The next big Blender release is expected to be out in 2018.
The next big Blender release is expected to be out in 2018. The release will bring an updated viewport, workspaces, dependency graphs and other new features.
Here are some details on Blender 2.8:
Viewport
Blender 2.8 brings the minimum OpenGL version to 3.3, with even newer features for compatible hardware.
The main use of this technology is said to be Blender’s new real-time render engine: Eevee
Grease Pencil
Blender’s 2D drawing capabilities will be improved with 2.8. The new Grease Pencil focus is to create a more friendly interface for the 2D artist, while keeping the advantages of having a full 3D suite underneath.
The Pencil is now a real Blender object with huge improvements to brushes and tools.
Organization
Workspaces
Workspaces will allow users to build up their working environment for a specific task. There could be workspaces for modeling, sculpting, animation and motion tracking.
Layers & Collections
Gone is the limit of 20 layers per scene. Blender 2.8 features a new concept for Layers and Collections.
Dependency Graph
The dependency graph is getting a complete overhaul. Not only delivering better performance but also allowing overrides on data in a way not possible before. Read more.
Asset Management
This long awaited feature is finally coming to the 2.8x series. Read more.