What's new around Blender.https://www.blender.org/news/introducing-the-blender-roadmap/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-96454 class=" post-96454="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" tag-devfund="" tag-news-link="" morss_own_score="8.125" morss_score="10.61556603773585"> <h1>Introducing the Blender Roadmap</h1> <ul> <li>May 26th, 2026</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/blender/" title="Posts by Blender Foundation">Blender Foundation</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="4.981132075471699" morss_score="29.86348501664817"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>Keeping track of Blender development has just become more accessible. We are happy to introduce the <a href="https://code.blender.org/roadmap/">Blender Roadmap</a> – a central, up-to-date overview of major ongoing projects and recently completed features.</p> <p>Whether you are an artist curious about what is coming next, a studio planning pipelines, or a contributor wondering where to plug in, the roadmap offers a clearer picture of where Blender is heading on featured work and how you can get involved.</p> <p>Move from a high-level overview to technical details in one click. Each project card links directly to the relevant project page, issue, pull request, or development blog post.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/news/introducing-the-blender-roadmap/?utm_medium=news#part-of-the-bigger-picture"><h2><strong>Part of the bigger picture</strong></h2></a> <p>The Roadmap provides a curated view on featured projects and doesn’t cover everything happening in Blender. Development also involves triaging, maintenance, bug fixes, documentation, and day-to-day module work. That side of Blender development is equally essential: contributors are always welcome to join and help move the project forward.</p> <p>Let’s go on this journey together.</p> <p>Explore the roadmap: <a href="https://code.blender.org/roadmap/">https://code.blender.org/roadmap/</a></p> <p>Get involved: <a href="https://developer.blender.org/">https://developer.blender.org/</a></p> <p>Natalie Rozvezeva</p> <p>Project Manager and Development Manager, Blender</p> </div> </article> https://www.blender.org/news/upcoming-blender-development-fund-and-ai-policies/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-96421 class=" post-96421="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" tag-devfund="" morss_own_score="9.635258358662615" morss_score="12.577933517898284"> <h1>Upcoming Blender Development Fund and AI Policies</h1> <ul> <li>May 1st, 2026</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="5.885350318471337" morss_score="33.33271873952397"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>Recently, we announced that Anthropic was joining the Blender Development Fund as a Corporate Patron member. Since then, we’ve heard concerns from the community around how we engage with any AI company. We should have opened up more conversation and perspectives from contributors before making this decision, and for that we are sorry.</p> <p>After an in-depth discussion with the team and several community contributors, we have decided to receive the funds as a singular donation instead of a Development Fund membership, similar to how other open source organizations have handled such contributions. Anthropic has been informed and supports this decision. </p> <p>Like all Blender donations, it will be spent on core activities for the Blender project, supporting human-driven development, art, and creativity. </p> <p>Moving forward, Blender Foundation is strengthening the processes when it comes to accepting donations, aligned with the existing <a href="https://fund.blender.org/funding-policy/">Funding Policy</a>. Progress will be communicated through the upcoming board meeting logs on blender.org.</p> <p>Most importantly, we need to urgently tackle the topic and clearly define how Blender is positioned in regards to generative AI technologies when it comes to the product, software development, documentation, and other activities. Discussions will happen in the public blender.org channels, based on drafts by the Blender team.</p> <p>Blender is a tool for artists and creators, it’s made by humans for humans. No generative AI functionality is currently available or planned to be integrated in Blender.</p> <p>I want to thank everyone for their understanding and helpful feedback, as we deal with this topic, and keep improving the Blender project <em>together</em>.</p> <p>For feedback and enquiries, you can reach out to foundation (at) blender (dot) org.</p> <p>Francesco Siddi</p> <p>Chairman Blender Foundation</p><p>Amsterdam, May 1, 2026</p></div> </article> https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news<div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="4.713763702801462" morss_score="155.2352746579814"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>It is that time of year again. You may be enjoying a scorching hot summer, the serenity of snow, or something in between. For those of you staying inside, buckle up. There is a lot to look forward to!</p> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#2025-releases"><h2>2025 Releases</h2></a> <p>Before we start with the fresh new targets, let’s take a moment and admire what was put out into the world last year. With no surprises, the release schedule went <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-2025/#releases">as planned</a> with three annual major releases.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-44"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-4-4-release/">Blender 4.4</a></h2></a> <p><em>March 18th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/splash.webp"><figcaption>Blender 4.4 splash artwork Flow©</figcaption><figcaption>Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five</figcaption><figcaption>Image licensed under CC-BY-SA – <a href="https://flow.movie/">flow.movie</a></figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>Animation slots.</li> <li>Compositor CPU rewrite.</li> <li>Grease Pencil v3 feature parity.</li> <li>Video Sequencer text editing improvements.</li> <li>Over 700 issues addressed.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-45-lts"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-4-5-lts-release/">Blender 4.5 LTS</a></h2></a> <p><em>July 15th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/blender_splash_45.webp"><figcaption>Blender 4.5 LTS splash artwork “DOGWALK” by <a href="https://studio.blender.org/">Blender Studio</a>.</figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>Full Vulkan support.</li> <li>Faster startup and EEVEE shader compilation.</li> <li>Grease Pencil compositor pass.</li> <li>Enhancements to the animation timeline.</li> <li>Importing multiple formats in Geometry Nodes.</li> <li>UV visibility in all modes.</li> <li>Faster Video Sequencer with HDR support.</li> <li>Compositor procedural nodes.</li> <li>Nearly 400 bugs fixed.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-50"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-5-0-release">Blender 5.0</a></h2></a> <p><em>November 18th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/blender_50_splash.webp"><figcaption>Blender 5.0 splash artwork by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/donchuan3d">Juan Hernández</a><br></figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>ACES pipeline.</li> <li>Improved HDR capabilities.</li> <li>UV Sync.</li> <li>New volumes and SDF nodes in Geometry Nodes.</li> <li>Storyboarding template and workflow (scene sync).</li> <li>New modifiers, such as Array and Scatter on Surface.</li> <li>Compositor creative effects assets.</li> <li>Animation and rigging improvements.</li> <li>VR scene inspection, vignetting, and snap turns.</li> <li>Nearly 600 bugs fixed.</li> </ul> <hr> <p>The result was a combination of new features, stability, performance enhancements, planned project and long-standing issues.</p> <p>In addition, 2025 saw 20 <a href="https://www.blender.org/download/lts/">LTS</a> releases across Blender 3.6 LTS, 4.2 LTS, and 4.5 LTS.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#looking-back"><h2>Looking Back</h2></a> <p>If you compare what was released with <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-2025/">last year’s projects announcements</a>, you may notice that some features weren’t even announced.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024_projects_banner-1280x480.jpg"></figure> <p>On the one hand, this is good news. It reflects the dynamic nature of Blender development, with modules working closely with community developers and artists who can steer the project in unexpected ways. These contributions often lead to the discovery of new talent who could eventually become full-time developers. So, the more, the merrier.</p> <p>On the other hand, not all of the announced projects were completed and released. The reasons are plenty: overly optimistic (and ambitious) targets, over-scoping, unclear designs or scope, missed deadlines, limited resources, shifting priorities, my-dog-ate-my-homework, you name it. There is no sugarcoating it. There is room for improvement, and we aim to do even better this year.<br></p> <p>That said, it is in the spirit of the Blender project to propose targets that serve as a beacon, helping focus the community’s efforts toward common goals. So, without further ado, let’s unveil what the team has planned, aim for the stars, and see where we land.</p><p>The proposed projects for this year are organized into the following areas:</p> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#storytelling"><h2>Storytelling</h2></a> <p>As a follow-up to Story Tools and Compositor node-modifiers, expect more <strong>video sequencer improvements</strong> – GPU support, sequencer effects, media bins, ripple and three points editing.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image-2-1280x802.png"><figcaption>Story Tools early Mockup.</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#world-building-and-asset-creation"><h2>World Building and Asset Creation</h2></a> <p>Improved texture workflow with <strong>3D brush</strong>, and the beginning of <strong>layered textures</strong>.</p> <p>The latter is not straightforward. Its <a href="https://code.blender.org/2022/02/layered-textures-design/">original design dates back to 2022</a>, and it was held back until it could receive proper attention. While it won’t land in Blender this year, features like a revamped baking workflow are on the horizon.<br></p> <p>On the rendering side, this is the year NPR will shine brighter. <strong><a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/05/npr-project/">Non-Photorealistic Rendering</a></strong> was prototyped and iterated over in 2024-2025, and it is now ready for development.</p><a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#animation"><h2>Animation</h2></a> <p>After a hiatus, <strong>animation layers</strong> are back on the menu. The initial goal is to expose this functionality in the Action Editor, building on existing features. The design is being finalized and work is expected to start during Q2.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#lighting-rendering-and-compositing"><h2>Lighting, Rendering and Compositing</h2></a> <p>The Cycles <strong>texture cache</strong> is in its final stages of development, and will make rendering with many high resolution textures much more efficient. This has been a long requested feature. This will be followed by new principled features and a new OpenPBR node.</p> <p>Also worth mentioning is a new approach for <strong>Scene Layered Compositing</strong>. Imagine a stack of effects similar to the new Compositor modifier in the Video Sequencer Editor. It’s so similar, in fact, that an effect designed for the sequencer will also work for the scene.</p> <p>There are still nodes under the hood, but artists shouldn’t need to deal with them (only if they want to). This is similar to how the new <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/5.0/modeling/modifiers/generate/array.html">Geometry Nodes Array</a> modifier lets artists focus on the big picture of the intended “effect”, while others can dive into the nodes for extra flexibility and power. To each their own – and to everyone, Blender! :)</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#collaboration"><h2>Collaboration</h2></a> <p><strong>Online assets</strong> will arrive in Blender in the first half of the year. Opening the door to natively extending Blender with materials, collections, and more from the internet. The Blender Foundation will host a small library of assets on the extensions platform, and third-party platforms can adopt a similar solution.</p> <p><strong>Project Setup</strong> reached its initial milestone in 2025 with variables and <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/file_paths.html#path-templates">path templates</a>. Next up is a dedicated project editor and shared project settings, like assets, add-ons, and project-specific variables.</p> <p>Finally, overrides will be revisited based <a href="https://code.blender.org/2024/12/the-future-of-overrides/">on the late-2024 design</a>. A new system, nicknamed <strong>dynamic override</strong>, will allow for more flexible runtime-defined tweaks. This may also better accommodate simpler single-character rigs, providing an experience similar to the old (pre-2.80 old!) proxy system.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/overrides.webp"><figcaption>Overrides mockup, the final user interface will change.</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#virtual-reality"><h2>Virtual Reality</h2></a> <p><strong>Location scouting</strong> <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/141089">began</a> last year but was put on hold to focus on wrapping up VR locomotion improvements. The latter will arrive in Blender 5.1 and are already familiar to all <a href="https://builder.blender.org/">brave early-adopters</a>.</p> <p>Location scouting itself was demoed as a prototype at the Blender Conference 2025 and is expected in the first half of this year.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/location_scouting.webp"><figcaption>Location Scouting mockup.</figcaption></figure> <p>Meanwhile, <strong>Vulkan and OpenXR</strong> interoperability <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/152482">will start</a> in parallel, bringing the XR experience up to par with Blender’s other graphics improvements.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#interactivity"><h2>Interactivity</h2></a> <p><strong>Hair dynamics</strong> <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/141609">development</a> continues to make progress, building on the work already highlighted as a target last year. While <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/utilities/closure.html">Closures</a> and <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/interface/controls/nodes/types/utilities/bundles/index.html">Bundles</a> may only be experienced firsthand by technical artists, asset integration features like packing and improvements to the modifier UI enabled the new built-in modifiers in Blender 5.0.</p> <p>There’s still a long way to go before replacing the legacy particle system, but a new hair solver with a <a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/05/declarative-systems-in-geometry-nodes/">user-friendly interface</a> will be a important step in that direction.</p> <p>Speaking of nodes, <strong>Modal Node Tools</strong> will expand the <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/modeling/geometry_nodes/tools.html">Node-Based Tools</a> to support <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/interface/operators.html#modal-operators">modal operations</a>. With an evolving design over the years (<a href="https://code.blender.org/2023/11/geometry-nodes-workshop-november-2023/#realtime-mode">2023</a>, <a href="https://code.blender.org/2024/11/geometry-nodes-workshop-october-2024/#modal-node-tools">2024</a>, <a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/10/geometry-nodes-workshop-september-2025/#modal-node-tools">2025</a>), it’s now ready to move from prototype into development. This will also lay groundwork for an interactive mode for Geometry Nodes simulations.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#platforms"><h2>Platforms</h2></a> <p>The initial port to <strong>Android</strong> devices, including touch support, will start. This is but the first mobile platform that is targetted for release. Others should follow in the future.</p> <p>The initial focus is on tablets, but the same technology will allow Blender to run natively on XR devices. Overall, usability improvements should benefit both on-the-go artists and those already using regular display (or even non-display) tablets.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-lab"><h2>Blender Lab</h2></a> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image.png"></figure> <p>To launch the <a href="https://www.blender.org/news/introducing-blender-lab/">Blender Lab</a> initiative, the development team will explore natural language input in Blender. The experiment aims to develop an <strong>MCP server</strong> for Blender, with communication handled via the existing Python API.</p> <p>Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard that enables LLMs to connect with external data, tools, and systems.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#on-going-projects"><h2>On-going Projects</h2></a> <p>There is always maintenance and ongoing development in the modules. Here are a few areas being worked on:</p> <p><strong>EEVEE</strong> feature parity (with pre-EEVEE-next releases) such as <a href="https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/5.1/eevee/#eevee">better planar reflection</a>. As well as raytracing pipeline improvements and shader compilation optimizations.</p> <p>After recent <strong>Grease Pencil</strong> developments to <a href="https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/5.0/grease_pencil/#blender-50-grease-pencil">improve curve types support and adding more rendering options</a>, the focus now is on updating the workflow for <a href="https://devtalk.blender.org/t/grease-pencil-new-fills-workflow/44106/15">creating fills</a> and adding support for holes.</p> <p>After the initial <strong>Cycles</strong> projects have been completed, the plan is to work on either improved light transport or handling of complex scenes. Improvements to the external render engine API are also being investigated.</p> <p>And more:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/149485">Multiresolution spike fixes</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/132171">Collection import</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/studio/flamenco/">Flamenco</a> and <a href="https://projects.blender.org/studio/flamenco/issues/104437">BAT</a> (Blender Asset Tracer) improvements.</li> <li>Exploring editor tabs and docked editors.</li> <li>Other module work.</li> </ul> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#releases"><h2>Releases</h2></a> <p>The planned releases for 2026 and their initial dates are:</p> <ul> <li>Blender 5.1 (March) </li> <li>Blender 5.2 <a href="https://www.blender.org/download/lts/">LTS</a> (July) </li> <li>Blender 5.3 (November)</li> </ul> <p>On top of this, LTS release updates are expected throughout the year:</p> <ul> <li>Blender 4.2 LTS – until July 2026</li> <li>Blender 4.5 LTS – until July 2027</li> <li>Blender 5.2 LTS – until July 2028</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#make-this-possible"><h2>Make this Possible</h2></a> <p>All of this progress is made possible <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">thanks to the donations</a> and the ongoing involvement and contributions of the community.</p> <h4>Support the Future of Blender</h4> <p>Donate to the <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">Development Fund</a> to support the Blender Foundation’s work on core development, maintenance, and new releases.</p> <p>To follow new developments, keep an eye on the <a href="http://code.blender.org/">Developers Blog</a> and join the discussions on the <a href="https://devtalk.blender.org/">DevTalk Forum</a>.<br></p> <p>On behalf of the team, I hope everyone has a great 2026. Happy Blending!</p><p>Dalai Felinto</p> <p>Head of Product, Blender</p></div> https://www.blender.org/news/a-message-from-the-blender-foundation-board/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-95662 class=" post-95662="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" tag-news-link="" tag-press="" morss_own_score="9.534883720930234" morss_score="12.534883720930234"> <h1>A message from the Blender Foundation board</h1> <ul> <li>January 2nd, 2026</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="6.0" morss_score="19.5"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>As announced in September 2025 during the Blender Conference, the Blender Foundation board is welcoming three new members this year: Dalai Felinto (Head of Product), Fiona Cohen (COO), and Sergey Sharybin (Head of Development). They will join Francesco Siddi (CEO), while Ton Roosendaal transitions to the newly established supervisory board.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bcon25_bf_board.jpg"><figcaption>Fiona, Francesco, Sergey, and Dalai</figcaption></figure> <p>As mentioned in the original announcement, preparations for this transition have been extensive. As the Blender project continues to grow, some evolution is natural, but our core values and commitment to the mission remain unchanged: putting the best 3D technology in the hands of artists as free and open source software. </p> <p>We are excited to embark on this journey together, and we wish everyone in the Blender community a great 2026!</p> <p morss_own_score="4.0" morss_score="10.0">Francesco Siddi</p> <p>Fiona Cohen</p><p>Dalai Felinto</p><p>Sergey Sharybin</p></div> </article> https://www.blender.org/press/blender-5-1-release/?utm_medium=news<div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="5.04" morss_score="32.06029335731145"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>Blender Foundation and the online community proudly present <strong>Blender 5.1</strong>!</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/splash.webp"><figcaption>Blender 5.1 splash artwork from <strong><a href="https://studio.blender.org/projects/singularity/">Singularity</a></strong>, the upcoming open movie by Blender Studio.</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-5-1-release/?utm_medium=news#whats-new"><h2>What’s New</h2></a> <p>Blender 5.1 focuses on refinement, bug fixes, and a few key features, improving the entire pipeline.</p> <p>Grease Pencil adds a new Fill workflow with support for holes, while curves and text benefit from a smarter rendering algorithm. Rendering, animation, and the viewport see major performance boosts. Geometry Nodes expand further, especially for volumes and string handling, and shading gains the powerful Raycast node, ideal for NPR workflows.</p> <p>Compositing, Video Sequencer, modeling, and snapping get polish, and hundreds of bug fixes and optimizations make Blender faster, stable, and more reliable. Many libraries have been updated to align with the <a href="https://vfxplatform.com/">VFX Platform 2026</a>, including Python 3.13.</p> <p>Explore the <a href="https://www.blender.org/download/releases/5-1/">release notes</a> to see everything new!</p> <p>Watch the video summary on <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=8r3xoRwwN6I">Blender’s YouTube channel</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-5-1-release/?utm_medium=news#thank-you"><h2>Thank you!</h2></a> <p>Releases are made possible thanks to the contributions of the Blender community, and the support of over 7800 individuals and 44 organizations contributing to the <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">Blender Development Fund</a>.</p> <p>Happy Blending! </p> <p>The Blender Team</p> <p>March 17th, 2026</p> <h4>Support the Future of Blender</h4> <p>Donate to the <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">Development Fund</a> to support the Blender Foundation’s work on core development, maintenance, and new releases.</p> </div>