The Node Editor Upgrade + Compositor Assets v1 release🍝
⛔ This build may have asset shelf header properties broken
To fix, close all editors with the broken asset shelf, respawn the editor and it will be fixed. Then save the startup.
This release is focused on new Compositor assets that come out of the box, new smart asset updates and apply operators, and much much love to the node editors.
This is part of all the latest from Blender 5.0.0 and 5.1.0 to the date – with 242 new tokens of love from us and a large chunk also from Blender!
⚠️ Warning: *.Blend File formats from this version onwards will not be backwards compatible with earlier versions of Blender 4.5.x or Bforartists 4.4.x. It’s a one way trip!
What’s new:
- 99 new Compositor assets, including shapes, patterns, lens effects, color adjustments, filters and more
- New customizable colored backgrounds on nodes
- New icons in collapsed icon headers
- New customoizatble Node Editor Overlay for canvas center
- Enhanced Asset Shelf user experience: New packed mode, and love to context menu operators for Armature Pose assets
- Group Operators in Node Toolshelf: Node group operators moved to toolshelf for better accessibility
- New icons for frames with new frame operators
- New Apply operators: Apply with remesh, join, and boolean on selected meshes with one click
- Presentation Addon Enhancement: New Slides operator for presentations
- Interface Consistency Improvements: more robust columns for tabbed toolshelf
- Region Toggle Pie Menu: Added to T key and exposed in header
- Organized Node categories and groups for less bloat and better discoverability
- New Animation Timeline Footers and Dopesheet editor mode
- New quick toggle to Timeline with the Power User Tools
- Consistent paint curve dropdowns in header and sidebar for jitter and pressure settings
- Update to the Curves edit mode to be consistent with other modes
- Adopted the new Blender “Built-in” sequencer scene sync with our legacy 3D Sequencer system with timeline gizmos
- New Geometry Nodes assets and modifiers from Blender adopted to the Bforartists asset shelves
- Smart Mesh Blend by Proximity assets gets material blending, performance modes, and an improved wizard user experience
Additional Features from this Blender 5.0.x and 5.1.x series:
- Improved UV user experience with sync
- New Compositor Sequencer Mode: New Sequencer modifier with access to using compositor nodes with Sequence Info strip integration
- Minimized Theme Panel Visual Update
- Frame Jump is now built into the timeline with seconds and frames
- Geometry Nodes Improvements: Multiple new Grid, SDF, and Volume nodes
- Performance Optimizations: Improved tessellation, subdivision, and general performance
- New Radial Tiling vector node
- New Repeat Zone for Shaders (with bundles and closures)
- New & Updated MatCaps: optional specular lighting in MatCaps improves shading clarity, especially on dark surfaces.
- Dope Sheet Cache Visualization – Clearer feedback on cached frames for animation performance monitoring.
- Video Sequencer Overhaul: Dedicated Strip and Strip Modifiers tabs with drag-and-drop modifier stacks, icons, and search.
- Multi-Scene Sequencer Workflows – Sequencer can now reference different scenes, with Sync Scene Time for seamless editing.
- Grease Pencil Motion Blur: Adds natural blur to strokes with adjustable steps, enhancing animation quality.
- Grease Pencil Corner Types: Per-point corner styles (Round, Sharp, Flat) for more precise stroke design.
- Faster cycles and EEVEE
- Netter Subsurface scattering, volumetrics and multi-scattering
- New sky mode for environments
- Faster unwrapping and field evaluation in Geometry Nodes
- Better FBX, Alembix and USD compatibility
- Adaptive subdivision in Cycles now official
- Metallic Thin Film Iridescence for Cycles
And much much more
Downloads available from both Github, the official Website, Windows store and Blender Launcher v2
ℹ️ Mac builds are coming soon.
📥 Downloads:
www.bforartists.de/download/
🧡 Blender Launcher
github.com/Victor-IX/Blender-Launcher-V2/releases
🪟 Windows App
www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9PD5L5XBRMR0?ocid=pdpshare
📝 Release Notes:
www.bforartists.de/release-notes/
🗒️ Blender Release notes now merged and updated into Bforartists:
www.blender.org/download/releases/
Splashscreen is kindly provided by Bluenile3D, the latest winner of the Splashsscreen submissions competition hosted in the Discord server! Thank you!
And also, thanks again for all art, love, feedback and help for making the Bforartists community what it is today! Without your feedback and support, this wouldn’t be possible
Draise, Reiner, Blenux (Juso), Znight (Trung Pham), Quackers, Eyad, Sean and all you arty supporters