Cummulative Refinement release ⚒️
This is a point release with much work on performance, stability and polish.
This is part of the latest from Blender 5.2.0 and 5.3.0 to the date - with 56 new features from us.
⚠️ Mac builds coming soon
✨What's new in this release:
- Improved default size for the Node Minimap
- Geometry Nodes Mesh Bevel Node, Sort Lists node, Grease Pencil Read nodes, Closure to Lists node, and NURBS Order and Weight nodes
- Library operators to open preferences tab, open and clear download Cache
- Other refinements to Sequencer, Properties Editor, Outliner, Smart Delete, Compositor, and more
🧡 Top Usability Features from Blender 5.2 and 5.3:
From 5.2.0:
- Node-Based Physics (XPBD Solver) — Brand new procedural hair & cloth simulations with customizable constraints
- Mesh Bevel Node — Long-awaited procedural edge/vertex bevel control in Geometry Nodes
- Online Asset Libraries — Dozens of materials, HDRs, and node groups downloadable on demand
- EEVEE Screen Space Raytracing Overhaul — Backface tracing, reduced banding, faster GI, and major stability fixes
- Cycles Texture Cache — Automatic optimized textures, drastically reducing memory usage
- Grease Pencil Delaunay Fill — Exact geometry fill with gap detection, inverse filling, and faster performance
- Playback Loop Modes — Infinite, Stop at End/Start, Bounce, and Restore Frame modes
- Sculpt Add Primitive Tool — Drop cubes, cones, spheres directly into sculpts
- Compositor Gizmo Auto Keying — Transform gizmos auto-insert keyframes in backdrop & Image Editor
- Thin Wall Mode (Principled BSDF) — Physically accurate thin materials (paper, leaves, glass)
From 5.3.0 (Alpha):
- Vulkan Default Renderer — Vulkan backend now default on Windows & Linux; hardware ray traced shadows in Workbench
- Compositor Playback Caching — Interactive compositor caches playback; up to 2x faster GPU performance
- Sequencer Ripple Delete — Auto-close gaps when deleting strips (Shift+X)
- Sequencer Strip Thumbnails — Scene, Text, Mask and MovieClip strips now show thumbnails in timeline
- Sculpt Automasking in Vertex/Weight Paint — Topology, boundary, cavity, and normal masking support
- Animation Scrubbing Pauses Playback — Scrubbing now pauses playback, resumes on release
- Node Editor Link Highlighting — Highlight links through reroute nodes for clearer node trees
- Sculpt Transform Only Pivot — Control pivot placement with transform gizmo without affecting geometry
- Outliner Scroll to New Collection — Auto-scroll and auto-rename newly added collections
- Improved Brushes & Weight Paint Defaults — Updated essential brushes, better defaults, and Cut Curves hair brush
And many more bug fixes and more!
Downloads available from both Github, the official Website, Windows store and Blender Launcher v2
📥 Downloads:
https://www.bforartists.de/download/
🪟 Windows App
Windows App Store
🧡 Blender Launcher
Github Release
For Arch
📝 Release Notes:
https://www.bforartists.de/release-notes/
🗒️ Blender Release notes now merged and updated into Bforartists:
https://www.blender.org/download/releases/
Splashscreen is kindly provided by Belzunze, the latest winner of the Splashscreen submissions competition hosted in the Discord server! Thank you!
Thank you for using Bforartists while making art - and for sharing to this art community.
Draise, Reiner, Blenux (Juso), Znight (Trung Pham), Quackers, Eyad, Shaley, Sean and all you arty people
💜 Join the official Discord server for weekly art challenges and live artist QnA interviews every now and then! And share your art.
Details
Bforartists 5.2.0
56 Tasks
Node Editors - Minimap size default should be smaller #6705
Essentials Asset - Curve to Mesh - Update to have "miter scale" #6681
Regenerate Theme #6673
Properties Editor - Object - Visibility - New Raycast Visibility toggle requires arranging the panels again #6633
Geometry Nodes - Volume - Utility - Grid Topology Boolean #6663
Geometry Nodes - Mesh - Operation - New Mesh Bevel Node #6644
Geometry Nodes - Utilties - Lists - New Sort Lists node #6627
Geometry Nodes - Grease Pencil - Read - New nodes #6654
Geometry Nodes - Utilities - Lists - New Closure to Lists node #6645
Geometry Nodes - Curves - Read - NURBS Order and Weight nodes #6664
Geometry Nodes - Volume - Operrations - Deactivate Voxels node #6662
Smart Delete - Improve final vertice handling #6696
3D View - Toolshelf - Update icons for new Pose operators for Object mode #6641
Image Editor - UV Mode - UV - New Move on Axis Operators #5679
Properties Editor - Mesh Data - Geometry Data - Add icon to Reorder Mesh Spatially #6364
Project Editor - Add Icon to Save Project #6624
Outliner - Filter - Missing icons #6623
3D View - Armature - Edit Mode - New Duplicate and Rename operator #6576
Asset Browser - Make Asset Library Paths show in Library menu and point to Asset Libraries path #6686
Asset Browser - Add Open Cache and Clear Cache operators for the Online Assets #6688
Asset Browser - Expose "Download Asset" to header #6687
Asset Browser - New "Open File Location" operator needs icon #6636
Asset Browser - Library - New "Refresh Remote Library" needs icon #6637
Asset Browser - Context Menu - Add icon to "Download Asset" for online repositories #6467
Sequencer - Select - Cleanup "Select All by Trait" and add icons #6665
Compositor - Sidebar - Option - Make Cache Frames better with indents #6661
Regression: 3D View - Mesh - Edit Mode - Object - Transform - Shrink/Fatten missing icon #6642
Properties Editor - Render - Cycles - Bake panel is broken #6149
Hotkeys - Add S for extrude with Cycle on (since there are multiple ways to extrude) #6516
Console - Remove redundant Languages menu under "Edit" and add Python icon #6629
Top Bar - Project Editor - Improve icon and add Sepeartor #6625
Sequencer - Text Strip - Line Height "Use Absolute Line Spacing" property button and layout needs updating to the sidebar #6634
Revert: Sequencer - Hotkeys - Make gizmos work on press instead of drag, they currently don't work #6557
Hotkeys - Add Marker with M #6666
Asset Browser/Shelf - Library Override on collection without instance mode is broken #6655
3D View - Header - Overlay toggles - Add "Lock Object Mode" button #6652
Essentials Library - Add new Film Grain nodegroup from Blender #6539
Startup Blends - Update editors to have right editors #6646
Essentials Library - Update library from Blender 5.3 #6540
Sequencer - Color Strip - Add Width and Height to sidebar #6635
UI - Geometry Nodes - Nodegroups based modifiers layout adjustments #6648
Node Editor - Remove double "New Group" oeprator #6630
Geometry Nodes - Utilities - Lists - New Closure to Lists #6628
Properties Editor - Camera - Viewport Display - Composition Guides broken #6631
Crash: Cycles on HIP-RT GPU mode #6617
File Browser - Expose hotkey only selection and walk operators to the header #6525
Outliner - Recent merge issues #6618
File Browser - Make a new operator to move to start or end of the folder with HOME / CTRL+HOME #6526
Ootliner - New Scroll to Active could collapse with indicator #6514
3D View - Edit Mode - Grease Pencil - Toolsystem > Separate panel - Rename "Separate Selected Strokes" to "Separate by Material" #6543
3D Viewport: Floor Grid Lacks Extra Subdivisions #6455
Hotkeys - Region Pie Menu on T for Bforartists Mac doesn't exist #6613
Text Editor - Expose "Save Autosave" operator #6537
UI - Themes out of sync #6610
3D View - Edit Mode - Toolsystem > UV Panel - Rename "Unwrap ABF" to "Unwrap Angle Based" #6527
3D View - Sculpt Mode - Mesh - Toolsystem > Sculpt tab - Rename "Meshfilter" panel #6545