Blender 3.3 LTS Released: New Features and Enhancements
The Blender Foundation has announced the release of Blender 3.3 LTS, the latest version in its long-term support branch.
This release brings a host of exciting new features and improvements, including a completely revamped hair grooming system. This new system utilizes a Curves object, offering full support for Sculpt mode and integration with Geometry Nodes. Geometry Nodes themselves have been significantly expanded, with additions like UV unwrapping capabilities, shortest path calculations, and a collection of new primitives and utility nodes.
Key Improvements and New Features
Grease Pencil receives a substantial performance boost, now capable of calculating light and shadow contour lines. Users can also specify object priority and benefit from enhanced silhouette detection. Library Overrides management has been refined for a smoother workflow. The Video Sequencer, modeling tools, and UV editing tools all see a range of new features.
Performance and Hardware Support
Sculpting within EEVEE is now faster, providing a more responsive experience. The user interface has undergone several refinements to improve usability. Cycles rendering now offers support for AMD Vega graphics cards, as well as the new Intel Arc GPUs, expanding hardware compatibility.
Additional Enhancements
- New Hair Grooming System (Curves Object)
- Expanded Geometry Nodes (UV Unwrapping, Shortest Path, New Primitives)
- Improved Grease Pencil Performance and Features
- Enhanced Library Overrides Management
- New Features in Video Sequencer, Modeling, and UVs
- Faster Sculpting in EEVEE
- User Interface Updates
- Cycles Support for AMD Vega and Intel Arc GPUs
This is a significant update that offer substantial improvements to several core areas of Blender.
