Bridging Boundaries: Open-Source Inspiration and the Call for a Local Blender Conference

In the culture hub of Amsterdam, tech enthusiasts, educators, artists, and developers from around the world gathered in Felix Meritis for the annual Blender event, where we engaged in a wide range of events and glimpsed into innovative breakthroughs of Blender.

The Blender Conference 2023 was a celebration of the embracement of open-source innovation, as well as the Blender community’s dedication to free, accessible, and powerful 3D creation tools. Diverse events including talks, meetings, and live tutorials shared by renowned speakers and companies showcased the continued growth of Blender and how it benefited Blender practitioners in different industries with its latest techniques, workflows, and tools.

Exploring Open-Source Innovation in the World of Blender

Here are some of the highlights of the conference with exciting inspirations.

2.5D Artistry

Artists from Sony Picture Imageworks explained the creative process using Blender and demonstrated how they leveraged Blender’s capabilities to create visually striking artwork that blurs the line between 2D and 3D. This innovative approach to art and animation opened up new avenues for storytelling and artistic expression.

Screenshots from Inklines Across the Spider-Verse (encore) and Playing with Grease Pencil: an Adventure in 2.5D (Blender – www.youtube.com)

Asset management and add-on development

Artists and developers discussed techniques, tools and add-on for efficiently managing, modelling and texturing 3D assets within Blender. This included asset organization and collaboration strategies to pipeline workflow improvement, shape the future of Blender’s pipeline capabilities, and extend Blender’s functionality for specific tasks.

Screenshots from Journey Towards an Efficient 1-Person Pipeline and From Computational Design to Digital Fabrication using the Tissue add-on (Blender – www.youtube.com)

Nurturing young talents

Blender is a user-friendly software that allows kids to unleash their creativity and explore \the realm of CG animation. Preston is a self-taught and talented 14-year-old kid who uses Blender and creates high-quality LEGO animations of movie trailers.

Screenshots from My Journey Across the Spider-Verse: from Hobbyist to Hollywood (Blender – www.youtube.com)

Forging a Path to a Local Blender Gathering

Upon reflecting on the insights acquired during the Blender Conference 2023, I appreciated the value of an open platform that fosters knowledge sharing and encourages collaborative engagement within the community. One interesting observation during the conference was the limited presence of attendees from Asia. This led me to ponder the possibility of launching a localized Blender Conference in China, one that could infuse fresh perspectives and inspiration into the global Blender community.

Over the last few decades, the adoption and development of open-source software has played a growing and increasingly important role in different industries in China. The advent of open-source software provides cost-effective solutions for both amateur and professional practitioners to work efficiently.

As a visionary digital media company, we recognize the importance of open-source software with its high affordability and accessibility. In the past few years, we worked in tandem with the Blender Foundation, offering Blender-related cloud training and services to make tools more accessible to Chinese users.

To align the industry’s ambition and promote collaborative spirits, the provision of open space is essential for practitioners to communicate and work together, share knowledge, and nurture an inclusive community. While the launch of a localized Blender Conference in China may encounter certain challenges, it also presents opportunities to embrace Chinese culture and art, infusing a distinct blend of both international and local elements into the conference.

For instance, presentations and workshops could be delved into the rich history and visual aesthetics of Chinese culture in the development of China’s animation industry. Artists could vividly illustrate how they seamlessly integrate these cultural elements into Chinese animation and artwork. Consequently, this showcases Chinese culture in the spotlight while fostering an environment of collaboration, innovation, and a dynamic cultural exchange between the global Blender community and the vibrant Chinese animation industry.

By Catina Yiu