Context: BCON23 celebrated 21 years of open-source Blender. Major themes were Blender 4.0's approaching release, Simulation Zones (the backbone of modern Geo Nodes physics), Grease Pencil's upcoming 3.0 rewrite, and the deepening integration of USD and glTF pipelines. Feedback was overall positive with improvements from BCON22. Sponsors included FAB, OTOY, Ranch Computing, Render Street, Khronos Group, and Blender Market.
KEYNOTE
Keynote — 21 Years of Open Source Blender
Ton Roosendaal — Blender Foundation
Ton Roosendaal's annual state-of-Blender, framed around 21 years of open-source development. Covers the journey from Blender's free software crowdfunding in 2002 to its current position as a serious industry tool, with forward-looking discussion of Blender 4.0 and beyond.
GEOMETRY NODES & SIMULATION
Adding More Art into the .blend…
Jonathan Audebourg
Pushing Geometry Nodes beyond its typical use cases into generative art, procedural storytelling, and creative exploration. A talk about finding the artistic boundaries of what nodes can express.
We Can Do That with Geometry Nodes…
Simon Thommes — Blender Studio
A showcase of the new capabilities unlocked by Simulation Zones in Geometry Nodes (introduced in Blender 4.0). Simon demonstrates effects that were previously impossible without third-party solvers — custom fluid-like behaviors, particle systems, and state-based logic all built purely in nodes.
Simulation Zones are the foundation of all modern custom physics in Geo Nodes — this talk is where it was first fully demonstrated to the community.
ASSETS, MARKETPLACE & ECOSYSTEM
Polyperfect: Creating Assets for a Living
Pavel Novak, Matěj Šak — Polyperfect
Polyperfect is one of the most prolific Blender asset creators — known for their free low-poly animal collection and commercial asset packs. This talk covers the business of creating and selling 3D assets: workflow, pricing, marketplace strategy, and the economics of the Blender asset ecosystem.
A Bird's-Eye View on the Asset Browser System
Julian Eisel, dr. Sybren A. Stüvel
Blender developers Julian and Sybren explain the architecture and direction of Blender's Asset Browser system — covering the current state, known limitations, planned improvements, and how the community can best use and contribute to asset management in Blender.
PIPELINE, USD & glTF
Flamenco v3.3 — Open Source Render Management
Blender Institute
Flamenco is Blender's free, open-source render farm management tool. Version 3.3 was released at BCON23 with a hands-on workshop. Covers setting up a local render farm, job management, and how small studios can eliminate render farm costs with Flamenco.
References
flamenco.blender.org · Free render management · BCON23 hands-on class files available for download
The glTF Ecosystem in Blender — SIG Meeting
Julien Duroure, Gustaf Waldemarson (Arm) — Khronos Group
A comprehensive look at the glTF ecosystem and Blender's glTF I/O plugin — covering custom import/export plugins, PBR support, physics, scene composition, validation, and USD interoperability. The Khronos Group brought industry representatives to discuss glTF's role as a standard for real-time and web 3D.
References
Khronos Group · glTF 2.0 spec · Blender glTF IO plugin · glTF validator · Web-based glTF viewer
ADD-ON DEVELOPMENT
Developing an Add-on with UX in Mind
Julien Blervaque
How to approach Blender add-on development from a user experience perspective — not just making it functional, but making it intuitive and discoverable. Covers UI/UX principles applied to Blender's operator and panel design system.
LEENKX: Node-Based Servers, Games, Websites, and A.I. in Blender
Riccardo Mazzucco, Brigitte Wente
LEENKX is a visual scripting add-on that turns Blender's node editor into a platform for building servers, games, websites, and AI systems. An ambitious and experimental project that pushes Blender far beyond its conventional 3D use case.
LIGHTNING TALKS & SUZANNE AWARDS
01
Lightfield Simulation in Blender
Svenja Strobel
02
Localizing Blender Studio for China
Timothy Tan
03
LUBI — VFX for German TV
Sebastian König
04
A Live Show Made in Blender
EosFoxx
05
Photoscanning the Moon!
Greg Zaal
06
Blender Short Films by Niko
Nikodem Bredlich
07
Subsurface Talks (Podcast/Community)
Jarosław Dzedzej
08
Animtoolbox Add-on
Tal Hershkovich
09
Blender Conference LA (Preview)
Jason van Gumster
10
Yearly RenderStreet Update
Marius Iatan
11
Surviving Feedback
Alan Melikdjanian
12
Render Rob
Peter Baintner
13
Anamorphic Animations
Andrea Accetta
14
3D Cities by Google in Blender with Blosm
Vladimir Elistratov
Full archive: All BCON23 recordings are on Blender's YouTube channel. Search @BlenderOfficial for "BCON23" or browse PeerTube. Sponsors: FAB, OTOY, Ranch Computing, Render Street, CGGE, Blender Market, Polygoniq, Khronos Group, Next Lab.