Formation | May 2002 |
---|---|
Type | Stichting |
Purpose | Development of Blender |
Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Region served | Worldwide |
Chairman | Ton Roosendaal |
Subsidiaries | Blender Institute Blender Studio |
Employees | 31 (2022) |
Website | blender |
The Blender Foundation is a Dutch nonprofit organization (Stichting) responsible for the development of Blender, an open-source 3D content-creation program. [1]
The foundation has distributed the animated films Elephants Dream (2006), Big Buck Bunny (2008), Sintel (2010), Tears of Steel (2012), [2] [3] Caminandes: Llama Drama (2013), Caminandes: Gran Dillama (2013), Cosmos Laundromat (2015), Glass Half (2015), Caminandes: Llamigos (2016), Agent 327: Operation Barbershop (2017), Hero (2018), Spring (2019), Coffee Run (2020), Sprite Fright (2021), Charge (2022), and Wing it! (2023).
The foundation is chaired by Ton Roosendaal, the original author of the Blender software. One of the foundation's stated goals is "to give the worldwide Internet community access to 3D technology in general, with Blender as a core". [4]
The foundation provides various resources to support the community formed around using and developing Blender. In particular, it organizes an annual Blender Conference in Amsterdam [5] to discuss plans for the future of Blender, as well as staffing a booth to represent Blender at SIGGRAPH. [6] [7] Donations are also used to maintain the Blender website and hire developers to improve the Blender software. [4]
The foundation is funded entirely by donations from entrepreneurs, companies, and users. [8] Many video game publishers such as Epic Games, Ubisoft, Activision, Valve, and NetEase have made contributions. Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Meta, Microsoft, Adobe, and Google have also funded the project. [9]
In 2019, Epic Games awarded the Blender Foundation a US$ 1,200,000 grant as part of their Epic MegaGrants initiative. [10] Founder and CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney stated, "Open tools, libraries and platforms are critical to the future of the digital content ecosystem" and that "Blender is an enduring resource within the artistic community, and we aim to ensure its advancement to the benefit of all creators." [11]
The Blender Foundation maintains several community-driven "Open Projects" through its affiliated Blender Institute program, including several freely licensed films and a free, open-source video game Yo Frankie! (2008). [12] According to the Foundation, these projects are intended "to validate and improve the 3D open source content creation pipeline with Blender". Each project was created using the Blender software and released under permissive license terms, along with the source material. In addition to demonstrating the capabilities of the software, the Open Projects provided detailed production material (sketches, tutorials, textures and models, etc.) to serve as examples for the Blender user community, as well as finished products that could be widely used for other purposes. [13]
On 18 March 2006, the Blender Foundation released its first film, Elephants Dream . [14] In response to the success of Elephants Dream, the Blender Foundation established the Blender Institute to support future software and content development projects. The Blender Institute operates out of a studio within the Entrepotdok building in Amsterdam, where the Blender Foundation is also located, and is headed by Ton Roosendaal.
On 10 April 2008, the Blender Institute released its second film, Big Buck Bunny . [15] [16] [17] Based on the movie, the Blender Institute released its first Open Game project Yo Frankie! , in November 2008.
On 30 September 2010 the Blender Institute released its third project, Sintel .
In October 2011, Concept/Script Development began for Blender's fourth open film project titled Tears of Steel . Contrary to previous Blender Institute projects, which were 100% computer graphics, the focus of Tears of Steel was the combination of live action footage with computer generated characters and environments. The live action footage was shot with a high-end Sony F65 camera. The project was released on 26 September 2012. [18]
The Gooseberry Open Movie Project is the fifth Open Movie Project initiated by the Blender Foundation. Ton Roosendal announced the project in January 2010. [19] [20] The most ambitious project yet, one of the primary goals is for the Gooseberry Open Movie Project to be the first full-length film produced by the Blender Institute. Work on the film, called Cosmos Laundromat , began in 2014 [21] (although a release date was not yet announced). A ten-minute pilot, entitled Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle was released on YouTube and Netflix on 10 August 2015 [22] and premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival on 24 September 2015. [23] The pilot won the Jury's Prize at Animago 2015, [24] an international conference for 3D animation.
In 2013, the second episode of a short animated series Caminandes was released under the Blender Foundation umbrella. [25] In 2016, a third short was released.
Hero, the sixth Open Movie Project, was announced in September 2017 and released on 16th April 2018. [26] [27] The technical target for Hero was to use and improve the Grease Pencil tools.
Sprite Fright, a short animated comedy-horror was announced on 9 November 2020 [28] and released on 29 October 2021. [29]
Charge was released the 15 December 2022. [30]
Pet Projects was announced on 19 January 2023. [31] The official release title is "WING IT!" and was released the 12 September 2023. [32]
Project Gold was announced on 22 May 2023. [33]
No. | Year | Release date | Title [34] | Film video | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1994 | Date Unknown | Morkramia | Not able to upload due to copyright restrictions. | Teaser form upcoming film called Morkramia. |
2 | 2006 | March 24, 2006 | Elephants Dream | ||
3 | 2008 | May 20, 2008 | Big Buck Bunny | ||
4 | 2010 | September 30, 2010 | Sintel | ||
5 | 2012 | September 26, 2012 | Tears of Steel | Live-Action | |
6 | 2013 | November 22, 2013 | Caminandes 2: Gran Dillama | Part of Caminandes series | |
7 | 2015 | August 10, 2015 | Cosmos Laundromat | ||
8 | October 30, 2015 | Glass Half | |||
9 | 2016 | January 30, 2016 | Caminandes 3: Llamigos | Part of Caminandes series | |
10 | 2017 | May 15, 2017 | Agent 327: Operation Barbershop | Teaser for upcoming Agent 327 feature film | |
11 | 2018 | Jan 31, 2018 | The Daily Dweebs | ||
12 | April 16, 2018 | Hero | |||
13 | 2019 | April 4, 2019 | Spring | ||
14 | 2020 | May 29, 2020 | Coffee Run | ||
15 | 2021 | October 29, 2021 | Sprite Fright | ||
16 | 2022 | December 15, 2022 | Charge | ||
17 | 2023 | September 12, 2023 | Wing It! |
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images. Modern computer animation usually uses 3D computer graphics. The animation's target is sometimes the computer itself, while other times it is film.
Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool set used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D-printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and, formerly, video games. Blender's features include 3D modelling, UV mapping, texturing, digital drawing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animation, match moving, rendering, motion graphics, video editing, and compositing.
The Blender Game Engine was a free and open-source 3D production suite used for making real-time interactive content. It was previously embedded within Blender, but support for it was dropped in 2019, with the release of Blender 2.8. The game engine was written from scratch in C++ as a mostly independent component, and includes support for features such as Python scripting and OpenAL 3D sound.
Elephants Dream is a 2006 Dutch animated science fiction fantasy experimental short film produced by Blender Foundation using, almost exclusively, free and open-source software. The film is English-language and includes subtitles in over 30 languages.
Big Buck Bunny is a 2008 animated comedy short film featuring animals of the forest, made by the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation. Like the foundation's previous film, Elephants Dream, the film was made using Blender, a free and open-source software application for 3D computer modeling and animation developed by the same foundation. Unlike that earlier project, the tone and visuals departed from a cryptic story and dark visuals to one of comedy, cartoons, and light-heartedness.
Ton Roosendaal is a Dutch software developer and film producer. He is the original creator of the open-source 3D creation suite Blender and Traces. He is also known as the founder and chairman of the Blender Foundation, and for pioneering large scale open-content projects. In 2007, he established the Blender Institute in Amsterdam, where he works on coordinating Blender development, publishing manuals and DVD training, and organizing 3D animation and game projects.
Yo Frankie! is an open source video game made by the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation, originally scheduled for release in August 2008. It is based on the universe and characters of the free film produced earlier in 2008 by the Blender Institute, Big Buck Bunny. Like the Blender Institute's previous open film projects, the game is made using free software. Yo Frankie! runs on any platform that runs Blender and Crystal Space, including Linux, macOS and Microsoft Windows.
3D computer graphics software refers to programs used to create 3D computer-generated imagery.
FBX (Filmbox) is a proprietary file format developed by Kaydara and owned by Autodesk since 2006. It is used to provide interoperability between digital content creation applications. FBX is also part of Autodesk Gameware, a series of video game middleware.
Duke Nukem is a media franchise named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various consoles by third-party developers. The first two games in the main series were 2D platformers, while the later games have been a mix of first-person and third-person shooters.
Sintel, code-named Project Durian during production, is a 2010 animated fantasy short film. It was the third Blender "open movie". It was produced by Ton Roosendaal, chairman of the Blender Foundation, written by Esther Wouda, directed by Colin Levy, at the time an artist at Pixar and art direction by David Revoy, who is known for Pepper&Carrot an open source webcomic series. It was made at the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation. The plot follows the character, Sintel, who is tracking down her pet Scales, a dragon. Just like the other Blender "open movies," the film was made using Blender, a free and open source software application for animation, created and supported by the Blender Foundation.
Open Game Art is a media repository intended for use with free and open source software video game projects, offering open content assets.
MyPaint is a free and open-source raster graphics editor for digital painting. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Unix-like operating systems.
MikuMikuDance is a freeware animation program that lets users animate and create 3D animated films, originally produced for the Vocaloid character Hatsune Miku. The MikuMikuDance program itself was programmed by Yu Higuchi (HiguchiM) and has gone through significant upgrades since its creation. Its production was made as part of the VOCALOID Promotion Video Project (VPVP).
Tears of Steel is a short science fiction film by producer Ton Roosendaal and director/writer Ian Hubert. The film is both live-action and CGI; it was made using new enhancements to the visual effects capabilities of Blender, a free and open-source 3D computer graphics app. Set in a dystopian future, the short film features a group of warriors and scientists who gather at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam in a desperate attempt to save the world from destructive robots.
Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle, developed under the code name Project Gooseberry, is an animated absurdist sci-fi fantasy short film directed by Mathieu Auvray, written by Esther Wouda, and produced by Ton Roosendaal. It is the Blender Institute's 5th "open movie" project, and was made utilizing the Blender software. The film focuses around a depressed and suicidal sheep named Franck who's offered "all the lives he ever wanted" by a mysterious salesman named Victor. On August 10, 2015, it was released to YouTube. The film was originally intended to kickstart a feature-length film. A short film sequel was written and designed but never brought to production. In 2020, Roosendaal announced that the one film would be the total of the project.
Caminandes is an independently produced series of animated short films created by Pablo Vazquez, produced and released by the Blender Foundation.
Spring is a 2019 animated fantasy short film written and directed by Andreas Goralczyk and produced by Ton Roosendaal and Francesco Siddi. It is the Blender Institute's 12th "open movie", and was made utilizing the open-source software, Blender. The film is about a young shepherd and her dog confronting ancient spirits in order to bring about the change of seasons. The film was funded by the Blender Foundation, with donations from the Blender community. The film and any material made in the studio was released under a Creative Commons License.
David Revoy is a French artist best known as the creator of the free webcomic series Pepper&Carrot which is translated into 27 languages to a degree of 90 percent or more. It is published as books via Glénat.