10 ms·

Blender 3.4

343 points by TangerineDream 4y ago

DizzyDoo 4y ago
Early in the year I made the switch from Modo (by The Foundary) to Blender 3.x, and I've been enjoying it. Since I use 3D software for my video games business it's quite daunting to switch a significant part of your workflow over, because the muscle-memory of all the shortcuts is all there, and you've learnt the Way To Do Things™ in that particular piece of software. As much as I liked Modo, I was paying a monthly subscription, and now with Blender I don't and it's got this enormous open-source community that provides a lot of long-term confidence, which I wasn't quite getting with Modo. The UI changes going from 2.x to 3.x was pretty important in my decision to switch. One thing I found helpful when moving 3d modelling softwares was to setup all the keyboard shortcuts to your previous software's bindings, and then you can tackle figuring out the UI, the different object modes and the Blender Way To Do Things™. There's plenty of preference files around on the web that you can plug them in and get going quite quickly
- lijogdfljk 4y ago
  > Early in the year I made the switch from Modo (by The Foundary) to Blender 3.x Hah, that's me. Except i was out of CG for ~7 years or w/e. I used Modo extensively from 1.0 to .. i want to say 5.0 or something. Tons of modeling. I adored Modo for modeling. This was all before they were bought by Foundary or w/e, though. Back when it was Luxology. Maybe you have an opinion here.. but how is Blender for modeling? Specifically when 3D Navigating. So far i've found Blender to be .. okay, like it has all or almost all the tools i remember from Modo... but something just feels different. Modo felt so fluid, intuitive. Especially with 3D navigation. Something just doesn't feel as good about 3D Nav compared to Modo. But i can't put my finger on it. Regardless, Blender has so much power i absolutely adore it. I'm just trying to capture that fluidness that i had in Modo. Yet i can't articulate what it is. Which.. sucks, heh.
  - DizzyDoo 4y ago
    I'm really just using Blender for modelling and UV unwrapping (and I've used the paint-to-texture feature once) and I think it's pretty solid, but I really haven't gone near sculpting or anything soft-surface/organic. I probably need to model another dozen things to get up to my Modo ability though.
  - leeches 4y ago
    I also used Modo from version 101 to 501. Maybe it’s because of baby duck syndrome, but I have never found anything that even comes close to Modo, in terms of ease of use and workflow. You can get the Blender viewport behaviors to match Modo, but you'll need to customize all the Input/Navigation/Keymap settings. The modeling tools themselves are mostly kind of there at a foundational level, but it’s all really clunky in comparison. I wish that Blender had the work plane and tool pipe. I just learned the Blender way to do things, instead of trying to fight it.
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coder543 4y ago
The wiki still claims 3.4 hasn't released, although the download page has been updated. What's weirder is that past releases have had a easy-to-consume release notes[0], but 3.4 doesn't? Maybe posting it here now is jumping the gun a little? [0]: https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-3/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-3/
- afturner 4y ago
  The pretty release notes have been published [1]. Maybe it's worth updating the post link to point to it. (ninja edit, the page is now listed on the releases page [2]) [1] https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ [2] https://www.blender.org/download/releases/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/
  - coder543 4y ago
    yeah, when I tried that link manually earlier, it just redirected to the wiki that the OP linked to. This post should definitely be updated to point to that release notes page, if @dang sees this.
mrtksn 4y ago
Any idea on what happened with Apple becoming a sponsor? Apple Silicon compatibility is achieved but I don't see Apple in the sponsor list: https://fund.blender.org https://fund.blender.org
- catach 4y ago
  Either they ended sponsorship, the list isn't updated in a timely manner, or Apple didn't want to be listed.
  - kuboa 4y ago
    It's optional and Apple didn't want to be listed. Their logo has never been displayed on the page. They collaborated with devs from Apple quite closely though, they used to put the meeting notes and updates on devtalk.blender.org
    - bitigchi 4y ago
      They still do. Latest[1] from just a week ago. [1] https://devtalk.blender.org/t/2022-11-30-render-cycles-meeting/26749 https://devtalk.blender.org/t/2022-11-30-render-cycles-meeti...
    - catach 4y ago
      That did seem most likely to me, thanks for the confirmation.
- dagmx 4y ago
  I don’t think Apple were ever listed even though they’re a sponsor (probably due to some desire for branding) However they’re still contributing to porting it to Metal and improving that support, among other things. You can see various things in progress on the Blender dev pages
bowsamic 4y ago
I really love Blender! Now I just need to get back into it now that they've made it so fast on M1. It can be really fun if you have the time for it
norwalkbear 4y ago
I love blender. Software developers on hackernews HAVE to try out the blender python api. It's just an integral part of my workflow especially for modding games.
- coldpie 4y ago
  Haha the Blender Python API! Back in high school, a friend and I wrote a 3D platforming video game from scratch. The on-disk 3D model format we used was something I just came up with. It was plaintext ASCII where we would write in every vertex and tex coord by hand, and the engine would turn those over to the obvious OpenGL functions. That was obviously stupid, so my friend learned how to use Blender and wrote an exporter to my format using its Python API. You can read a bit about it here[1] on our old website, written in 2005 when we were around 17 years old. Memories. My friend eventually went on to develop & commercially release a 3D platforming game called Poi[2]. [1] https://brightnightgames.com/games.php?game=sa&sec=development https://brightnightgames.com/games.php?game=sa&sec=developme... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(video_game)
  - ekianjo 4y ago
    Funny just stumbled upon Poi yesterday! Small world
    - coldpie 4y ago
      Hey, you're the Boiling Steam guy :) I used to be the lead dev on Proton, I think we emailed once or twice. Small world, indeed.
      - ekianjo 4y ago
        Ah yes I remember you!!! What do you work on these days?
  - aliswe 4y ago
    Respect!
elil17 4y ago
Blender as a Python module is extremely helpful to me as someone who is allowed to install Python modules but not software on my work computer.
- follower 4y ago
  In relation to Blender as Python module, while both docs[1] I've seen mention that you have to build it yourself it does seem this may not actually necessary? AFAICT it is available as a pre-built wheel via pypi: https://pypi.org/project/bpy/#files https://pypi.org/project/bpy/#files I haven't actually tested this but given the wheels are a few hundred megabytes in size, it seems consistent with the possibility. (Guessing the docs might just need to be updated.) [1] https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bpy.html#blender-as-a-python-module https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bp... [2] https://wiki.blender.org/w/index.php?title=Building_Blender/Other/BlenderAsPyModule#Overview https://wiki.blender.org/w/index.php?title=Building_Blender/...
bodge5000 4y ago
In case anyone prefers the more flashy release notes https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/
- jabiko 4y ago
  I'm wondering if this might be the better submission URL. It might be a bit lower on details but at the same time it conveys a richer overview of what the release is about.
  - lucideer 4y ago
    Agree. The submitted URL is high-on-detail (normally good for HN audience) but low enough on context that I'd say it's mostly of use for frequent Blender users & Blender community members (who likely know how to find both URLs). The flashy URL, while lower on detail, still packs a reasonable amount in. Alongside much-needed context.
  - kidfiji 4y ago
    As someone that has little-to-no knowledge of 3D modeling and related software, the "flashier" release notes are catered more for me :)
  - follower 4y ago
    Worth noting (as it's easy to miss) but all the bullet list items at the end of each section of the "flashy" release notes are actually links to related dev details. e.g. "Added Sobol-Burley sampling pattern" links to https://developer.blender.org/rBa06c9b5 https://developer.blender.org/rBa06c9b5
phkahler 4y ago
Any word about the CAD Sketcher addon?
- digdugdirk 4y ago
  Interesting, I hadn't heard of this before. As a mechanical engineer, it seems like it wouldn't be able to compete with the free (non-open source) CAD platforms - as much as I would absolutely love to see an open source CAD software grow out of something like Blender. What is your use case for it?
  - SxC97 4y ago
    I wanted to get back into CAD stuff for 3D printing, what free platforms are out there? In my research, I’ve only come across freeCAD and Fusion360.
    - phkahler 4y ago
      >> what free platforms are out there? In my research, I’ve only come across freeCAD and Fusion360. Try Solvespace. It's not as complete as those, but a hell of a lot more fun! https://solvespace.com/index.pl https://solvespace.com/index.pl
    - somat 4y ago
      give solvespace a try. it is very limited compared to the ones you listed. however I find it enjoyable, fun you may even say, to use. But I have to admit I would have a hard time using it professionally. https://solvespace.com/index.pl https://solvespace.com/index.pl
  - phkahler 4y ago
    >> What is your use case for it? It uses the geometric constraint solver from Solvespace, which is OSS CAD that I contribute too. The same solver has also been integrated into one workbench in FreeCAD. It makes a lot of sense to me that someone wants it directly in Blender for simple parametric designs. Not everything is character animation after all! :-)
FrozenSynapse 4y ago
Same as other posters, I love Blender! Cannot wait for 3.5 with simulation nodes.
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sdkgames 4y ago
I want them to support a textual shading language for all render engines. Instead, they cultivate graphical programming. From a programmer's point of view, this is a significant drawback.
- dagmx 4y ago
  How would you propose that? Cycles uses OSL, whereas Eevee is a raster OpenGL renderer. There’s very few things that can target both. Unless you mean a different implementation per renderer?
aynyc 4y ago
Can blender replace sketchup? I just found out sketchup isn't free anymore.
- buzzerbetrayed 4y ago
  I haven’t really used blender, but I doubt it would be a great replacement for most use cases. Fusion360 on the other hand is free and a great replacement!
  - aynyc 4y ago
    Fusion360 has a big learning curve for me. As a once a year hobbyist, not sure if it's worth the investment to learn. I think you are right that blender is probably worse than Fusion for basic carpentry planning, etc..
    - longtimelistnr 4y ago
      Blender imo is a much larger learning curve than fusion. In my experience Fusion or solidworks are about fundamentally how to construct a model. Whereas blender is much more oriented towards someone who may be more technically minded. As well as being just for surface models not real world objects.
      - aynyc 4y ago
        I suspect that too. If I learn Blender to replace Fusion/SketchUp, I can do other stuff with Blender. But I'm sticking to basic home DIY. I might just spend some time on Fusion.
  - somat 4y ago
    Blender is an artsy program and development tends to focus on the artsy side. fusion360 is an engineering program and development tends to focus on that use case. Not to say you cant use it for ether purpose. but loosely, blender is better when you only really care about what it looks like and fusion360 is better when you care not how it looks but about the details of the dimensions of your thing. personally I enjoy modeling in a parametric program like fusion360 more, I guess it appeals to my inner programmer, but nothing I make could reasonably be called "art".
cheeselip420 4y ago
Blender is one of the most capable open source projects around. I wish the GIMP would take a few lessons...
- dedukto 4y ago
  Please, draw a circle.
boppo1 4y ago
I love Blender and hope to contribute some day soon. But hoo-boy the codebase is intimidating.
- capableweb 4y ago
  A great way to get started is to write your own addon and get familiar with the Python API. Then as you come across bugs or missing features, you'll have a concrete goal on what you could contribute to, with a anchor to something you're doing "from the outside". If I remember correctly, Geometry Nodes got started as a Blender addon (called "animation nodes") which eventually the Blender organization went as far as employing the creator of the addon and including it in the main release.
  - boppo1 4y ago
    I'm pretty handy with the API, but the C behind it all feels pretty byzantine. I'm newish to OOP and C/C++ so before I can worry about interacting with systems like the window manager, internal database, depsgraph, renderers, RNA/DNA, etc. I gotta understand the paradigms that underpin its organization. Documentation is pretty light (but devs are very helpful in chat!). I guess Python has just spoiled me. I need a class and "everything is right there". In Blender's C/C++, functionality always seems spread across a variety of files and callbacks in a variety of folders. I tried to follow the main loop through an extremely simple action (select a cube onscreen) to see how the stuff I know happens, happens (draw orange outline, highlight in outliner, update undo history, etc.) I knew it would be a lot, but geez, even one of those things is like a week of reading through code. I do remember how intimidating Blender was the first time I used it though, vs how easy and natural it is now. I'm looking forward to when it will 'click' enough that I can find my way around even though I don't know how everything works. A 'core workflow' to trace through how stuff happens, if you will.
  - TillE 4y ago
    That's exactly how I've wound up contributing to a couple large open source projects. Try to build somewhat unusual stuff on top of it, find bugs/deficiencies, fix them.
nine_k 4y ago
> Blender as a Python Module https://xkcd.com/353/ https://xkcd.com/353/ draws nearer and nearer.
lijogdfljk 4y ago
Reminder, if you'd like to support Blender financially you can at: https://fund.blender.org/ https://fund.blender.org/ I've been getting into Blender for the last few months. Previously i was used to paying ZBrush, Modo and etc 500+ dollars for Licensing, and it's kinda shocking how much functionality you get in Blender for free. I just signed up for the lowest tier. Not sure how much i want to spare a month, but i can definitely spare a coffee and month and it is well, well worth it. Much thanks to the entire team on Blender, you folks rock :)
lvl102 4y ago
I am pretty convinced Blender will be one the most important tools over the next decade. They should teach kids how to use it in middle/high school. Also a great gateway to learn coding with geometry node.
- keepquestioning 4y ago
  Nah, GPT will eventually learn how to 3d model.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    That's great (except probably Stable Diffusion and similar approaches are better than GPT). What about the bazillion other features that Blender has as well? You think AI/ML/magic will replace that too in the future?
    - syntheweave 4y ago
      A dose of AI would help clean up the interface of every 3D software package, and especially Blender since Blender does everything, and what's really needed is a workflow that lets you start with a prompt like: "I want to model a realistic humanoid character, using these references" And then the AI works through the process of setting up the workspace and putting the tools you need front and center. Right now that setup process is a lot of boilerplate-by-way-of-GUI that gets in the way of using any specific technique.
      - capableweb 4y ago
        I'm not sure what level of experience you have with 3D software/animation/creative stuff in general, but that stuff is already there, without having to rely on any AI. Most 3D packages have something similar, but for Blender specifically, it asks you want area you want to work in when you create a new project, to tailor the UI for that specific task (splash screen screenshot: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/_images/interface_window-system_splash_current.png https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/_images/interface_...). The UI is also highly customizable, basically everything is movable to anywhere, so if you have your own preference (or want to use others from online somewhere), that's trivial to achieve as well. What you're suggesting doesn't actually contribute anything to speeding up that workflow, as it stands right now. > Right now that setup process is a lot of boilerplate-by-way-of-GUI that gets in the way of using any specific technique. What boilerplate are you talking about here? You have specific examples? It sounds to me you're assuming 3D creation is similar to software, somehow. While it's fairly common in the industry to have templates/boilerplate "starters" for various things you want to do.
kuboa 4y ago
This is a relatively tame update, but the roadmap for the near future is really exciting, with stuff like Simulation Nodes (which already has a usable experimental branch) and Blender Apps (https://code.blender.org/2022/11/blender-apps https://code.blender.org/2022/11/blender-apps) I'm not a programmer so I struggled with the fundamental concepts a bit when learning Geometry Nodes, but it's been the best new addition to my life in a long time. I think I haven't watched any TV show in a year or two because I prefer to spend my time fiddling with GN and answering people's questions about it on Blender Stack Exchange (found out that it's a fantastic way to learn—they're like little prompts leading you to discover areas you hadn't even realized existed). Blender community is so big, creative, enthusiastic, and helpful—you go on Blender-Twitter and it's people making playful/interesting stuff all day and sharing how they did it. I can't stop gushing about it to anyone who'd listen.
- pinkwinds 4y ago
  Any recommendations as for whom to follow on Twitter?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - kuboa 4y ago
    @erindale_xyz (probably the most well known member of the GN community, fantastic YouTube channel as well) @JacquesLucke (creator of Animation nodes, who was then hired by Blender) @FreyaHolmer (not necessarily Blender stuff, but great game-dev geometry/math content) Tinkerers: @higgsasxyz @cmzw_ @artofriaz3d @WannesMalfait @JesseMiettinen @Bbbn192 @Mrdodobird @cgonfire @Sanctus_Art
    - pinkwinds 4y ago
      Thanks!
- CyanBird 4y ago
  As a houdini user the blender nodes make me quite jealous, things like the coupling of the nodes with real time rendering in eevee and basically instant rendering with cycles is something I could only dream of even after spending some good cash on redshift Do the blender nodes have got an equivalent of vex in houdini? Or variables? Does blender just use raw-ish Python instead?
pkaye 4y ago
Blender is the one program where features are added faster than one can learn them.
- follower 4y ago
  Can very much identify with this! I only just downloaded 3.3.1 the other day. :) While frequent release cycles are great, keeping up with the changes between Blender, Rust language, Bevy game engine and Godot 4 betas seems like a full time job these days!
SnooSux 4y ago
> bpy 3.4.0 is available on PyPi, and can be installed through pip install bpy. Does this mean you can run Blender from Python without the command line? https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bpy.html https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bp...
darkteflon 4y ago
I listened to an interesting interview[1] this week with Blender’s creator (and current foundation chairman) Ton Roosendaal. He thought that one of Blender’s major challenges was recent developments in the real-time rendering space - notably Unreal Engine. They’re not direct competitors, of course (and Epic has donated to the foundation) but it does speak to how impressive UE’s render pipeline is. Again, it’s not a direct comparison, but it’s remarkable what UE5 can do at 60fps on a mid-range Nvidia 30 series card (even without DLSS) versus how long it takes Cycles to render a single frame. I’ve no doubt Blender will be a future innovator in this space too. [1] https://overcast.fm/+mSOZes2FM https://overcast.fm/+mSOZes2FM
- naikrovek 4y ago
  yeah. they are wildly different approaches to rendering, with the realtime stuff taking shortcuts in the name of performance, whereas the non-realtime stuff isn't making the same choices. accuracy rules with path tracers like Cycles. realtime 3D engines have gotten extremely good at approximation, though, and they get better all the time. around the time they perfect it, hardware will be able to do pathtracing in real time, meaning the shortcut path and the long path to the goal of photorealism were about the same length, just through wildly different terrain.
- somat 4y ago
  Blender has a realtime renderer. it is known as eevee. https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/introduction.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/intro...
  - darkteflon 4y ago
    Yes, I’m aware of eevee. Would you say that eevee produces output of a comparable quality to Cycles or UE5 with Lumen?
    - somat 4y ago
      I have no idea, I only use blender rarely and almost never render. eevee is intended to be compatible with cycles, I would guess that if your scene does not depend on the advanced lighting that a forward renderer like cycles enables it could replace cycles. I also expect it to be as good, if not better than ue5 as it does not have to hit the framerates that ue5 has to achieve.

Early in the year I made the switch from Modo (by The Foundary) to Blender 3.x, and I've been enjoying it. Since I use 3D software for my video games business it's quite daunting to switch a significant part of your workflow over, because the muscle-memory of all the shortcuts is all there, and you've learnt the Way To Do Things™ in that particular piece of software. As much as I liked Modo, I was paying a monthly subscription, and now with Blender I don't and it's got this enormous open-source community that provides a lot of long-term confidence, which I wasn't quite getting with Modo. The UI changes going from 2.x to 3.x was pretty important in my decision to switch. One thing I found helpful when moving 3d modelling softwares was to setup all the keyboard shortcuts to your previous software's bindings, and then you can tackle figuring out the UI, the different object modes and the Blender Way To Do Things™. There's plenty of preference files around on the web that you can plug them in and get going quite quickly

lijogdfljk 4y ago
> Early in the year I made the switch from Modo (by The Foundary) to Blender 3.x Hah, that's me. Except i was out of CG for ~7 years or w/e. I used Modo extensively from 1.0 to .. i want to say 5.0 or something. Tons of modeling. I adored Modo for modeling. This was all before they were bought by Foundary or w/e, though. Back when it was Luxology. Maybe you have an opinion here.. but how is Blender for modeling? Specifically when 3D Navigating. So far i've found Blender to be .. okay, like it has all or almost all the tools i remember from Modo... but something just feels different. Modo felt so fluid, intuitive. Especially with 3D navigation. Something just doesn't feel as good about 3D Nav compared to Modo. But i can't put my finger on it. Regardless, Blender has so much power i absolutely adore it. I'm just trying to capture that fluidness that i had in Modo. Yet i can't articulate what it is. Which.. sucks, heh.
- DizzyDoo 4y ago
  I'm really just using Blender for modelling and UV unwrapping (and I've used the paint-to-texture feature once) and I think it's pretty solid, but I really haven't gone near sculpting or anything soft-surface/organic. I probably need to model another dozen things to get up to my Modo ability though.
- leeches 4y ago
  I also used Modo from version 101 to 501. Maybe it’s because of baby duck syndrome, but I have never found anything that even comes close to Modo, in terms of ease of use and workflow. You can get the Blender viewport behaviors to match Modo, but you'll need to customize all the Input/Navigation/Keymap settings. The modeling tools themselves are mostly kind of there at a foundational level, but it’s all really clunky in comparison. I wish that Blender had the work plane and tool pipe. I just learned the Blender way to do things, instead of trying to fight it.

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coder543 4y ago

The wiki still claims 3.4 hasn't released, although the download page has been updated. What's weirder is that past releases have had a easy-to-consume release notes[0], but 3.4 doesn't? Maybe posting it here now is jumping the gun a little? [0]: https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-3/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-3/

afturner 4y ago
The pretty release notes have been published [1]. Maybe it's worth updating the post link to point to it. (ninja edit, the page is now listed on the releases page [2]) [1] https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ [2] https://www.blender.org/download/releases/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/
- coder543 4y ago
  yeah, when I tried that link manually earlier, it just redirected to the wiki that the OP linked to. This post should definitely be updated to point to that release notes page, if @dang sees this.

mrtksn 4y ago

Any idea on what happened with Apple becoming a sponsor? Apple Silicon compatibility is achieved but I don't see Apple in the sponsor list: https://fund.blender.org https://fund.blender.org

catach 4y ago
Either they ended sponsorship, the list isn't updated in a timely manner, or Apple didn't want to be listed.
- kuboa 4y ago
  It's optional and Apple didn't want to be listed. Their logo has never been displayed on the page. They collaborated with devs from Apple quite closely though, they used to put the meeting notes and updates on devtalk.blender.org
  - bitigchi 4y ago
    They still do. Latest[1] from just a week ago. [1] https://devtalk.blender.org/t/2022-11-30-render-cycles-meeting/26749 https://devtalk.blender.org/t/2022-11-30-render-cycles-meeti...
  - catach 4y ago
    That did seem most likely to me, thanks for the confirmation.
dagmx 4y ago
I don’t think Apple were ever listed even though they’re a sponsor (probably due to some desire for branding) However they’re still contributing to porting it to Metal and improving that support, among other things. You can see various things in progress on the Blender dev pages

bowsamic 4y ago

I really love Blender! Now I just need to get back into it now that they've made it so fast on M1. It can be really fun if you have the time for it

norwalkbear 4y ago

I love blender. Software developers on hackernews HAVE to try out the blender python api. It's just an integral part of my workflow especially for modding games.

coldpie 4y ago
Haha the Blender Python API! Back in high school, a friend and I wrote a 3D platforming video game from scratch. The on-disk 3D model format we used was something I just came up with. It was plaintext ASCII where we would write in every vertex and tex coord by hand, and the engine would turn those over to the obvious OpenGL functions. That was obviously stupid, so my friend learned how to use Blender and wrote an exporter to my format using its Python API. You can read a bit about it here[1] on our old website, written in 2005 when we were around 17 years old. Memories. My friend eventually went on to develop & commercially release a 3D platforming game called Poi[2]. [1] https://brightnightgames.com/games.php?game=sa&sec=development https://brightnightgames.com/games.php?game=sa&sec=developme... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(video_game)
- ekianjo 4y ago
  Funny just stumbled upon Poi yesterday! Small world
  - coldpie 4y ago
    Hey, you're the Boiling Steam guy :) I used to be the lead dev on Proton, I think we emailed once or twice. Small world, indeed.
    - ekianjo 4y ago
      Ah yes I remember you!!! What do you work on these days?
- aliswe 4y ago
  Respect!

elil17 4y ago

Blender as a Python module is extremely helpful to me as someone who is allowed to install Python modules but not software on my work computer.

follower 4y ago
In relation to Blender as Python module, while both docs[1] I've seen mention that you have to build it yourself it does seem this may not actually necessary? AFAICT it is available as a pre-built wheel via pypi: https://pypi.org/project/bpy/#files https://pypi.org/project/bpy/#files I haven't actually tested this but given the wheels are a few hundred megabytes in size, it seems consistent with the possibility. (Guessing the docs might just need to be updated.) [1] https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bpy.html#blender-as-a-python-module https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bp... [2] https://wiki.blender.org/w/index.php?title=Building_Blender/Other/BlenderAsPyModule#Overview https://wiki.blender.org/w/index.php?title=Building_Blender/...

bodge5000 4y ago

In case anyone prefers the more flashy release notes https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/ https://www.blender.org/download/releases/3-4/

jabiko 4y ago
I'm wondering if this might be the better submission URL. It might be a bit lower on details but at the same time it conveys a richer overview of what the release is about.
- lucideer 4y ago
  Agree. The submitted URL is high-on-detail (normally good for HN audience) but low enough on context that I'd say it's mostly of use for frequent Blender users & Blender community members (who likely know how to find both URLs). The flashy URL, while lower on detail, still packs a reasonable amount in. Alongside much-needed context.
- kidfiji 4y ago
  As someone that has little-to-no knowledge of 3D modeling and related software, the "flashier" release notes are catered more for me :)
- follower 4y ago
  Worth noting (as it's easy to miss) but all the bullet list items at the end of each section of the "flashy" release notes are actually links to related dev details. e.g. "Added Sobol-Burley sampling pattern" links to https://developer.blender.org/rBa06c9b5 https://developer.blender.org/rBa06c9b5

phkahler 4y ago

Any word about the CAD Sketcher addon?

digdugdirk 4y ago
Interesting, I hadn't heard of this before. As a mechanical engineer, it seems like it wouldn't be able to compete with the free (non-open source) CAD platforms - as much as I would absolutely love to see an open source CAD software grow out of something like Blender. What is your use case for it?
- SxC97 4y ago
  I wanted to get back into CAD stuff for 3D printing, what free platforms are out there? In my research, I’ve only come across freeCAD and Fusion360.
  - phkahler 4y ago
    >> what free platforms are out there? In my research, I’ve only come across freeCAD and Fusion360. Try Solvespace. It's not as complete as those, but a hell of a lot more fun! https://solvespace.com/index.pl https://solvespace.com/index.pl
  - somat 4y ago
    give solvespace a try. it is very limited compared to the ones you listed. however I find it enjoyable, fun you may even say, to use. But I have to admit I would have a hard time using it professionally. https://solvespace.com/index.pl https://solvespace.com/index.pl
- phkahler 4y ago
  >> What is your use case for it? It uses the geometric constraint solver from Solvespace, which is OSS CAD that I contribute too. The same solver has also been integrated into one workbench in FreeCAD. It makes a lot of sense to me that someone wants it directly in Blender for simple parametric designs. Not everything is character animation after all! :-)

FrozenSynapse 4y ago

Same as other posters, I love Blender! Cannot wait for 3.5 with simulation nodes.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

sdkgames 4y ago

I want them to support a textual shading language for all render engines. Instead, they cultivate graphical programming. From a programmer's point of view, this is a significant drawback.

dagmx 4y ago
How would you propose that? Cycles uses OSL, whereas Eevee is a raster OpenGL renderer. There’s very few things that can target both. Unless you mean a different implementation per renderer?

aynyc 4y ago

Can blender replace sketchup? I just found out sketchup isn't free anymore.

buzzerbetrayed 4y ago
I haven’t really used blender, but I doubt it would be a great replacement for most use cases. Fusion360 on the other hand is free and a great replacement!
- aynyc 4y ago
  Fusion360 has a big learning curve for me. As a once a year hobbyist, not sure if it's worth the investment to learn. I think you are right that blender is probably worse than Fusion for basic carpentry planning, etc..
  - longtimelistnr 4y ago
    Blender imo is a much larger learning curve than fusion. In my experience Fusion or solidworks are about fundamentally how to construct a model. Whereas blender is much more oriented towards someone who may be more technically minded. As well as being just for surface models not real world objects.
    - aynyc 4y ago
      I suspect that too. If I learn Blender to replace Fusion/SketchUp, I can do other stuff with Blender. But I'm sticking to basic home DIY. I might just spend some time on Fusion.
- somat 4y ago
  Blender is an artsy program and development tends to focus on the artsy side. fusion360 is an engineering program and development tends to focus on that use case. Not to say you cant use it for ether purpose. but loosely, blender is better when you only really care about what it looks like and fusion360 is better when you care not how it looks but about the details of the dimensions of your thing. personally I enjoy modeling in a parametric program like fusion360 more, I guess it appeals to my inner programmer, but nothing I make could reasonably be called "art".

cheeselip420 4y ago

Blender is one of the most capable open source projects around. I wish the GIMP would take a few lessons...

dedukto 4y ago
Please, draw a circle.

boppo1 4y ago

I love Blender and hope to contribute some day soon. But hoo-boy the codebase is intimidating.

capableweb 4y ago
A great way to get started is to write your own addon and get familiar with the Python API. Then as you come across bugs or missing features, you'll have a concrete goal on what you could contribute to, with a anchor to something you're doing "from the outside". If I remember correctly, Geometry Nodes got started as a Blender addon (called "animation nodes") which eventually the Blender organization went as far as employing the creator of the addon and including it in the main release.
- boppo1 4y ago
  I'm pretty handy with the API, but the C behind it all feels pretty byzantine. I'm newish to OOP and C/C++ so before I can worry about interacting with systems like the window manager, internal database, depsgraph, renderers, RNA/DNA, etc. I gotta understand the paradigms that underpin its organization. Documentation is pretty light (but devs are very helpful in chat!). I guess Python has just spoiled me. I need a class and "everything is right there". In Blender's C/C++, functionality always seems spread across a variety of files and callbacks in a variety of folders. I tried to follow the main loop through an extremely simple action (select a cube onscreen) to see how the stuff I know happens, happens (draw orange outline, highlight in outliner, update undo history, etc.) I knew it would be a lot, but geez, even one of those things is like a week of reading through code. I do remember how intimidating Blender was the first time I used it though, vs how easy and natural it is now. I'm looking forward to when it will 'click' enough that I can find my way around even though I don't know how everything works. A 'core workflow' to trace through how stuff happens, if you will.
- TillE 4y ago
  That's exactly how I've wound up contributing to a couple large open source projects. Try to build somewhat unusual stuff on top of it, find bugs/deficiencies, fix them.

nine_k 4y ago

> Blender as a Python Module https://xkcd.com/353/ https://xkcd.com/353/ draws nearer and nearer.

lijogdfljk 4y ago

Reminder, if you'd like to support Blender financially you can at: https://fund.blender.org/ https://fund.blender.org/ I've been getting into Blender for the last few months. Previously i was used to paying ZBrush, Modo and etc 500+ dollars for Licensing, and it's kinda shocking how much functionality you get in Blender for free. I just signed up for the lowest tier. Not sure how much i want to spare a month, but i can definitely spare a coffee and month and it is well, well worth it. Much thanks to the entire team on Blender, you folks rock :)

lvl102 4y ago

I am pretty convinced Blender will be one the most important tools over the next decade. They should teach kids how to use it in middle/high school. Also a great gateway to learn coding with geometry node.

keepquestioning 4y ago
Nah, GPT will eventually learn how to 3d model.
- capableweb 4y ago
  That's great (except probably Stable Diffusion and similar approaches are better than GPT). What about the bazillion other features that Blender has as well? You think AI/ML/magic will replace that too in the future?
  - syntheweave 4y ago
    A dose of AI would help clean up the interface of every 3D software package, and especially Blender since Blender does everything, and what's really needed is a workflow that lets you start with a prompt like: "I want to model a realistic humanoid character, using these references" And then the AI works through the process of setting up the workspace and putting the tools you need front and center. Right now that setup process is a lot of boilerplate-by-way-of-GUI that gets in the way of using any specific technique.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      I'm not sure what level of experience you have with 3D software/animation/creative stuff in general, but that stuff is already there, without having to rely on any AI. Most 3D packages have something similar, but for Blender specifically, it asks you want area you want to work in when you create a new project, to tailor the UI for that specific task (splash screen screenshot: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/_images/interface_window-system_splash_current.png https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/_images/interface_...). The UI is also highly customizable, basically everything is movable to anywhere, so if you have your own preference (or want to use others from online somewhere), that's trivial to achieve as well. What you're suggesting doesn't actually contribute anything to speeding up that workflow, as it stands right now. > Right now that setup process is a lot of boilerplate-by-way-of-GUI that gets in the way of using any specific technique. What boilerplate are you talking about here? You have specific examples? It sounds to me you're assuming 3D creation is similar to software, somehow. While it's fairly common in the industry to have templates/boilerplate "starters" for various things you want to do.

kuboa 4y ago

This is a relatively tame update, but the roadmap for the near future is really exciting, with stuff like Simulation Nodes (which already has a usable experimental branch) and Blender Apps (https://code.blender.org/2022/11/blender-apps https://code.blender.org/2022/11/blender-apps) I'm not a programmer so I struggled with the fundamental concepts a bit when learning Geometry Nodes, but it's been the best new addition to my life in a long time. I think I haven't watched any TV show in a year or two because I prefer to spend my time fiddling with GN and answering people's questions about it on Blender Stack Exchange (found out that it's a fantastic way to learn—they're like little prompts leading you to discover areas you hadn't even realized existed). Blender community is so big, creative, enthusiastic, and helpful—you go on Blender-Twitter and it's people making playful/interesting stuff all day and sharing how they did it. I can't stop gushing about it to anyone who'd listen.

pinkwinds 4y ago
Any recommendations as for whom to follow on Twitter?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- kuboa 4y ago
  @erindale_xyz (probably the most well known member of the GN community, fantastic YouTube channel as well) @JacquesLucke (creator of Animation nodes, who was then hired by Blender) @FreyaHolmer (not necessarily Blender stuff, but great game-dev geometry/math content) Tinkerers: @higgsasxyz @cmzw_ @artofriaz3d @WannesMalfait @JesseMiettinen @Bbbn192 @Mrdodobird @cgonfire @Sanctus_Art
  - pinkwinds 4y ago
    Thanks!
CyanBird 4y ago
As a houdini user the blender nodes make me quite jealous, things like the coupling of the nodes with real time rendering in eevee and basically instant rendering with cycles is something I could only dream of even after spending some good cash on redshift Do the blender nodes have got an equivalent of vex in houdini? Or variables? Does blender just use raw-ish Python instead?

pkaye 4y ago

Blender is the one program where features are added faster than one can learn them.

follower 4y ago
Can very much identify with this! I only just downloaded 3.3.1 the other day. :) While frequent release cycles are great, keeping up with the changes between Blender, Rust language, Bevy game engine and Godot 4 betas seems like a full time job these days!

SnooSux 4y ago

> bpy 3.4.0 is available on PyPi, and can be installed through pip install bpy. Does this mean you can run Blender from Python without the command line? https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bpy.html https://docs.blender.org/api/3.4/info_advanced_blender_as_bp...

darkteflon 4y ago

I listened to an interesting interview[1] this week with Blender’s creator (and current foundation chairman) Ton Roosendaal. He thought that one of Blender’s major challenges was recent developments in the real-time rendering space - notably Unreal Engine. They’re not direct competitors, of course (and Epic has donated to the foundation) but it does speak to how impressive UE’s render pipeline is. Again, it’s not a direct comparison, but it’s remarkable what UE5 can do at 60fps on a mid-range Nvidia 30 series card (even without DLSS) versus how long it takes Cycles to render a single frame. I’ve no doubt Blender will be a future innovator in this space too. [1] https://overcast.fm/+mSOZes2FM https://overcast.fm/+mSOZes2FM

naikrovek 4y ago
yeah. they are wildly different approaches to rendering, with the realtime stuff taking shortcuts in the name of performance, whereas the non-realtime stuff isn't making the same choices. accuracy rules with path tracers like Cycles. realtime 3D engines have gotten extremely good at approximation, though, and they get better all the time. around the time they perfect it, hardware will be able to do pathtracing in real time, meaning the shortcut path and the long path to the goal of photorealism were about the same length, just through wildly different terrain.
somat 4y ago
Blender has a realtime renderer. it is known as eevee. https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/introduction.html https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/intro...
- darkteflon 4y ago
  Yes, I’m aware of eevee. Would you say that eevee produces output of a comparable quality to Cycles or UE5 with Lumen?
  - somat 4y ago
    I have no idea, I only use blender rarely and almost never render. eevee is intended to be compatible with cycles, I would guess that if your scene does not depend on the advanced lighting that a forward renderer like cycles enables it could replace cycles. I also expect it to be as good, if not better than ue5 as it does not have to hit the framerates that ue5 has to achieve.