Blender 4.4, released on March 18, 2025, is a “Winter of Quality” release emphasizing stability and polish. It resolves over 700 bugs and introduces new features for beginners and professionals. Key improvements include a new Action Slots system for animation, a complete CPU Compositor rewrite, Grease Pencil 3.0 refinements, enhanced modeling tools, a new sculpt brush, smoother video editing, and performance enhancements.
This article will detail Blender 4.4’s updates in animation, modeling, sculpting, video sequencing, compositing, rendering, geometry nodes, UI/UX, performance, and pipeline integration. It will also cover compatibility changes, practical implications for 3D artists, game developers, and animators, workflow tips, and answers to 10 frequently asked questions. Blender 4.4 prioritizes stability and user experience while delivering new features, as illustrated by the splash artwork from the short film “Flow.”
Animation & Rigging: Action Slots and More
Blender 4.4’s Action Slots system allows multiple animation data-blocks to be packed into a single Action, simplifying complex animations by eliminating the need to juggle separate actions for different elements like object movement, camera focus, and material changes. This feature enables synchronized playback of diverse properties within one Action and is beneficial for character animators and game developers who reuse animation assets, facilitating animation sharing and linking without data duplication.
Blender 4.4 automatically upgrades old files to use slotted actions, labeling them “Legacy” slots for backward compatibility. Rigging and animation improvements include a Pose Library overhaul for easier application and organization of stored poses, bone collections now mirroring properly during armature symmetrization, and constraint relationship lines only drawing when a target exists. These enhancements streamline rig setup and reduce clutter, allowing animators to focus on storytelling and improve project organization.
Modeling Improvements: Topology Tools and Performance
Blender 4.4 introduces modeling enhancements for improved topology control and efficiency. The “Select by Trait” feature now allows selection of vertices by pole count, facilitating quick identification and correction of 3-pole or 5-pole vertices for cleaner meshes. The “Tris to Quads” operation is enhanced to prioritize quad-dominant layouts with a “Topology Influence” slider, resulting in more structured geometry for better subdivision and deformations.
The Vertex & Edge Dissolve tool now dissolves only vertices associated with the dissolved edges, providing finer control and preventing unintended mesh deletions. Edit mode performance is improved, with up to 15% faster animation playback for scenes with custom normals or many sharp edges. Additional features include the ability to lock multiple vertex groups simultaneously and a “Select Linked” option in Curve edit mode. These modeling improvements aim to streamline mesh creation and enhance the editing experience.
Sculpting & Texture Painting: New Plane Brush and More
Blender 4.4 introduces the Plane brush, a new sculpt tool combining Flatten, Fill, and Scrape functionalities. This brush allows users to define a “brush plane” and control geometry manipulation with height and depth options, enabling precise surface leveling or carving. It includes an invert option for height/depth behavior and stabilization settings for smoother brush control. Cloth simulation brushes now default to Local Simulation Area, offering faster, localized cloth deformation. In Texture Paint mode, the Sample Color tool is assigned to Shift+Ctrl+X for quick color picking. Other improvements include preventing Sculpt Mode entry on hidden objects and optimizing BVH rebuilding for sculpt undo. These updates enhance sculpting and painting workflows by providing greater control and efficiency.
Grease Pencil 3.0 Stabilization and Features
Blender 4.4 stabilizes and enhances Grease Pencil (GP) 3.0, restoring many previously removed features and fixing bugs. The Simplify options Fixed and Merge, the Smooth Points operator, Stroke Placement settings, and Auto-masking in Sculpt Mode are reinstated. Layer groups now accurately respond to show/hide and lock/unlock commands, including nested layers. The Solid display mode correctly shows vertex colors and tinted layers. The line-art primitive gizmo’s size is reduced. Legacy operators like Set Start Point, Lasso/Box erase tools, and Paste by Layer are restored. The ability to convert curves or meshes to Grease Pencil strokes is also back. These improvements ensure Grease Pencil is complete and reliable for 2D animators and storyboard artists.
Video Sequencer: Text Editing & Faster Video Editing
Blender 4.4 enhances the Video Sequencer Editor (VSE) with new features and performance improvements. Text strips can now be edited directly in the Preview window by pressing Tab, allowing for on-the-fly text modifications. Multi-line text alignment options (left, right, center) and a Roundness property for text background boxes are added for improved title design. Sequence operations are optimized, resulting in faster proxy file building, smoother playback of HDR/float-color clips, and accelerated fill background drawing for text strips.
Color adjustment effects run 1.5× to 2× faster, and built-in strip effects benefit from better multi-threading. Blender 4.4 adds H.265/HEVC codec support for video rendering, defaults to BT.709 color space, and improves handling of high bit-depth footage (10-bit and 12-bit) throughout the pipeline. Color conversion from YUV to RGB is more accurate, and numerous small fixes, including improved text strip properties layout, proper rotation metadata handling, and default copying of effect strips, are implemented. These enhancements make the VSE more robust for video editing and animatics creation.
Compositing: Rewritten Compositor and Glare Node Overhaul
Blender 4.4 features a complete rewrite of the CPU compositor backend, improving performance and enabling future development. This rewrite reduces memory usage, efficiently caches static data, and accelerates various compositor nodes, including Levels (up to 10× faster), Filter and Kuwahara (about 2× faster), Gaussian Blur (up to 4× faster), and Glare (6× more performant). The system now skips re-computing unviewed outputs, enhancing responsiveness. The Glare node is overhauled with linkable inputs and new outputs, providing greater flexibility and control over glare effects.
New parameters like Strength, color tint, and saturation are added, and the Bloom mode is made more realistic. Smoothness and Maximum controls prevent blown-out highlights. The Glare node’s UI is reorganized into collapsible panels, and old settings are marked as deprecated. The Denoise node now includes a “Quality” setting for balancing speed and quality. The compositor supports integer image sockets, and transformations are non-destructive until applied. The Translate node’s wrapping mode defaults to “Repeat.” These compositing improvements result in a faster, leaner, and more flexible pipeline, allowing for complex multi-pass compositing directly within Blender.
Rendering and Viewport: Cycles Upgrades, EEVEE Polish, Vulkan & More
Blender 4.4 updates the rendering engines with new hardware support and performance enhancements. Cycles now supports Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50×0 and AMD’s Radeon RX 7000/8000 series GPUs. AMD’s HIP RT is production-ready and will be enabled by default in the next release, with dropped support for older RDNA1 cards and increased driver requirements. The OptiX AI denoiser is updated for better detail preservation, and Cycles’ path tracing handles subpixel bump mapping more accurately. Baking workflows are faster, and Cycles features improved out-of-core memory handling and compressed GPU kernels.
EEVEE and the general viewport receive refinements, including a rewritten 3D viewport overlay system for better consistency. Object origins, outlines, and gizmos behave more predictably, and X-Ray view and wireframe display are improved. The experimental Vulkan rendering backend receives a significant update, resulting in dramatically better performance and stability, though it remains experimental with some features pending. Vulkan allows handling scenes with more polygons than OpenGL, and it’s on track for production readiness in 2025. These updates enhance rendering performance and viewport responsiveness, leveraging modern GPU technologies.
Geometry Nodes: New Nodes and Blazing Performance
Blender 4.4 enhances Geometry Nodes with new nodes and performance improvements. The “Find in String” node facilitates text manipulation, and “Collection Info” and “Object Info” nodes simplify importing collections and objects as geometry data. The Subdivision Surface node gains a “Limit Surface” option, and the Normal node now outputs proper face corner normals. Vertex group attributes are preserved when using Join Geometry or Realize Instances.
The 3D Viewport text overlay correctly displays matrix attributes, and the Warning node’s UI dynamically updates its label. Node resizing in the node editor supports snapping. The Triangulate node sees a 30× to 100× speed increase due to porting to the new mesh backend, and the Sort Elements node is ~50% faster. These optimizations improve performance for complex setups, allowing for faster computation and handling of larger datasets.
User Interface & Workflow Refinements
Blender 4.4 introduces UI improvements and workflow tweaks. On Windows 11 and macOS, system theme colors are applied to window title bars and decorations. Editor splitting and resizing now feature snapping to minimum, maximum, and midpoint sizes. Tiny editor areas auto-hide scrollbars, and horizontal scrollbars hide when content fits. The Node Editor grays out input sockets that don’t affect the final output. The Asset Browser defaults to sorting by Catalog, and asset preview images can be removed.
The UV Editor’s Image Editor starts with the Sample tool active, and Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V is added for copying and pasting UVs. New warnings in the Status Bar alert users to non-uniform or negative scale transforms and ineffective transform operations. The Material Properties icon is flipped for better distinction. OS-specific fixes include improved Unicode support on Windows and smoother tablet navigation on macOS. The Blender Extensions platform now offers over 500 free add-ons and themes for customization. These changes enhance Blender’s usability, making it more polished and efficient.
Pipeline Integration and I/O Enhancements
Blender 4.4 enhances industry pipeline integration by aligning with VFX Reference Platform 2025 standards, upgrading core libraries like MaterialX, OpenColorIO, OpenEXR, OpenVDB, Open Shading Language, and USD. USD support is significantly improved, enabling export of animated volumes, better material handling with UsdPreviewSurface displacement, support for time-varying point instancers, and enhanced experimental instancing options.
New USD export options provide control over transform merging, unit scale application, and import hierarchy management. Edge and vertex crease values in USD/Alembic import now respect OpenSubdiv’s expected range. glTF 2.0 support is updated, allowing import of Action Slots animations and refined export of driven properties. New glTF import/export options include skipping selection of imported objects, including/ignoring glTF “extras,” and interpolation fallback settings. Numerous glTF exporter bug fixes enhance reliability when exchanging assets with other platforms. These updates streamline Blender’s integration into professional pipelines.
Under the Hood: Python API Updates
Blender 4.4 updates its Python API, mainly due to the new Action Slots system, with a new API for slots, layers, strips, and channelbags. The existing F-Curves and Action Groups API is now a “backward-compatible legacy API” for the first Action slot. Breaking changes in the Python API for actions, sequencer strips, and Blender type subclassing require developers to update scripts and add-ons. bpy.types.
Sequence and related types in the Video Sequencer module are renamed to bpy.types.Strip. New properties and functions are added to the Python API for Grease Pencil, Curves, and Nodes. bpy.app now indicates portable or Python module installation. The bpy package on PyPI grants access to Blender’s VFX libraries. These API updates are vital for developers to utilize Blender 4.4’s new features and ensure compatibility.
| Old API Element | New API Element/Change | Description |
|---|---|---|
| bpy.types.Sequence | bpy.types.Strip | Base class for sequencer strips |
| bpy.types.EffectSequence | bpy.types.EffectStrip | Base class for effect strips |
| bpy.types.AddSequence | bpy.types.AddStrip | Add effect strip |
| bpy.types.AdjustmentSequence | bpy.types.AdjustmentStrip | Adjustment effect strip |
| bpy.types.AlphaOverSequence | bpy.types.AlphaOverStrip | Alpha Over effect strip |
| bpy.types.AlphaUnderSequence | bpy.types.AlphaUnderStrip | Alpha Under effect strip |
| bpy.types.ColorMixSequence | bpy.types.ColorMixStrip | Color Mix effect strip |
| bpy.types.ColorSequence | bpy.types.ColorStrip | Color strip |
| bpy.types.CrossSequence | bpy.types.CrossStrip | Cross effect strip |
bpy.types.GammaCrossSequence | bpy.types.GammaCrossStrip | Gamma Cross effect strip |
bpy.types.GaussianBlurSequence | bpy.types.GaussianBlurStrip | Gaussian Blur effect strip |
bpy.types.GlowSequence | bpy.types.GlowStrip | Glow effect strip |
Blender 4.4’s Python API changes require technical directors and developers to update scripts and add-ons, particularly for actions, NLA, and sequence strips, due to the new animation system and VSE updates. The API now exposes the Action Slot system, and older code may be deprecated. Blender 4.4 provides a summary of these changes, including new API calls for Curves data and Nodes, modifications for Grease Pencil objects, and the addition of bpy.app.module for detecting “headless” Python module mode and a property for checking portable installations.
Pipeline TDs should review the breaking changes list. Cycles requires newer GPU drivers for AMD and Intel GPUs, with AMD on Windows needing at least driver version supporting HIP RT and ROCm 6.0+ on Linux. Older GPU architectures may have reduced support. Operating system support remains the same as 4.3. Opening old .blend files triggers one-time conversions like action slotting, deprecated settings as nodes, and subdivision crease adjustments. Backwards compatibility is prioritized, but backing up critical projects is recommended. An LTS version (Blender 4.2 LTS) is available for absolute stability.
| Feature/Area | Improvement |
|---|---|
| Image Sequence Proxy Building | Up to 30% faster |
| Float/HDR Content Playback | 2.5 times faster |
| Text Strip Background Fill “Box” | Several times faster for large areas |
| Curves Modifier | 1.5-2 times faster |
| Hue Correct Modifier | 1.5-2 times faster |
| White Balance Modifier | 1.5-2 times faster |
| Sequencer Effects | Slightly faster due to multi-threading |
| Modeling Playback (Custom Normals) | Up to 15% faster |
| Face Corner Normal Calculation | 15% faster |
| Selected to Active Baking | Faster |
| Blender Opening Time | Slightly faster (font shader compiling) |
| Undo Operation | 2-5 times faster (complex scenes) |
| Compositor – Levels Node | Up to 10 times faster |
| Compositor – Filter Node | 2 times faster |
| Compositor – Kuwahara Node | 2 times faster |
| Compositor – Blur Nodes | Up to 4 times faster |
| Compositor – Glare Node | 6 times faster |
| Compositor – Pixelate Node | 9 times faster |
| Geometry Nodes – Triangulate Node | 30-100 times faster |
| Geometry Nodes – Sort Elements | 50% faster |
Practical Implications for Artists, Game Developers, and Animators
Blender 4.4’s breadth of improvements has practical benefits for different kinds of users:
- 3D Artists & Modelers: YBlender 4.4 offers a more stable and faster workspace, reducing crashes and improving viewport playback for dense models due to bug fixes and performance tweaks. Topology tools like pole selection and improved dissolve aid in creating cleaner models with less manual cleanup. The new sculpt Plane brush and other sculpting enhancements provide finer control for stylized and hard-surface detailing. These improvements enable quicker design iteration and increased confidence in Blender’s reliability
- Game Developers: Blender 4.4 offers better export pipeline features – Blender 4.4 offers a more stable, faster workspace, improved topology tools, and enhanced sculpting. It also provides better glTF and USD export, Action Slots for game animation, and performance gains in geometry nodes and the Vulkan backend. These updates streamline content creation for modeling, texturing, and animation.
- Animators & Film Makers:Blender 4.4’s Action Slots enhance animation organization, while Pose Library and Grease Pencil fixes improve pre-production. The upgraded compositor and VSE improvements allow for more advanced post-processing and editing within Blender.
Blender 4.4 improves automation and workflow efficiency with new nodes, Python API features, and UI changes that reduce friction. The growing add-on ecosystem allows for further customization. This update balances refinement and innovation, solidifying Blender as a reliable 3D production hub. Upgrading users will experience smoother tasks and faster renders, while those from older versions will find significant functionality leaps. Compatibility notes and add-on updates are advised. Blender 4.4 delivers industry-grade stability and new features, encouraging smarter work and larger projects.
Blender 4.4 – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- When was Blender 4.4 released and what is the focus of this update?
Blender 4.4, released March 18, 2025, emphasizes stability (“Winter of Quality”) with 700+ bug fixes and tool polishing, alongside new features like Action Slots, a rewritten Compositor, Grease Pencil improvements, and performance enhancements. - What are Action Slots in Blender 4.4 and how do they help animators?
Action Slots combine multiple animation data-blocks into one Action, simplifying complex animations. Older files convert automatically. - What new modeling tools or changes does Blender 4.4 include?
Blender 4.4 improves modeling with pole selection, better tris-to-quads conversion, smarter edge dissolving, and 15% faster playback for certain scenes. - What’s new in Sculpting and Texture Painting in 4.4?
Blender 4.4’s sculpting highlight is the Plane brush with enhanced controls. Texture Paint gets a color picker shortcut. Cloth brushes use local simulation by default, and hidden objects block Sculpt Mode entry. - How has Grease Pencil improved in Blender 4.4?
Grease Pencil 4.4 restores missing tools (Simplify, Smooth Points, Stroke Placement, Auto-masking), fixes layer group behavior, and corrects numerous bugs, improving stability and reliability for 2D animation. - What enhancements were made to the Video Sequence Editor in 4.4?
Blender’s Video Sequencer now allows direct text editing in the preview, improves text formatting, speeds up editing, and adds H.265 export and 10/12-bit video support. - How has the Compositor changed in Blender 4.4?
Blender’s compositing engine was rewritten for performance gains (faster nodes, quicker tweaks), the Glare node was overhauled with more controls, the Denoise node added quality settings, and integer image sockets were introduced, increasing speed and flexibility. - What are the key rendering and viewport updates in 4.4 (Cycles/EEVEE)?
Blender 4.4’s Cycles adds support for new GPUs and stabilizes AMD’s ray tracing. OptiX denoising, memory handling, and baking accuracy improve. EEVEE’s viewport is refined, and the experimental Vulkan backend shows significant performance gains. - Is Blender 4.4 faster and more stable than previous versions?
Blender 4.4 prioritizes performance and stability, fixing 700+ bugs and improving editing, playback, geometry nodes, compositing, and rendering. While performance varies, it’s generally snappier. For maximum stability, the 4.2 LTS version is available. - Are there any compatibility concerns or changes with Blender 4.4? Will my old files and add-ons work?
Blender 4.4 offers backward compatibility with automatic file conversions, but Python scripts/add-ons and GPU drivers may need updates. Backups are recommended. - How do I use the new Action Slots?
Action Slots store multiple animation data-blocks in one Action, shown as slots in the Action Editor, for complex, organized animations. - Will my old animation files still work?
Old animation files automatically convert to Action Slots in Blender 4.4, with original Actions in “Legacy Slots.” Review complex animations after upgrade. - What are the minimum hardware requirements for Blender 4.4? : Cycles requires newer GPU drivers from AMD/Intel. Check Blender documentation for specifics.
- Where can I find the full release notes?
The complete and detailed release notes for Blender 4.4 can be found on the official Blender website: . - Is the Vulkan backend production-ready?
The Vulkan backend for viewport rendering has seen significant improvements but is still considered experimental in Blender 4.4 . While it offers performance benefits, it may still lack some features present in the OpenGL backend. It is now used for displaying the rendered output of Cycles. - What are the key performance improvements I can expect?
Blender 4.4 has performance optimizations in the Video Sequencer, modifiers, compositor, and Geometry Nodes, particularly the Triangulate node. See the “Performance Optimizations Across Key Areas” section for details. - Do I need to update my GPU drivers?
Yes, especially if you intend to use Cycles for rendering. Blender 4.4 has increased the minimum required driver versions for AMD and Intel GPUs . Updating to the latest recommended drivers is crucial for ensuring compatibility and optimal performance. - What are the breaking changes in the Python API? : There are breaking changes in the Python API related to actions, sequencer strips (with bpy.types.Sequence types being renamed to bpy.types.Strip), and subclassing Blender types . Developers should consult the Python API release notes for a comprehensive list of changes.
- Where can I report bugs or provide feedback?
Bugs and feedback for Blender 4.4 can be reported through the official Blender Developer website and bug tracker . - What is the significance of the CY2025 specification?
The CY2025 specification refers to the VFX Reference Platform, an annually updated set of library versions used in the visual effects industry to ensure compatibility between different software packages. Blender 4.4 has been updated to align with this specification, enhancing its integration into professional VFX pipelines .
Conclusion: How Blender 4.4 Enhances the 3D Creation Experience
Blender 4.4 emerges as a robust and feature-rich update, showcasing a balanced approach to innovation and stability. The introduction of Action Slots revolutionizes animation workflows, offering enhanced organization and efficiency. Sculpting and modeling tools receive valuable additions like the Plane brush and the “Select by Trait” functionality, while Grease Pencil 3.0 sees the welcome return of key legacy features. The Geometry Nodes system continues its powerful evolution with new nodes and significant performance gains. Rendering in Cycles and EEVEE benefits from hardware support updates, denoising improvements, and the ongoing refinement of the Vulkan backend.
The compositing module experiences a substantial overhaul with the CPU compositor rewrite and the revamped Glare node, and the Video Sequencer gains significant usability and performance enhancements. Numerous user interface refinements contribute to a more polished and intuitive experience. Furthermore, widespread performance optimizations across various modules ensure a snappier and more responsive application. Innovations in pipeline and I/O, particularly with USD and glTF, strengthen Blender’s interoperability in professional environments. Underpinning all these advancements is the significant focus on stability and bug fixing through the “Winter of Quality” initiative. Overall, Blender 4.4 represents a substantial step forward, empowering 3D artists with a more efficient, versatile, and reliable toolset, further solidifying its position as a leading open-source 3D creation suite.
Sources:
- blender.org4.4 — blender.org Opens in a new window
- 80.lvBlender 4.4 Is Launching Today: New Features & Improvements – 80 Level Opens in a new window
- developer.blender.org4.4 – Blender Developer Documentation Opens in a new window
- cgchannel.com5 key features in Blender 4.4 – CG Channel Opens in a new window
- developer.blender.orgBug Fixes – Blender Developer Documentation Opens in a new window
- phoronix.comBlender 4.4 Released With Vulkan Improvements & AMD HIP RT No Longer Experimental Opens in a new window
- projects.blender.orgProblem with Blender 4.4.0 #136170 Opens in a new window
- developer.blender.orgGeometry Nodes – Blender Developer Documentation Opens in a new window
- cgcookie.comBlender 4.4: Release Date and what features are new or updated – CG Cookie Opens in a new window
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