Blender Foundation
The Blender Foundation is a non-profit organization established to support the development of Blender, an open-source 3D computer graphics software. Here is a detailed overview:
History
- Foundation: The Blender Foundation was officially founded in 2002 by Ton Roosendaal, who initially developed Blender in 1995 while working at NeoGeo. The foundation was established following a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised 100,000 Euros to buy out Blender's codebase from NaN, the company Roosendaal co-founded, which had gone bankrupt.
- Open Source Transition: After the buyout, Blender was released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), ensuring its development would be open to contributions from the community worldwide.
Objectives
- Software Development: The primary goal is to continue the development of Blender, making it a competitive, professional-grade tool for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and more.
- Community Engagement: Encouraging an active community of developers, artists, and users through workshops, conferences like Blender Conference, and online platforms.
- Education: Providing resources for learning Blender, including tutorials, documentation, and educational content to make Blender accessible to beginners and professionals alike.
- Film and Project Support: The foundation also undertakes projects like the Blender Open Movies to showcase Blender's capabilities and to serve as a learning resource for the community.
Notable Projects
- Elephants Dream: The first open movie project by the Blender Foundation in 2006, which aimed to prove that Blender was capable of producing high-quality cinematic content.
- Big Buck Bunny: Released in 2008, this project further demonstrated Blender's capabilities in animation and visual effects.
- Sintel: A 2010 project focused on advanced animation techniques and rendering with the Cycles render engine.
- Tears of Steel: A 2012 project showcasing Blender's real-time compositing features.
Structure
- The foundation operates through several entities:
Impact
The Blender Foundation has significantly impacted the world of open-source software by fostering a vibrant community, creating professional-grade tools, and promoting education in digital arts. Its work has led to Blender being used in film production, video games, architecture, and various other fields.
Sources
See Also