An instructional graphic showing UV mapping techniques. On the left, orange UV islands are displayed with annotations for auto-stacking. On the right, a circular UV island is placed on a textured background, emphasizing packing without splits.

UVPackmaster 4 unwraps a smarter way to pack

UVPackmaster 4 for Blender refactors its core, adds Dynamic Tiles, new texel density control, and better group layouts.

23.01.2026

An artistic image editing interface showing a monochrome portrait of a person. Bright, flowing hair contrasts against a dark background, creating a dramatic effect. A panel on the left displays options for adjusting layers with thumbnail previews.

Baselight v7 refines the colourist’s toolkit

FilmLight’s Baselight v7 adds smarter mattes, new depth tools and workflow upgrades for complex grading and VFX-heavy productions.

23.01.2026

A close-up view of a green stone with a rough texture, set against a softly illuminated dark background. The stone features angular edges and a hint of moss, creating a natural and earthy appearance.

Adobe After Effects 2026 Lands With 3D, Text and Performance Boosts

After Effects 26.0 debuts 3D parametric meshes, Substance 3D materials, SVG import and core workflow improvements.

23.01.2026

A screen showing video editing software, with a montage featuring three people in vibrant outfits walking through a rocky landscape. The timeline below displays various video clips organized for editing.

22.01.2026

Premiere drops the “Pro” and picks up some serious AI

Adobe has released the Creative Cloud 26.0 updates for its video apps, headlined by a big shift in Premiere. The “Pro” label is gone, and in its place comes a more capable editor. The new release centres on automated masking, improved tracking, and a creative pipeline that’s tighter than ever.

A digital illustration of a character with silver hair and purple eyes, wearing a dark outfit with glowing accents. The background features swirling purple energy, and text in Chinese, indicating a new version release.

Animcraft 5.5: Stability, ribbons, and MetaHumans

Animcraft 5.5 improves mocap stability, rewrites the Dragon Breath Ribbon System, and expands MetaHuman and Maya tools.

22.01.2026

A video editing interface displaying a collection of flower clips in a timeline. In the top left, preview thumbnails of various flowers are shown, with a menu offering options like 'Rename clip' and 'Import Media'.

LumaFusion for Android catches up with iOS sibling

LumaFusion 2.5 for Android introduces faster transitions, smarter clip location, and APV codec export support.

21.01.2026

A digital interface displaying a grid of circular textures and materials, surrounded by various objects including a wooden board, a chair, lemons, and pottery. The textures feature elements like stone, wall fragments, and sculpture details.

LotPixel drops 1,300+ free PBR textures in Hub app

LotPixel Hub beta gives 3D artists free access to 1,300+ PBR textures up to 8K, with Blender integration and more DCCs to come.

21.01.2026

The word "OCCLUSIONS" appears in bold, three-dimensional letters, partially obscured by a smoky mist, against a plain black background.

No More 2D Smoke and Mirrors: Volumetric Noise for Nuke

Compositing Academy releases Volumetric Noise for Nuke, a raymarched plugin generating true 3D volumetrics with lighting and occlusion.

20.01.2026

Foundry locks in full subscription future for 2027

Foundry drops perpetual maintenance: from 2027, all Nuke, Mari, and Katana users will be on subscription only.

19.01.2026

A serene landscape featuring several green trees with sparse foliage, surrounded by scattered rocks and small wildflowers on a misty day. A user interface panel on the right side shows options for saving and exporting.

Free Browser Based Procedural Tree Generator Released

EZ-Tree is a free, open source, browser based procedural tree generator with over 50 parameters and exports to GLB and PNG.

19.01.2026

Aerial view of a lush green island surrounded by turquoise waters, featuring sandy beaches along its coastline. The island has a variety of trees and a winding path leading to a modern structure.

Ocean, clouds, and splats: D5 Render 3.0 sets sail

D5 Render 3.0 introduces new environment tools, expanded AI generation, and a lightweight D5 Lite for SketchUp users.

19.01.2026

An astronaut in a white space suit stands on the lunar surface, illuminated by a bright light effect, with a dark, starry background and a textured moon surface underfoot.

Sapphire gets the “Essentials” treatment

Boris FX adds a free 11-part Sapphire Builder Essentials course to its training library, covering professional multi-host workflows.

16.01.2026

A promotional banner for Fusion Studio 20 featuring bold, 3D-style text reading "FUSION" against a fiery background. The banner highlights new tools for multi-layer workflows and deep image compositing, with a price tag of 5. — Advertisement

A woman laughing while sitting near a colorful carnival, with video editing software interface displayed below her. The text highlights features of DaVinci Resolve, offering free editing tools used in Hollywood. — Advertisement

Articles for our Subscribers

A cute cartoon robot with cat-like ears and large, glowing blue eyes stands against a backdrop of icy landscape. Its silver body is sleek and modern, adding to its friendly appearance.

How I Spent Five Years Making a Solo 3D Film

Maxim Gehricke spent five years creating his solo 3D short film SEN. Here’s how he did it without funding, team, or sleep.

byBela Beier

A sleek silver sedan parked on a set with a vibrant cityscape backdrop illuminated by neon signs. Two film crew members are visible nearby, working with production equipment, while a monitor displays the virtual production interface.

Assimilate Live FX: The VP-Stages’ very, VERY nervous system.

Live FX turns a laptop into a virtual production media server, driving LED walls, lights, compositing, and colour.

byMazze Aderhold

An elderly figure with a thin frame and exaggerated facial features holds a flickering candle close to their face, illuminated by its warm glow. They wear a faint expression, surrounded by shadows in a dimly lit space.

Digital Domain welcomes IT to Derry

Digital Domain supervisors break down the design, rigging, lighting, and animation challenges behind the Skeleton Man creature for HBO’s return to the Stephen King universe.

byBela Beier

Keychron K5 Max: The New Default

A keyboard is the most used tool in digital production, so why settle for mediocrity? After eight months of testing, the Keychron K5 Max has earned a place as my daily driver. Here’s why.

byBela Beier

An illustrated interface titled "Project Sorter," featuring an arrow guiding a file from a "Downloads" folder to a "Project" folder that contains icons for Premiere Pro and After Effects. A dark background enhances visual clarity.

Work Hard, Sort Fast: Project Sorter 1.75

Project Sorter 1.75 auto-sorts your Premiere and After Effects imports by type, path, or metadata. Fewer bins to drag, more time to cut.

byAndreas Zerr

A wide shot of a bridge spanning a canyon, surrounded by snow-covered cliffs and trees. The bridge features a sturdy metal structure and guardrails, with a clear blue sky in the backdrop.

Rendering the Inferno at RiseFX: The Lost Bus

128 shots, 15 sequences, and GPUs on the brink: RISE FX’s Oliver Schulz explains how his team built the burning world of The Lost Bus.

byBela Beier

Photoshop AI in practice

Following the integration of Adobe Firefly, there are now AI systems from partners. Flux Context Pro and Nano Banana are useful additions for Photoshop-AI in practice.

byJörn-Erik Burkert

A top view of a sleek black keyboard with a purple background, showcasing various keys clearly. The keyboard includes a numeric keypad and illuminated symbols on some keys for visibility.

RealFX Part 2: From the loading bar to the keyboard

Three scripts, one goal: easyRulers, LoadUP and keyboardFX bring clean, functional motion graphics utilities for everyday After Effects work.

byAndreas Zerr

A low-angle view of modern skyscrapers reaching toward a twilight sky, with the text 'vrbn' and the tagline 'We create 3D cities.' prominently displayed in white. The buildings are surrounded by a serene blue atmosphere. — Advertisement

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A modern glass and concrete building with a sleek facade, surrounded by a lawn and small trees. The structure appears to be a university or school, featuring large windows that reflect the blue sky.

HFF Munich seeks new mentor for 3D animation

HFF Munich is hiring a part-time 3D animation mentor for its VFX programme under Prof. Jürgen Schopper, starting 1 May 2026.

Five 3D model wireframe images showing progress in design updates, each with green checkmarks indicating completed steps. The leftmost model has a simple shape, gradually becoming more detailed towards the right. The text "v1.0 UPDATE" is displayed prominently at the bottom.

Blender topology patch tool Quad Filler reaches 1.0 release

Quad Filler 1.0 is released for Blender, automating clean quad patching between open edge chains with expanded modes and hotkey support.

A large, multi-story building with architectural details featuring domes and balconies, set in a city street scene at night. The scene includes empty streets and various smaller buildings, illuminated softly by streetlights.

Delhi in 3D: Kitbash3D goes urban

Kitbash3D launches New Delhi, a 3D asset kit with 84 models and 127 materials for building detailed urban cityscapes.

Visual Effects Society Announces Full List of Feature, Episodic, and Student Award Nominations

The Visual Effects Society has released the nominations for its upcoming awards, covering a broad range of feature films, episodic productions, animated projects, commercials, real-time work,…

Procedural sawdust: EC Wood Grain hits Blender

Eric Charles releases EC Wood Grain, a Geometry Nodes setup that adds procedural 3D wood detail directly in Blender.

A workspace featuring a laptop displaying a watch design, surrounded by various screens showing the watch and promotional messages like 'DEFINE TIME' and 'ICONIC'. The setting has a modern, stylish aesthetic.

Maxon Previews Digital Twin

Maxon previews Digital Twin which turns cleared for use CAD and 3D models into photoreal product assets for consistent marketing workflows.

A detailed 3D rendering depicting a large green figure holding a hammer, standing next to a statue of an angel. The scene shows debris scattered on the surface around them. The text 'Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya' is displayed prominently in the top corner.

Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya cracks a new non-destructive workflow

Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya adds non-destructive fracturing, Xref support, and UI updates for improved control and flexibility.

A collection of green leaves arranged on a dark background, alongside their geometric wireframe representations. The leaves vary in shape and size, showcasing detailed textures and vibrant colors.

CardCutter turns texture into Nanite meshes

CardCutter for Blender 4.0+ generates Nanite-optimised meshes from texture masks for Unreal Engine foliage and decal pipelines.

A promotional banner for Datacolor featuring the LightColor Meter, with images of mobile apps displaying color measurement tools and the device itself, set against a dark background. — Advertisement

A datacolor LightColor Meter placed on a black bag, with a smartphone displaying a color analysis chart and lux measurement on the side. The device has three colored buttons and a central dial. — Advertisement

A collection of architectural 3D models arranged on a dark surface. The display includes a large church with a steeple, smaller buildings, and structures like arches and temples, with the word 'Architecture' prominently shown at the bottom.

Bury Your Good Intentions in 3D

Over 300 stylised graveyard assets from Cryptic Realms are free on Fab until 27 January 2026.

A close-up view of a digital design interface displaying a black hole simulation, with swirling light and rings. The workspace features various settings on the left side, indicating adjustments for visual effects.

DIY Gravity: Make Your Own Black Hole (In After Effects)

Free After Effects plugin creates cinematic black holes using ray marching, volumetric fog and physically-based parameters.

A promotional image for Reallusion featuring the text 'SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION Available Now' in bold white and yellow letters against a dark background with a soft wave pattern.

Reallusion expands licences for iClone and Character Creator

Reallusion now offers subscription or perpetual licences for key tools and repositions AccuPOSE INFINITY as a standalone purchase.

A person sitting at a desk with a laptop and two computer monitors displaying data. The individual wears headphones and focuses on the screens, surrounded by office supplies and plants in a well-lit workspace.

Apple Bundles Its Ageing Pro Apps in Subscription

Apple groups its older creative tools under the new Creator Studio plan, mostly for Apple-loyal users rather than working pros.

A side-by-side comparison of a mangosteen, a round brown fruit with a green crown, and a dragon fruit, a vibrant pink fruit with green-tipped scales, set against a transparent background.

Free 3D Fruit: Fresh Assets, No Pesticides

Kiri offers 141 free, production-ready 3D fruit and vegetable scans with full PBR textures under CC0 licence.

A collage of various 3D rendering textures and objects, including spheres, a tree, and vehicles. Featured items include a glossy sphere, wood texture, car models, and a glowing light. The background is dark, emphasizing the shiny surfaces.

Over 1,000 free sculpting brushes land in BlenderKit

BlenderKit now hosts over 1,000 free 3D sculpting brushes, integrated directly in Blender and licensed for commercial use.

Two 3D objects displayed on a grid background; on the left, a curved, flat shape, and on the right, a detailed, leafy structure with multiple upright elements. A text overlay reads, 'Many Objects, One Bend,' indicating a focus on 3D modeling techniques.

Better Bend: A Gentler Way to Deform in Blender

Blender’s Simple Deform walks so Better Bend can twist: cleanly, controllably, and without breaking your mesh in half.

A row of five circular smiley face icons, each with varying shades of brown and surrounding circles in different colors, set against a bright yellow background.

Fast Lines for Blender: Stylized Outline Generator Released

RUIDO VFX’s Stylized Outline Generator for Blender adds quick anime-style outlines without shaders or Grease Pencil rigs.

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Three separate images showcasing fire effects from various angles against a digital backdrop. The top left displays a fireball, the top right shows a flame trail, and the bottom image features a fire jet.

ActionVFX Ignites: 30 Flamethrower Clips Free

Feeling the heat in global news? Now you can literally add it to your comps: ActionVFX drops…

A lush, abandoned ruins scene featuring ornate stone structures partially covered by vibrant green foliage. A large tree dominates the landscape, with its roots extending into a calm pool of water, surrounded by various tropical plants.

Epic drops 80 free temple assets on Fab

Epic Games offers 80 free modular temple assets for Unreal Engine 5 on Fab until 13 January 2026.

A person sitting in a modern, circular chair in a futuristic room, looking out large windows with a view of clouds and blue sky. The image features a banner for Poser 14, indicating it’s a tool for creating 3D character art and animation.

Poser 14 drops Cloth Room, gains simpler PBR setup

Bondware releases Poser 14 with simplified PBR and environment tools, SuperFly update, and…

An aerial view of a historic stone ruin surrounded by lush green fields and trees. The scene is displayed on a software interface that includes editing tools and a 3D modeling grid.

PFTrack 2025: Matchmoving gets its groove back

The Pixel Farm’s PFTrack 2025 delivers major lens, tracking, and mesh improvements plus new…

A screenshot of a 3D modeling software interface showing a gray outliner panel on the left with a list of collections. To the right, a model preview of a white stylized animal head is displayed, with a cursor pointing at it.

Hover, Don’t Click: Outliner Preview Lands in Blender

Free Blender add-on Outliner Preview shows 360° model thumbnails on hover in the Outliner.

A close-up of an abstract arrangement of metallic wires, intertwining and reflecting light in various directions, set against a soft-focus background with gentle illumination.

3DEqualizer 8.1 Adds Piggyback Camera Solves

3DEqualizer 8.1 introduces piggyback rig solving, a rewritten Blender export script and new…

Three glass optics—two spherical lenses and one rectangular prism—float above a page filled with mathematical equations and diagrams. The lenses reflect a hint of greenery, while the text is displayed clearly beneath them.

Rays Behaving Badly No More: MoonRay 2.34.0.1 Fixes the Path

MoonRay 2.34.0.1 lands with a light path visualiser, better macOS and Linux builds, smarter…

A split image showcasing two views of an ornate courtyard. One side features a bright, inviting atmosphere with open arches, while the other side presents a darker scene cluttered with wooden chairs and stacks of books.

Blender Gets Real Lenses: BagaCam OSL Released

Antoine Bagattini, the creator of BagaPie has released BagaCam OSL, a camera add-on that…

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Premiere drops the “Pro” and picks up some serious AI

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