Blender Foundation recently released Blender 5.1. Modeling and mesh editing tools include faster operations and expanded controls. Font filling for text objects has been revised, with reported speed increases of up to five times in some cases. Snapping now supports face centers, and edge loop selection includes additional controls for boundaries such as seams, sharp edges, and material limits. Undo operations in edit mode are between 20 and 30 percent faster, and boolean operations show performance gains, with the exact solver reaching up to 35 percent improvements on complex meshes.
Curve and sculpt workflows receive updates aimed at accuracy and usability. Curve fitting produces more precise results for freehand drawing, and new selection tools have been added to curve sculpt mode. Sculpting introduces masking shortcuts, a blur brush for colors, and improved handling of face strips. Color sampling now reads attribute data directly and supports averaging through drag selection. Texture paint actions such as selection changes can now be undone.
Animation tools show both interface and performance changes. The graph editor includes a non-destructive smoothing modifier, and a new operator allows applying shape key deformations directly to the base mesh. Playback performance for actions and shape keys shows increases ranging from small gains to several times faster depending on the scene. The 2D animation system now supports shapes with holes, allowing cleaner SVG and PDF imports without workarounds.
Geometry Nodes expands with new tools for rigging and simulation workflows. A bone info node provides access to armature data, and new volume grid nodes support creating and modifying volumetric data. Updates to UV nodes include minimum stretch unwrapping and custom packing regions. Additional nodes support matrix decomposition and bundle data extraction, and node tools can now be assigned operators for scripting and shortcuts.
Rendering updates affect both Eevee and Cycles. Eevee introduces a raycasting shader for effects such as shadows and outlines, along with faster material compilation and reduced memory usage through texture pooling. Reflection planes support glossy materials again, and lighting controls have been expanded. Cycles reports GPU performance increases of 5 to 10 percent in many scenes, with hardware ray tracing enabled by default on supported AMD devices.
The compositor and video sequence editor include new tools and performance improvements. Several compositor nodes have been added or updated, including mask processing and distortion tools, with some operations running between 20 and 100 percent faster. The video editor adds ripple cutting, reverse playback controls, and audio modifiers for pitch and echo adjustments.
Interface updates address usability and responsiveness. The 3D viewport grid renders faster and avoids visual conflicts with overlays. Node editing supports copying between Blender instances, and workspace and preferences panels include improved search functions. Asset management adds fuzzy search and control over library visibility.
File format and pipeline support expands with AVIF image compatibility, updates to OpenEXR encoding, and improved USD and FBX interoperability. Video encoding settings allow higher audio bitrates and adjustable quality levels.
Find out more on Blender’s website.
comparing to 3ds max 2027 , which one is better for 3d visuals work only and modeling non characters/creatures ? but not for rigging and animation stuff ?
I haven’t used 3DS for over twenty years, from what I’ve seen lately Blender has great modeling tools and it’s rendering capabilities are good and I think Evee would be a great help in your field of work. You can even test with V-Ray now since it is free, although restricted.