In nuce: Version 3.4 of the 3D graphics software Blender has been released. This is according to a press release by Pablo Vazquez , which was published on blender.org on 7 December this year.
In toto: Below is a list of some of the most interesting new features that have come with the release of Blender 3.4. In the video just below, Blender user SouthernShotty breaks down the new features in a lean three and a half minutes.
Blender 3.4 New Features in LESS than 5 minutes
- The Open Path Guiding Library (Open PGL) from Intel has been integrated. This means that path guiding is now also supported in CPUs within the Cycles renderer. According to Intel, the Open PGL offers advanced path guiding algorithms that improve rendering and playback.
- The auto-masking tools: are now accessible via the Sculpt/Paint mode in the 3D viewport. Cavity, view and area-based auto-masking are now also supported.
- UV editor: Several tools have been updated. There are also new operators that can be used to align UV rotations or randomise islands – but non-uniform grids are also supported.
- The geometry nodes have an overlay in the 3D view window. This should make it easier to debug and test parts of the node tree. There are also numerous new nodes that can be used to retrieve mesh and curve data and create UV surfaces on a trial basis – which can also be used to display node group assets in the Add menu.
Click further: to the press release on blender.org. A more in-depth look at the new functions can be found in the corresponding release note. Digital Production last reported on Blender on 6 December this year – at that time specifically about the Blender Foundation and its Animation 2025 project, a three-year initiative that is dedicated to retreading character rigging and animation tools in Blender.
