3D Modeling, Animation, Rendering, and Realtime 3D/game creation.

Blender is an open source software for 3D modeling, rendering, animation, post-production, interactive creation and playback. Available for Windows, Linux, Irix, Sun Solaris, FreeBSD or Mac OS X.

Modeling

• A range of 3D object types including polygon meshes, NURBS surfaces, bezier and B-spline curves, metaballs, vector fonts (TrueType, PostScript, OpenType)
• 'Smooth proxy' style catmull-clark subdivision surfaces
• Boolean mesh functions
• Editing functions such as extrude, bevel, cut, spin, screw, warp, subdivide, noise, smooth Soft selection editing tools for organic modeling
• Python scripting access for custom tools

Animation

• Armature (skeleton) deformation with forward/inverse kinematics, auto skinning and interactive 3D paint for vertex weighting
• Non-linear animation mixer with automated walkcycles along paths
• Constraint system
• Vertex key framing for morphing, with controlling sliders
• Character animation pose editor
• Animatable lattice deformation
• 'Ipo' system integrates both motion curve and traditional key-frame editing
• Audio playback, mixing and editing support for sound synchronisation
• Python scripting access for custom and procedural animation effects

Realtime 3D/game creation

• Graphical editor for defining interactive behavior without programming
• Collision detection and dynamics simulation
• Python scripting API for sophisticated control and AI, fully defined advanced game logic
• Supports all OpenGL™ lighting modes, including transparencies, Animated and reflection-mapped textures
• Playback of games and interactive 3D content without compiling or preprocessing
• Audio, using the fmod toolkit
• Multi-layering of Scenes for overlay interfaces

Rendering

• Very fast inbuilt raytracer
• Integral support for the famous Yafray render engine
• Oversampling, motion blur, post-production effects, fields, non-square pixels
• Environment maps, halos, lens flares, fog
• Various surface shaders such as Lambert, Phong, Oren-nayar, Blinn, Toon
• Edge rendering for toon shading
• Procedural Textures
• Ambient Occlusion
• Radiosity solver
• Export scripts available for external renderers such as Renderman (RIB), Povray, Virtualight
• UV texture editor with various mesh unwrap modes

Interface

• Flexible user configurable window layout
• Powerful object-oriented data system
• Anti-aliased fonts with international translation support
• Windows for animation curves/keys, schematic scene diagram, non-linear video sequence editing, character animation action editor, non-linear animation mixer, image/UV editing, file/image selection and file management
• Inbuilt text editor for annotations and editing Python scripts
• Consistent interface across multiple platforms

Files

• Save all scene data in a single .blend file
• .blend format supports compression, digital signatures, encryption, forwards/backwards compatibility and can be used as a library to link to from other .blend files
• Read / Write TGA, JPG, PNG, Iris, SGI Movie, IFF, AVI and Quicktime GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV (Windows and Mac OS X)
• Native import and export for DXF, Inventor and VRML files, with python scripts available for many other 3D formats
• Create stand-alone executables containing interactive 3D content or play back with the 3d web browser plugin

What's New:

This is mostly a bug fix release with 140 fixes since 2.58a. Additions include improved keymap editing, 3D mouse support, some new addons and Node UI improvements.

Prominent features

3D Mouse support "NDOF"

• Blender is now built with support for 3D Connexion devices, for more natural control during view navigation and fly mode - r38908

Custom Keymaps

• User edited keymaps now no longer override the builtin keymaps entirely, but rather save only the difference and reapply those changes. This means they can stay better in sync when the builtin keymaps change.
• Keymaps in blender are now separated so Addons can properly define their own keymaps without them conflicting with user keymaps
• See commit log for details - r39084

Ivy Generator (Addon)

• This tools adds the ability to "grow" curves over an existing mesh with the option of adding leaves and adjusting many parameters for the final result - r2200
• See: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Curve/Ivy_Gen

Sapling (Addon)

• This tree generator creates completely parametrically generated trees from curves - r2119
• See: http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Curve/Sapling_Tree

Grease Scatter (Addon)

Grease scatter was used for sintel to place objects around the ally, using grease pencil lines as a guide as to where to scatter objects - r2125

Node editor enhancements

• Several enhancements are done related to the node editor/compositor.
• Material passes: Materials have pass-index. This pass-index can be used in the compositor to create mattes. It works the same as object passes.
• Node insert: Nodes that have no connections can be inserted on a noodle. Just move the node over the noodle and release when the noodle turns orange.
• Delete with reconnect: It is possible to delete a node that is connected in the tree, without loosing the connections. The node is deleted, but the links are reconnected as if the node were muted. Select a node and press CTRL-X.
• Noodle curves: Some users like straight noodles, other like curved, in the user preferences the level of the curvation can be changed.
• Node properties: The UI of the side panel and on the node can now be different. See the Color balance node in the side panel.

Additions

• Material passes (like object passes), (See commit log for details) - r38090
• New option for multires modifier: Subdivide UVs - r38783
• Improved bleed option when baking for seamless edges on UV bounds - r38654
• Node: Add delete with reconnect feature - r38344
• Node: Curvature is now a setting - r39015
• Node: On dragging a non-connected node on a noodle, it will insert it - r38609
• UV Straighten tool - r38598
• Object Align: high quality option for perfect alighment http://www.pasteall.org/pic/show.php?id=15171 - r38511

Python API:

• Object.closest_point_on_mesh() function - r38449
• bpy.path.basename because "//" prefix breaks os.path.basename - r38528
• Vector.length_squared to use instead of vec.dot(vec) - r39300

The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.61. The 2.6x series is being targeted at including all work that happened in branches or patches past years.

Most notable in this release is the new render engine Cycles, the Camera Tracker, Ocean Simulation texture and Dynamic Paint.