Today is Blender‘s 30th anniversary! Happy birthday!
I first discovered Blender at some point in 2015, I think, and the many possibilities of what could be done with it blew my mind.
Mind you, I can’t say it was love at first sight, because I downloaded the program, opened it, took one look at the sheer number of buttons, and closed it again. And then spent the next several months working up my courage to open it again.
But eventually I found a manual – a printed book, too, imagine that. I think I still have it somewhere, though it’s hopelessly outdated by now. But back then it allowed me to open the program and not panic.
And then I fell in love. Hard.
To the point where in 2018, after several false starts, I decided to leave my administrative career path and focus on 3D in earnest. In 2024, not only am I producing “At War’s Edge” with Blender, but also have a day job 70% of which consists of doing 3D with Blender. (The rest are mostly ZBrush and Illustrator, but honestly Blender’s sculpting and re-meshing is getting better and better too…)
And yes, I’m still as madly in love with Blender as ever. Huge, huge thanks to the team behind it. Some days I still can’t believe this thing exists, and that it is open source and free. My life would be so very different without it.
Happy 30th birthday, Blender, and I know the next 30 will be as amazing!