Why The Blender Conference Blew My Mind AGAIN!

Summary

The Blender Conference 2024 was an inspiring event, featuring keynotes and insightful talks on Blender’s development, its financial challenges, and the future of the software. Ton Rosendahl highlighted Blender's reliance on donations, stressing the need for more financial support to ensure its continued growth. Key talks covered topics like career building with Blender, animation workflows, and color management. Notable speakers included Andrew Price, who critiqued Blender's UI, and Will Anderson, who showcased the fun side of character creation. The event also presented Blender’s roadmap, emphasizing upcoming features like AI tools and collaborative work, with a call to donate to support Blender's future.

Takeaways

• 😀 Ton Roosendaal's keynote highlighted Blender's financial reliance on donations and sponsorships, with only 10,200 contributors in 2023 despite millions of downloads.
• 😀 Blender's development budget for 2024 is around 3.2 million USD, which is far lower than expected for a tool used by millions globally.
• 😀 Ton stressed the importance of more people donating to Blender, ensuring its continued development and success.
• 😀 Jason Fengster's talk provided advice on building a career around Blender, offering tips for newcomers and veterans alike.
• 😀 The film 'Flow' was discussed, showcasing how Blender can be used in professional animation pipelines, highlighting asset management and production tracking.
• 😀 Jacob Holiday's color management talk emphasized the importance of understanding color spaces in Blender for better artwork visibility across devices.
• 😀 Thomas Cole's city reconstruction project demonstrated Blender’s procedural generation tools and smart optimization for large-scale environments.
• 😀 The Blender roadmap revealed future features like USD integration, AI tools, and collaborative cloud workflows to push Blender further as a professional tool.
• 😀 Andrew Price’s UI talk called for better user interface feedback in Blender, especially for beginners, to make troubleshooting more intuitive.
• 😀 Will Anderson’s character creation talk reminded the audience to embrace Blender as a tool for fun and creativity, not just work, focusing on simplicity and playfulness.
• 😀 Francesco's 'Blender by the Numbers' talk highlighted impressive statistics, including rapid download rates and the growing developer community, but also pointed out the ongoing need for more donations to support development.

Q & A

What was the key theme of Ton Roosendaal's keynote at Blender Conference 2024?

Ton Roosendaal's keynote focused on Blender's financial situation and the sustainability of the Blender Foundation, highlighting that it operates solely through donations and sponsorships, with a total income of around 3.2 million USD in 2024 despite millions of users worldwide.

How many people donated to Blender in 2023?

In 2023, only 10,200 people donated to Blender, a stark contrast to the millions of users the software has worldwide.

Why was the financial situation of Blender highlighted as concerning?

The Blender Foundation's financial situation is concerning because the small number of donors (10,200 people) and limited funding threaten Blender's continued development, with the possibility of reduced staff or slowed development if donations decrease.

What was the purpose of Jason Fengster's talk on building a career around Blender?

Jason Fengster's talk provided valuable advice on how to build a career using Blender, including tips on improving skills, knowing your audience, and leveraging over 20 years of experience to make a living from 3D work.

What notable achievement was discussed in Sak's talk about the animated short 'Flow'?

Sak's talk highlighted the success of the short film 'Flow,' which was made in Blender and selected for the official selection at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

How does understanding color management in Blender improve artwork?

Understanding color management in Blender helps artists create consistent and accurate color representations across different displays and media by learning how color inputs, interpretations, and final render exports work in various color spaces.

What was the key takeaway from Thomas Cole's presentation about recreating the AQ Capital City?

Thomas Cole's presentation focused on using procedural techniques and geometry nodes to recreate the AQ Capital City (Mexico City), sharing tips on optimizing workflows and maintaining flexibility in large-scale projects while ensuring quick iterations and scalability.

What was the main point of Andrew Price's talk on Blender's UI?

Andrew Price discussed Blender's user interface, emphasizing that it is often a challenge for beginners due to its complexity. He suggested improvements, such as better indications of common issues (like flip normals or overlapping geometry), to make Blender more user-friendly.

What did Will Anderson's talk highlight about character creation in Blender?

Will Anderson's talk demonstrated the creative, fun, and playful side of character creation in Blender. He showcased how breaking traditional rules of 3D design, such as topology or animation principles, can lead to effective and humorous character designs.

How has Blender's donation system evolved to support its development?

Blender has made significant improvements in its donation system, including easier donation methods and increased engagement with users to encourage regular contributions. This has resulted in a rise in both one-time and monthly donations, though there is still a need for more financial support to sustain development.