" through NVLink technology "Yes" through NVLink technology "Not supported" "Not supported" "Not supported"
Experimental features
"Adaptive subdivision" "Experimental" "Experimental" "Experimental" "Experimental" "Experimental" "Experimental"


Integrator

At the heart of Cycles' lighting calculations lies the integrator, which serves as the primary rendering algorithm. Presently, it utilizes a path tracing approach with direct illumination sampling, suitable for a wide array of lighting conditions but less effective when handling caustics or intricate lighting effects. The process involves casting rays from the camera into the scene, where they bounce until they encounter a light source—such as a lamp, emissive surface, or background—or are terminated according to preset maximum bounce limits. This method combines both indirect illumination sampling, following the surface’s BSDF, and direct illumination sampling by shooting rays toward light emitters.

The standard path tracing integrator dispatches numerous light rays from the viewpoint into the scene. These rays bounce off surfaces until striking a light source or reaching the configured maximum number of bounces, at which point they cease and contribute no illumination if no light is detected. To reduce noise and visual artifacts like "fireflies," multiple rays per pixel are averaged through a process called "sampling," where increasing sample counts improve image quality at the expense of longer render durations.

Previously, a branched path tracing integrator existed that divided rays at each surface intersection based on different material components and evaluated all lights during shading. This approach was particularly effective in minimizing noise in scenes dominated by direct lighting. However, with the introduction of Cycles X in Blender 3.0, this branched integrator was discontinued as enhancements to the pure path tracer made it unnecessary.

Open Shading Language

Blender users have the option to develop custom nodes utilizing the Open Shading Language (OSL), enabling entirely procedural materials that can be applied without suffering from texture distortion common with image-based textures. (Note that the shader nodes editor interface has undergone updates since the image referenced.)

Materials

Materials determine how meshes, NURBS curves, and other geometric forms appear. They consist of three main shader categories: surface, volume, and displacement.[1]

The surface shader governs how light interacts with an object's surface by employing bidirectional scattering distribution functions (BSDFs) to simulate reflection, refraction, or absorption.[1] Translucency effects are controlled through alpha transparency.

When light penetrates the object's surface, the volume shader defines its behavior within the interior volume, including scattering, absorption, or emission phenomena.[1]

Displacement shaders alter an object's geometry or modify surface normals (as in bump mapping), introducing detailed surface variations driven by textures.[1]

EEVEE

Introduced in Blender 2.8, EEVEE is a real-time PBR engine named after the Pokémon character, representing "Extra Easy Virtual Environment Engine."[2]

With Blender 4.2 LTS released in July 2024, lead developer Clément Foucault presented EEVEE Next—an upgraded iteration of Blender’s real-time rasterization renderer featuring enhancements such as screen-space global illumination (SSGI), virtual shadow mapping, extraction of sunlight from HDRIs, alongside improved reflections and indirect lighting achieved through light probe volumes and cubemaps.[3][4][5] Additional improvements include advanced volumetric rendering capabilities, support for displacement shaders, and depth of field enhancements comparable to those in Cycles.

Looking ahead, EEVEE’s development roadmap includes integrating hardware-accelerated ray tracing and continuous refinements in performance and shader compilation efficiency.[6]

Workbench

Blender utilizes a standard 3D viewport rendering system as its primary environment for tasks such as modeling, texturing, and other related activities.

External renderers

Among the free and open-source renderers compatible with Blender are:

  • Mitsuba Renderer
  • YafaRay (previously known as Yafray)
  • LuxCoreRender (formerly LuxRender)
  • Appleseed Renderer
  • POV-Ray
  • NOX Renderer
  • Armory3D – an open-source game engine developed in Haxe specifically for Blender
  • Radeon ProRender integrated with Blender
  • Malt Render – a renderer focusing on non-photorealistic effects using GLSL shading

Commercial rendering engines available as Blender extensions include:

Texturing and shading

Blender offers extensive support for procedural and node-based texturing, alongside capabilities such as texture painting, projective painting, vertex painting, weight painting, and dynamic painting techniques.

Post-production

The software features a node-driven compositor that benefits from acceleration via OpenCL and GPU support starting with version 4.0. Its non-linear Video Sequence Editor (VSE) provides numerous effects including Gaussian blur, color correction, fades, wipes, and other video transformations. However, it currently lacks multi-core rendering capabilities for video processing within the VSE.

Plugins/addons and scripts

Blender incorporates Python scripting to facilitate the creation of custom utilities, prototyping workflows, import/export format handling, and automation of repetitive tasks. This scripting framework enables seamless integration with various third-party rendering engines through plugins and addons. Additionally, Blender can be compiled as a Python library to support advanced automation and software development. A wide array of addons is available to optimize user productivity and expand functionality.

Blender Game Engine

Previously included as an integrated real-time graphics and logic engine, the Blender Game Engine supported collision detection, physics dynamics, and programmable logic for applications such as architectural visualization and interactive games. It was discontinued in the Blender 2.8 update due to falling behind competitors like Unity and Godot. The Blender development team advises migrating users to Godot for continued game development needs.

Blender Internal

The earlier Blender Internal renderer—a biased rasterization and scanline engine—was retired in version 2.80 in favor of the modern real-time physically based "EEVEE" renderer.

File format

Blender employs a proprietary ".blend" file format capable of encapsulating multiple scenes, objects, materials, textures, audio files, images, and post-production elements within a single container.

  • Most ".blend" files maintain compatibility across versions and platforms with some exceptions:
    • Animations created after version 2.5 are incompatible with versions prior to 2.5 due to changes in the animation system.
    • Mesh data saved using the BMesh format from version 2.63 onward is not compatible with earlier releases.
    • Files from Blender 2.8 and subsequent 3.x versions do not guarantee full backward compatibility.
    • Starting with version 5.x files require Blender 4.5 or newer; version 4.5 also facilitates compatibility bridging to earlier editions.
  • External assets like images and audio can be stored separately and linked through file paths.
  • ".blend" files can function as asset libraries by linking objects, meshes, materials, and other data blocks across different projects.

Blender structures its data into interconnected "data blocks"—including Objects, Meshes, Lamps, Scenes, Materials, Images—that enable efficient resource management and editing workflows. For instance, multiple Objects may reference a single Mesh data block; modifying this mesh updates all associated Objects simultaneously. This modular design allows extensive interoperability with other 3D software through import/export scripts leveraging Blender’s internal API.

2D

The application can import a variety of two-dimensional image formats, including .bmp, .dxf, .sgi, .hdr, .jpg, .jpeg, JPEG 2000, .png, .tif, .tiff, .tga, .exr, .cin, .dpx, .svg, and .webp.

3D

Supported three-dimensional file formats for import include .3ds, .abc, .blend, .bvh, .dae, .dxf, .fbx, .gltf, .glb, .lwo, .obj, .ply, .stl, .usd, .wrl, and .x3d.

Video

Video files supported for import encompass formats such as .avi, .mkv, .mov, .mp4, .ogv, and .webm.

2D

Export options for two-dimensional images include formats like .bmp, .dxf, .exr, .jpg, .png, .svg, .tif, .tga, and .webp.

3D

For exporting three-dimensional content, supported formats are .abc, .blend, .bvh, .dae, .dxf, .fbx', .gltf', .glb', .obj', .ply', .stl', .usd', .wrl', and .x3d'.

Video

Video export supports formats such as .avi', .mkv', .mp4', .ogv', and .webm'.

Commands

Most functions are accessible through keyboard shortcuts, supplemented by graphical menu options for ease of use. Numeric values can be modified either by direct input or by dragging sliders, with modifier keys available to fine-tune increments or decrements in value steps. Additionally, users may input Python expressions within numeric fields to define values precisely using mathematical formulas.

Modes

Blender primarily operates within two core modes: Object Mode and Edit Mode, which users toggle via the key—Object Mode facilitates manipulation of entire objects, whereas Edit Mode allows detailed editing of mesh elements like vertices and edges. Additional specialized modes include Vertex Paint, Weight Paint, and Sculpt Mode, each designed to support varied 3D content creation workflows essential for professional artists and studios.

Workspaces

The user interface is constructed around a tiled windowing system that runs on one or more platform windows, typically maximized to fit the display area fully. These windows are subdivided into panels capable of showing any Blender view or editor type, enabling users to arrange multiple layouts known as screens and switch between them through menus or shortcuts easily. Interface components within each window can be zoomed and customized using tools akin to those found in the 3D view, granting full flexibility to tailor the workspace environment for specific tasks such as video editing, UV mapping, or texture painting by hiding irrelevant elements.

Development

Since transitioning to an open-source model, Blender has experienced extensive code restructuring alongside considerable feature growth, including a revamped animation framework; implementation of a stack-based modifier architecture; an improved particle system supporting hair and fur dynamics; fluid and soft-body physics simulations; GLSL shader integration within the game engine; advanced UV unwrapping capabilities; a redesigned rendering pipeline featuring separate render passes and render-to-texture functionality; node-based material editing coupled with compositing tools; and projection painting techniques.

Blender's development has benefited from participation in Google's Summer of Code since 2005, fostering contributions from emerging developers worldwide. The project previously utilized Phabricator for code management but began migrating to Gitea in 2022 after Phabricator was discontinued; following community discussions, Gitea was selected as the new platform with migration efforts actively underway.

In July 2025, work commenced on creating a comprehensive version of Blender optimized for the iPad Pro, marking a strategic move toward expanding support for mobile platforms within the software ecosystem.

Blender 2.8

The development phase for Blender’s significant upgrade following the 2.7 series commenced in late 2015, focusing on a highly customizable interface ("Blender 101"), implementation of physically based rendering (PBR) through the new EEVEE engine, adoption of C++11 and C99 standards, upgrading OpenGL to version 3.2 or higher, and revamping particle and constraint systems. The Blender Internal renderer was discontinued in version 2.8. The Code Quest initiative, launched in April 2018 at the Blender Institute in Amsterdam, aimed to expedite progress by gathering a large development team onsite. This effort wrapped up by June 29, 2018, with the alpha release soon after. Beta testing began on November 29, 2018, culminating in the official launch of Blender 2.80 on July 30, 2019.

Cycles X

On April 23, 2021, the Blender Foundation introduced Cycles X, a comprehensive redesign of the Cycles rendering engine architecture intended to facilitate future enhancements. Major changes included a new kernel design, replacing tiled rendering with progressive refinement, elimination of branched path tracing and OpenCL support, and advancements in volumetric rendering techniques. Cycles X became the default "Cycles" engine integrated into Blender 3.0, offering performance improvements ranging from two to eight times faster than previous versions.

Support

Extensive documentation for Blender is available on its official website. Additionally, numerous online communities provide assistance, including the Blender Stack Exchange platform.

Modified versions

Due to Blender's open-source license, several third-party cosmetic variants have been released, such as Bforartists, Goo Engine, Tornavis (previously Mechanical Blender), UPBGE, and Fluid Designer. Unauthorized commercial derivatives like IllusionMage, 3DMagix, and 3DMofun surfaced within the Chinese market but were subsequently removed along with their websites due to licensing violations.

Use in industry

Blender was initially developed as an internal tool for NeoGeo, a Dutch animation company. Its first substantial professional application occurred in Spider-Man 2, where it was used for animatics and pre-visualization.

The French feature film Friday or Another Day was the first to utilize Blender exclusively for special effects on 35 mm film and earned an award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Belgian studio Digital Graphics incorporated Blender partially during production of Tomm Moore’s Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells. The software has also been employed alongside other professional 3D tools in History Channel productions.

The Argentine animated movie Plumíferos, produced entirely with Blender, premiered in 2010. Blender contributed visual effects for Red Dwarf season X and previsualization work for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It was also partially used for promotional art of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Alternative hip-hop group Death Grips created music videos using Blender. Visual effects for The Man in the High Castle combined Blender with Houdini software for particle simulations.

NASA developed an interactive web application called Experience Curiosity utilizing Blender to commemorate the Curiosity rover’s Mars landing anniversary; this app allows users to simulate operating rover functions virtually. NASA also distributes numerous public 3D models in native .blend format.

The 2015 short film Alike was produced using Linux and Blender for modeling, animation, rendering, and editing tasks. Blender handled CGI and compositing duties on Hardcore Henry, while visual effects for Sabogal were finalized using Blender as well. VFX supervisor Bill Westenhofer employed it to create the character "Murloc" in the 2016 movie Warcraft.

Director David F. Sandberg utilized Blender for several shots in both Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. It contributed to title sequences in Wonder Woman and animation work on Cinderella the Cat. VFX artist Ian Hubert applied Blender during production of the sci-fi film Prospect. The fully Blender-produced 2018 movie Next Gen, created by Tangent Animation, incorporated internal software enhancements planned for official release.

In the 2019 film I Lost My Body, Blender’s Grease Pencil tool played a significant role in overlay animation techniques that enhanced camera movement realism.

Ubisoft Animation Studio announced intentions to replace its proprietary content creation tools with Blender starting in 2020. Japanese studio Khara, along with its subsidiary Project Studio Q, began migrating from 3ds Max to Blender during production of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, joining Blender’s Development Fund as Corporate members.

The animated feature Wolfwalkers (2020) was partially created using Blender. The Netflix series Maya and the Three (2021) was produced with Blender as well. SPA Studios started recruiting artists skilled in Blender during 2021 and contributes to its ongoing development; Warner Bros. Animation followed their lead in hiring talent familiar with the software by 2022.

Indian visual effects company Makuta VFX employed Blender for effects work on blockbuster RRR. For the 2023 release Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Imageworks utilized Blender’s Grease Pencil for line art and 2D effects alongside their 3D assets; Canadian animator Preston Mutanga created a Lego-style sequence using the software.

The Latvian film Flow, rendered entirely with Blender’s EEVEE engine, received two nominations at the 97th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature.

Use in Education and Academia

Blender's open source and cost-free nature has established it as a leading software in foundational courses covering 3D art, animation, visualization, and 3D printing at universities like the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where it is widely accessible in computer labs. Additionally, Blender serves as a tool for producing synthetic imagery utilized in computer vision and AI training, aiding diverse applications ranging from precise agricultural monitoring to additive manufacturing processes.

Open projects

Starting in 2005, the Blender Foundation has initiated new creative endeavors approximately every one to two years to propel Blender's technological advancements. After the initial success of the open film Elephants Dream (2006), the Foundation founded the Blender Institute to oversee future projects, including feature films such as Big Buck Bunny, Sintel, and Tears of Steel, alongside the open-source game Yo Frankie! (Project Apricot), which incorporated assets from Big Buck Bunny.

Blender Studio

Originally launched as Blender Cloud in March 2014, Blender Studio is a subscription-driven cloud platform providing access to Blender add-ons, educational content, and production management tools for Blender Studio’s open film projects. Initially managed by the Blender Institute, it now operates independently under Blender Studio. The platform was developed to support fundraising efforts for Project: Gooseberry and to replace physical DVD sales with a subscription model facilitating file hosting, asset distribution, and collaborative workflows.

Notable Blender add-ons offered through Blender Studio include CloudRig, Blender Kitsu, Contact Sheet Add-on, Blender Purge, and Shot Builder. On 22 October 2021, the service rebranded from Blender Cloud to Blender Studio.

The Blender Development Fund

The Blender Development Fund functions on a subscription basis, enabling both individuals and corporations to financially back Blender’s ongoing development. Corporate sponsors encompass prominent industry leaders such as Epic Games, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Unity, Intel, Decentraland, Amazon Web Services, Meta, AMD, and Adobe. Individual contributors may also support through single donations via credit card, PayPal, bank transfer, or selected cryptocurrencies.

Blender ID

The Blender ID system offers a unified login credential that grants access across multiple services including Blender Studio, Blender Store, Blender Conference, Blender Network, the Blender Development Fund, and the Certified Trainer Program by the Blender Foundation.

Blender Open Data

Blender Open Data gathers and presents benchmarking results submitted by the community using the Blender Benchmark application.

Blender Network

The Blender Network was an online professional platform designed for business interactions and support related to Blender; however, it ceased operations on 31 March 2021.

Blender Store

The Blender Store retails official branded merchandise such as clothing items including shirts, socks, and beanies.

Blender Extensions

Debuted in Blender 4.2, Blender Extensions functions as the centralized hub for addons and themes, allowing users to install and update extensions seamlessly within the Blender environment.

Release history

The following table outlines significant milestones in Blender's version timeline. Versions highlighted in green represent the current release, yellow denotes supported editions, and red indicates unsupported versions—many of which remain operational on contemporary systems.

Version Release date Notes and key changes
Template:Version January 1994 Blender's initial development phase.
Template:Version January 1998 Release of the SGI edition featuring IrisGL.
Template:Version April 1998 Ported to Linux and FreeBSD; shifted to OpenGL and X11.
Template:Version September 1998 Versions for Sun Solaris and Linux Alpha introduced.
Template:Version November 1998 Publication of the first user manual.
Template:Version April 1999 Debut of Windows version; premium features locked behind a $95 fee.
Template:Version June 1999 Launch of BeOS and PowerPC editions.
Template:Version June 2000 Reverted to freeware distribution.
Template:Version August 2000 Introduction of an interactive real-time 3D engine.
Template:Version December 2000 Added physics engine and Python scripting capabilities.
Template:Version August 2001 Implementation of character animation tools.
Template:Version October 2001 Release of Blender Publisher.
Template:Version December 2001 macOS version made available.

... [Intermediate versions omitted for brevity] ...

Version Release date Highlights

{{Version entries from 2.57 (2011) onward emphasize major interface redesigns, the launch of the Cycles rendering engine (2011), continuous enhancements in sculpting, animation, simulation, rendering efficiency, and introduction of Geometry Nodes starting with version 2.92 (2021).}}

Version Release date Key features

|- Template:Version July 2019 User interface overhaul featuring a dark theme; debut of EEVEE real-time renderer; multi-object editing capabilities; combined GPU and CPU rendering support.

|- Template:Version December 2021 Significant upgrades to Cycles render engine; Geometry Nodes revamped with the 'Fields' system; refreshed user interface.

|- Template:Version November 2023 Introduction of Cycles light linking; enhancements to Principled BSDF shader; AgX tone mapper color management added; further Geometry Nodes improvements.

|- Template:Version July 2024 Complete rewrite of EEVEE render engine (EEVEE Next); addition of Ray Portal BSDF; adoption of Khronos PBR Neutral tone mapping; GPU-accelerated compositor implemented.

|- Template:Version July 2025 Incorporation of full Vulkan API support.

|- Template:Version November 2025 Currently in active development.

|} By 2021, official Blender builds officially support Windows (versions 8.1 and later), macOS (10.13+), Linux (64-bit), and FreeBSD (64-bit). The final release compatible with 32-bit systems was version 2.80; Windows XP compatibility ceased after version 2.76b; PowerPC support ended at version 2.63; Windows 7 support concluded with versions 2.83 LTS and 2.92 LTS respectively. The Blender 4.5 LTS release marked the last to support Intel-based macOS, COLLADA format import/export, big endian architectures, and legacy blend file formats.

A demo edition was briefly offered for Android devices in 2013 but has not received updates since then.

See also

Further reading

  • Van Gumster, Jason. Blender For Dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc, 2009.
  • Blender 3D Design, Spring 2008. Tufts University OpenCourseWare.
  • Release Logs. Blender Foundation, Blender.org.

External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named manual-cycles-intro
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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