LogInA new splash screen, an updated Grease Pencil, EEVEE Light Linking, brushes and Asset Browser integration, and much more.
Following the release of Blender 4.2, all efforts have been concentrated on the development of Blender 4.3, with Blender developer Jacques Lucke recently giving a preview of some upcoming changes to Geometry Nodes. Now, the development of Blender 4.3 has officially reached the beta stage, which means the software is now ready for public testing, and users are encouraged to test it and report any issues or feedback.
Blender 4.3 comes packed with plenty of new features, all of which need thorough testing. However, some features stand out due to their potential to significantly impact workflows.
The third generation of Grease Pencil has arrived, featuring a complete rewrite and introducing powerful new features like Layer Groups and Geometry Nodes support. Your old files will be converted to the new system. They should look the same as in previous versions, with some exceptions, such as the noise modifier, which may produce slightly different results.
Thanks to integration with the Asset Browser, brushes are now assets, which means they can be reused and shared across projects. You may also find that everything feels snappier, thanks to a massive rewrite of the brush evaluation system, viewport drawing, and more. Additionally, a new selection of brushes provided by the community has been added, so try them out.
Blender's Eevee received two major features: Light Linking and Multi-pass Compositing. Light Linking adds more artistic control to lighting by breaking the laws of physics, allowing light to be set to only specific objects in the scene. Try converting your current Light Linking scenes from Cycles to Eevee, or compositing setups using the new passes in the 3D Viewport.
Blender 4.3 is currently in beta until November 6, 2024, with the release scheduled for November 12. Find more about the new features here and learn how to test Blender 4.3 by clicking this link.
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