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Blender 4.3

(www.blender.org)
239 points antome | 6 comments | 20 Nov 24 04:39 UTC | HN request time: 0.32s | source | bottom
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stevage ◴[20 Nov 24 07:00 UTC] No.42191413[source]▶
It's really puzzling (but extremely welcome) that Blender continues to be such an open source success story. Seems rare for such complex pieces of software in a niche space to get that level of development. I wonder what the secret is.
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greenknight ◴[20 Nov 24 07:04 UTC] No.42191429[source]▶
What really kickstarted their development... was the introduction of the Blender Development Fund -- https://fund.blender.org/

They made tiers, made it simple and easy, and promoted it.

Before the fund really was pushed... they were getting about 5,000 USD per month to develop it... Now it is sitting at 215,000 USD per month.

More money = More developers. More Developers = Better product.

Yes it didnt happen overnight that increase, but it was slow and steady.

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1. prox ◴[20 Nov 24 08:47 UTC] No.42191945[source]▶
And apparently only 2% percent (according to their ad) donates. I wish people would be more in the “giving back” spirit. If you can afford a designer coffee, throw that money to the Blender Fund!

I donate yearly, and its worth it.

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2. flohofwoe ◴[20 Nov 24 09:04 UTC] No.42192035[source]▶
I guess one very important part is that there are now pretty big companies which depend on Blender and have an interest in Blender's continued development.
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3. The_Colonel ◴[20 Nov 24 09:55 UTC] No.42192317[source]▶
Right, that's exactly what separates Blender from e.g. GIMP.
4. Tomte ◴[20 Nov 24 10:31 UTC] No.42192561[source]▶
The more natural way for individuals is probably https://studio.blender.org/welcome/
5. stevage ◴[20 Nov 24 13:22 UTC] No.42193718[source]▶
2% is a pretty high rate. It's pretty standard for 1% of any userbase to contribute in any way (including through content) to it.
6. victornomad ◴[21 Nov 24 09:06 UTC] No.42202427[source]▶
Not really, their aim is to reach a 2%, I think the current number is waaaaaay lower. Ton Roosendaal mentioned it during the Blender Conference 2024 Keynote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5022VaMmA&list=PLa1F2ddGya...