Blender is one of the most powerful and widely used tools in the 3D animation industry, known for its flexibility, functionality, and, above all, for being free and open-source software. Over the years, Blender has evolved and managed to integrate many features that have made it a benchmark, both for professional studios and independent artists.
Non-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR) in Blender
Now, Blender takes another step in its evolution with a new feature that will attract many artists, especially those seeking a more artistic and stylized look: non-photorealistic rendering, also known as NPR. In collaboration with DillonGoo Studios, a studio specializing in 3D anime, the Blender Foundation has released an experimental version that incorporates NPR features, which will allow users to create visual effects closer to the style of Japanese animations, like those seen in many 3D anime.
This integration is something many artists in the community were waiting for, as it allows for a more artistic and less realistic touch to productions, which is especially useful for creating visual effects, backgrounds, and characters in a unique style.
Goo Engine: A Custom Engine for Blender
NPR in Blender is not entirely new, as DillonGoo Studios had previously worked on its own engine, the Goo Engine, which is a customized version of Blender. This customized version of Blender was in internal development since 2022 and was primarily used in the studio's projects, including an online anime.
Goo Engine incorporated features like light groups and custom shading nodes in Eevee, Blender's real-time rendering engine, making it especially attractive for those wanting to work with a more artistic style. However, at that time, the Goo Engine features had not been integrated into the official version of Blender, as the Blender developers feared they could affect the stability of other features, such as the production renderer Cycles.
Experimental NPR Prototype in Blender
This new experimental NPR prototype in Blender arrives to solve that limitation, bringing the stylized functions of Goo Engine closer to Blender's main environment. This update means that Blender, officially, now offers enhanced tools for creating stylized renders, opening up a range of possibilities for 3D artists.
With greater integration with Eevee, users will be able to get real-time results while experimenting with lights, shadows, and textures in innovative ways, which can make anime-style renders more accessible to all kinds of creators.
Collaboration with the Blender Development Team
One of the most notable aspects of this collaboration is that DillonGoo Studios has joined the Blender development team. With the experience of Dillon Gu, the founder of DillonGoo Studios, and Chris Clyne, the lead developer of Goo Engine, in Blender's development, a "Renaissance of stylized rendering" is expected.
“We hope this collaboration transforms how artists think about rendering and 3D creation.”
The collaboration is designed to continue improving Blender in terms of stylized capabilities, which could transform how artists think about rendering and 3D creation. We can already see that some of the first features from this collaboration were integrated into Blender 4.3, such as light linking in Eevee, which will be key for those seeking more precise control over their scene lighting.
Goo Engine Continues to Evolve
Although Blender has introduced this experimental NPR branch, Goo Engine will continue to be developed independently, and will remain based on Blender 4.1. This means DillonGoo Studios' custom engine will still be available for those who wish to experiment with the most advanced stylized features, but it will not affect the main version of Blender.
In the future, this version based on Blender 4.2 is expected to integrate more smoothly with Blender's work, although the DillonGoo Studios developers mention they still face some challenges in achieving