The Blender Foundation announced the release of the latest version of its open source 3D software. Version 2.73 brings some interesting new features and updates related to Cycles rendering (volume rendering updates), user interface (pie menus), animation (significant improvements to the grease pencil), modeling and selection tools, etc. More on Blender.org.

Archviz artist Bertrand Benoit has written a great tutorial on the quest for photorealism in CG, sharing a number of tips on how to achieve a photographic look. More on BBB3viz.

The Blender Foundation announced the list of projects that are expected to be incorporated into Blender in 2015, including OpenSubdiv, Alembic, new meshing tools, improved hair dynamics, enhanced viewport, Ptex, workflow/UI changes, asset manager, etc. Most of them are being worked on with support from the Blender Foundation Development Fund or the Blender Institute. More on Blender.org.

A script by Alex Telford for making Maya scripts compatible with Blender Python, by offering functions from the Maya.cmds module converted to work in Blender. More on Blender Artists.

Solid Iris has announced the release of Thea Render 1.4, their combination CPU and GPU renderer for 3DS Max, Blender, Cinema 4D and Sketchup.

To coincide with the release, new licenses have been discounted by 30-40% until January 12.

(more...)

We have the pleasure to present readers with a new in-depth review. Talented Swedish artist Tobbe Olsson puts E-on Software's plant creation application to the test: "... a much needed tool that I wish I would have had on many projects in the past but also one that could use a few improvements in the future." Read the review.

Allegorithmic has posted 10 videos with an in-depth look at how to use Substance Painter. Watch the videos on YouTube.

VFX wizard and director Allan McKay has started a podcast sharing lots of useful information for CG artists, including tips on how to build your career, advice from experienced artists who have been working in the industry for many years, etc. The first two episodes are up: The Art of Freelancing and an interview with character pipeline supervisor Carlos Anguiano on his work at ILM, Digital Domain, Disney, etc. More on Allan McKay's website.

A tutorial by IDV showing how SpeedTree Modeler can be used to create a tree to match concept art. Watch it on YouTube.

The Blender Conference took place recently in Amsterdam, offering many presentations such as "Blender in a triple A Game Studio", "V-Ray For Blender" and "Track Match Blend. An update to VFX with Blender." Video recordings of the presentations are now available on the Blender Foundation's YouTube channel.