Blender (software) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Blender

Blender version 3.5.0 (2023)
Original author(s)	Ton Roosendaal
Developer(s)	Blender Foundation, community
Initial release	January 2, 1994; 31 years ago (1994-01-02)
Stable release	4.1.1  / Error: first parameter is missing. ()
Preview release	4.2.0 / February 7, 2024; 15 months ago (2024-02-07)
Written in	C, C++, and Python
Operating system	Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD, Haiku
Size	193–305 MiB (varies by operating system)
Available in	36 languages
List of languages Abkhaz, Arabic, Basque, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English (official), Esperanto, French, German, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kyrgyz, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Type	3D computer graphics software
License	GPL-2.0 or later

Blender 3.6.0 LTS splash screen

Blender is a powerful and free computer program for creating 3D graphics. It works on many computer systems like Windows, MacOS, and Linux. People use Blender to make all sorts of cool things. This includes animated films, visual effects for movies, and even art. You can also design models for 3D printers and create virtual reality experiences.

Blender has many features. You can use it for 3D modeling (making 3D shapes), adding textures (like skin or fabric), and digital drawing. It also helps with animation, simulating liquids and smoke, and sculpting digital objects. You can even do video editing and compositing (combining different images) right in Blender!

History

A Cube in Blender (version 3.6.2)

Blender started as a tool for a Dutch animation studio called NeoGeo. It was first launched on January 2, 1994. The main creator was Ton Roosendaal, who was a co-owner of the company. The name Blender came from a song by the band Yello.

In 1998, Blender became available for free online. Later, Ton Roosendaal started a new company, Not a Number Technologies (NaN), to keep developing Blender. However, this company went out of business in 2002, and Blender's development stopped for a short time.

To save Blender, Roosendaal started the non-profit Blender Foundation in May 2002. Their goal was to make Blender an open-source project. This meant anyone could use and help improve it. In July 2002, they started a campaign to raise money. They needed €100,000 to make Blender's code open to everyone. By September 7, 2002, they had enough money!

Today, Blender is completely free and open-source. Many people from around the world help develop it. The Blender Institute also employs full-time staff and freelancers to work on the program.

In 2019, Blender removed its built-in game engine. The developers suggested using other powerful open-source game engines like Godot instead.

Suzanne

In 2002, just before the company NaN closed, Blender released version 2.25. As a fun "Easter egg", artists added a 3D model of a chimpanzee head. They called it Suzanne the monkey. It was named after an orangutan in a movie.

Suzanne is like a special test model for Blender users. It's similar to other famous test models in 3D graphics. Suzanne is a simple model with only 500 faces. It's perfect for quickly testing out new materials, animations, or lighting in a scene. You can add it to your project just as easily as a basic cube!

There's even an award called the Suzanne Award given out at the biggest Blender contest. This shows how important this little monkey model is to the Blender community.

Release history

The table below shows some important updates in Blender's history. Green means it's the current version, yellow means it's still supported, and red means it's an older version that isn't officially supported anymore.

Blender works on 64-bit versions of Windows (8.1 and newer), macOS (10.13 and newer), and Linux.

Features

Modeling

Forensic facial reconstruction of a mummy by Cícero Moraes

Blender lets you create many types of 3D shapes. These include basic shapes like cubes and spheres, and more complex ones like polygon meshes and Bézier curves. You can also use an advanced system for making shapes called B-mesh. It has tools for making parts of your model stick out (extrusion) or smoothing edges (bevelling).

Modifiers

Modifiers are like special effects you can add to your models. They change how your model looks without permanently changing its original shape. You can apply these changes when you render your final image.

Sculpting

Blender has tools for digital sculpting. This means you can shape your 3D models like you're working with digital clay. You can add details, smooth surfaces, and even simplify models for things like video games.

Geometry nodes

Geometry Nodes Editor in Blender 3.2

Blender has a cool system called Geometry Nodes. It lets you create and change shapes using a visual "node graph". This means you connect different actions together to build complex designs. It's great for scattering objects or making patterns. You can even use it to create basic shapes from scratch.

Simulation

Blender can make things look real by simulating natural effects. It can simulate smoke, rain, dust, cloth, liquids, hair, and how solid objects interact.

Fluid simulation

Physics fluid simulation

The fluid simulator can make liquids behave realistically, like water pouring into a cup. It uses special methods to create these fluid effects. You can adjust how particles move and how detailed the simulation is.

Blender also has tools for soft-body dynamics (like jello), smoke, and ocean waves. It has a particle system for things like hair or explosions.

In Blender 2.82, a new fluid system called Mantaflow was added. It made fluid simulations even better and more realistic.

Cloth Simulation

Cloth simulation makes digital fabric look real. It works by making the points on a 3D mesh act like cloth. This creates realistic drapes and folds, similar to how soft bodies move.

Animation

Blender is great for making animations. You can create character animations using armatures (like digital skeletons). You can also use tools for non-linear animation, which lets you easily edit and rearrange your animation clips.

Blender's Grease Pencil tools are special. They let you draw 2D animations directly within the 3D environment. This means you can combine traditional drawing with 3D scenes.

Rendering

An architectural render showing different rendering styles in Blender, including a photorealistic style using Cycles

Blender has three main ways to create final images from your 3D scenes: EEVEE, Workbench, and Cycles.

Cycles is a render engine that creates very realistic images. It works by tracing light paths, just like light behaves in the real world. You can use your computer's main processor (CPU) or graphics card (GPU) to render with Cycles.

EEVEE is a real-time renderer. This means it creates images very quickly, almost instantly. It's great for seeing your work as you build it and for making quick animations.

Workbench is a simple real-time render engine. It's designed for fast viewing while you are modeling or animating. It's not for making final, high-quality images.

Cycles

Cycles is a powerful render engine that makes images look very realistic. It's been part of Blender since 2011. Cycles can use your computer's CPU or GPU to speed up rendering.

GPU rendering

Using your computer's graphics card (GPU) can make rendering much faster. Cycles supports different GPU technologies like CUDA and OptiX for Nvidia cards, and OpenCL/HIP for AMD cards. This helps you get your final images quicker.

You can even use multiple GPUs to render even faster. This is like having a "render farm" inside your computer.

EEVEE

EEVEE is a real-time renderer that came with Blender 2.8. It's named after the Pokémon Eevee! EEVEE is super fast and helps you see your 3D scene almost instantly. It's perfect for quickly checking your work or making animations that don't need super-realistic lighting.

Workbench

Workbench is the default way Blender shows your 3D scene. It's designed to be fast and clear for when you're building models or setting up animations. It helps you see your objects and their colors easily.

External renderers

Blender can also work with other render programs. Some are free and open-source, like YafaRay and LuxCoreRender. Others are paid, like Pixar RenderMan and V-Ray.

Texturing and shading

Blender lets you add textures and colors to your models in many ways. You can paint directly on your 3D objects. You can also use special "nodes" to create complex materials, like shiny metal or rough stone.

Post-production

The Video Sequence Editor (VSE)

Blender has a built-in tool to combine different images and effects after rendering. This is called a compositor. It also has a video editor called the Video Sequence Editor (VSE). You can use it to cut videos, add effects like blurs, and change colors.

Plugins/addons and scripts

Blender lets people create their own tools and features using a programming language called Python. These are called plugins or add-ons. They can help you do special tasks, import files from other programs, or automate repetitive actions.

File format

Blender saves all your work in a single ".blend" file. This file can hold everything for your project: all your 3D models, textures, animations, and settings. You can even link parts of other ".blend" files into your current project. This is handy for reusing models or materials.

Most ".blend" files work across different versions of Blender and on different computers. However, very old or very new versions might have small differences.

Import and export

Blender can open and save many different types of 3D files. This means you can easily share your work with people who use other 3D programs. Some common formats it supports include FBX, STL (for 3D printing), and OBJ.

Deprecated features

Blender Game Engine

Blender used to have a built-in game engine. This allowed users to create and test video games directly in Blender. However, it was removed in 2018. The Blender team suggested that users switch to other game engines like Godot, which are more powerful and updated regularly.

User interface

Blender's user interface underwent a significant update with Blender 2.57, and again with the release of Blender 2.80.

Blender's interface is very flexible. You can customize it to fit how you like to work.

Commands

Many actions in Blender can be done using keyboard shortcuts. You can also use the graphical menus. Numeric buttons can be dragged to change values quickly. You can even type math equations into number fields!

Modes

Blender has different "modes" for working with objects. The two main ones are Object Mode and Edit Mode. In Object Mode, you move, scale, or rotate entire objects. In Edit Mode, you change the actual parts of an object, like its points or faces. There are also other modes for painting, sculpting, and more.

Workspaces

Blender's screen can be divided into many sections. Each section can show a different part of your project, like the 3D view, an image editor, or an animation timeline. You can save different layouts of these sections, called "workspaces". This lets you quickly switch between setups for different tasks, like video editing or UV mapping.

Development

Since Blender became open-source, it has been constantly improved. Many new features have been added, and old parts of the code have been made better.

These improvements include a new animation system, better particle effects (for hair and fur), fluid simulations, and advanced UV unwrapping. Blender also added node-based editing for materials and compositing.

The Blender Foundation often takes part in Google's Summer of Code program. This helps bring in new developers to work on Blender.

Blender 2.8

Blender 2.8 was a huge update. Planning for it started in 2015. The goal was to make the user interface easier to use and add better real-time 3D graphics. A special project called Code Quest helped speed up its development. Blender 2.80 was finally released on July 30, 2019.

Cycles X

In 2021, the Blender Foundation announced Cycles X. This was a big improvement to the Cycles render engine. It made rendering faster and better, especially for complex scenes. Cycles X was later added to the main Blender program.

Support

Blender has lots of help available online. Its website has detailed documentation. There are also many online communities, like the Blender Stack Exchange, where you can ask questions and get help from other users.

Modified versions

Because Blender is open-source, some companies have taken its code and made their own versions. They might change how it looks slightly and then sell it. Examples include IllusionMage and Fluid Designer.

Use in industry

Blender started as a tool for a professional animation company. It has since been used in many big projects:

• For the movie Spider-Man 2, Blender was used to create early animations and visuals for the storyboard team.
• The French film Friday or Another Day used Blender for all its special effects. It even won an award!
• The animated film The Secret of Kells, which was partly made with Blender, was nominated for an Oscar.
• Blender is used by NASA to create many 3D models that are available to the public.
• The TV series Red Dwarf and The Man in the High Castle used Blender for their visual effects.
• NASA also used Blender to create an interactive web app called Experience Curiosity. This app lets you control the Curiosity rover on Mars!
• The movie Hardcore Henry used Blender for both its computer graphics and compositing.
• Director David F. Sandberg used Blender for shots in his horror films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation.
• The animated film Next Gen was made entirely in Blender by Tangent Animation.
• The 2019 film I Lost My Body used Blender's Grease Pencil tool for its unique animation style.
• Ubisoft Animation Studio and Khara (known for Evangelion) are now using Blender for their projects.
• The 2020 film Wolfwalkers and the 2021 Netflix show Maya and the Three also used Blender.
• VFX company Makuta VFX used Blender for the visual effects in the Indian blockbuster RRR.

Open projects

Big Buck Bunny promotional poster

Sintel promotional poster

Tears of Steel promotional poster

Since 2005, the Blender Foundation has created special "open projects". These projects are usually short animated films or games. They help improve Blender and show what it can do. The Blender Institute was created to manage these projects. Each project used to have a fruit-themed codename!

Elephants Dream (Project Orange)

In 2005, Blender artists and developers worked on a short film called Elephants Dream. This was the first "open movie" project. It showed how powerful Blender was for making films.

Big Buck Bunny (Project Peach)

In 2007, a new team started working on Big Buck Bunny. This film was meant to be more funny and lighthearted than Elephants Dream. It premiered in April 2008.

Yo Frankie! (Open Game Project: Apricot)

"Apricot" was a project to create a game based on the characters from Big Buck Bunny. The game was called Yo Frankie!. It was released in December 2008. All the game's content was made available for free use.

Sintel (Project Durian)

Project Durian created a fantasy action film called Sintel. It was about a teenage girl and a young dragon. The film premiered in September 2010. Many new features in Blender came directly from working on Sintel.

Tears of Steel (Project Mango)

The Dutch actor Derek de Lint in a composited live-action scene from Tears of Steel that used VFX

In 2011, the fourth open movie project, "Mango", was announced. The film was called Tears of Steel. It was the first Blender open movie to combine live-action footage with computer graphics. It was released in September 2012.

Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle (Project Gooseberry)

"Gooseberry" was a project to create a full-length animated film. The first ten-minute part, Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle, was released in August 2015. It even won an award!

Glass Half

In 2015, Glass Half was released. This short film showed off Blender's real-time rendering for cartoon animation. It was a comedy about art.

Caminandes

Caminandes is a series of animated short films about a llama named Koro. These films show Koro trying to overcome different challenges in Patagonia.

• Caminandes 1: Llama Drama (2013)
• Caminandes 2: Gran Dillama (2013)
• Caminandes 3: Llamigos (2016)

Agent 327: Operation Barbershop

This was a short teaser film released in 2017. It was made to show what a full-length animated movie based on the Dutch comic series Agent 327 could look like. It also showed off the latest technology in Blender's Cycles render engine.

Hero

Hero was the first open movie project to use Blender's Grease Pencil tool. This tool lets you create 2D animations within Blender's 3D environment. It was released in 2018.

Spring

Spring is a beautiful animated short film released in 2019. It tells the story of a shepherd girl and her dog. Its main purpose was to test Blender 2.8 before its official release.

Coffee Run

Coffee Run was an open movie released in 2020. It was the first open movie to be rendered using the EEVEE render engine.

Settlers

Settlers is a collection of animated scenes and assets created in 2020. It focused on unique, non-photorealistic art styles. All the assets from this project are available for free.

Sprite Fright

Sprite Fright is the 13th open movie. It's a horror-comedy inspired by 1980s films. It's about teenagers being attacked by Sprites after littering in a forest. It was released in October 2021.

Charge

Charge is a short film that aims for very realistic visuals. It takes place in Iceland and helps improve Blender's tools for creating photo-realistic textures.

Online services

Blender Foundation

Blender Studio

The Blender Studio is a special online platform. If you subscribe, you can get extra Blender tools, courses, and see how the Blender Studio's open movies are made. It used to be called Blender Cloud.

The Blender Development Fund

The Blender Development Fund is a way for people and companies to support Blender's development. Big companies like Epic Games, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple contribute to it. Individual users can also donate money.

Blender ID

The Blender ID is a single login you can use for many Blender services. This includes Blender Studio, the Blender Store, and the Development Fund.

Blender Open Data

Example of Blender Benchmark in use

The Blender Open Data platform collects and shows data from Blender's benchmark software. This helps people compare how different computers perform with Blender.

Blender Store

The Blender Store is where you can buy official Blender merchandise, like shirts and hats.

Images for kids

• 

  The logo designed by Ton Roosendaal

• 

  Blender version 3.5.0 (2023)

• Suzanne.svg

  The Suzanne monkey head model

See also

In Spanish: Blender para niños

• CAD library
• MB-Lab, a Blender add-on for the parametric 3D modeling of photorealistic humanoid characters
• MakeHuman
• List of free and open-source software packages
• List of video editing software
• List of 3D printing software