Blender iPad Pro App in Development with Apple Pencil Support

Blender is Coming to iPad: A Full-Featured 3D Creation Suite on Your Tablet

Get ready for a revolution in mobile 3D creation! Blender, the renowned open-source 3D software, is bringing its powerful features to the iPad. This isn't just a scaled-down version; it's a fully-featured experience designed to leverage the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for a seamless and intuitive workflow. The development team aims to provide the complete power of Blender on a tablet, without compromises.

Mockup showing Blender on iPad Pro

A Powerful, Tablet-Optimized Blender Experience

The Blender team's goal is ambitious: to seamlessly translate the desktop experience to the tablet format. This requires a significant redesign to accommodate the unique characteristics of a touch-based interface. As they explain in their official announcement:

This requires adapting to platform-specific paradigms, but also to offer more task-oriented user interfaces with reduced information density. This will be achieved by extending existing input methods, and improving workspaces and application templates, running on top of a regular Blender build.

This means a significant shift towards a more streamlined and intuitive interface. The initial release will prioritize core functionalities like sculpting and basic object manipulation, making the most of the iPad's touch capabilities. Future updates will incorporate features like the Grease Pencil (for drawing and animation) and storyboarding tools, further expanding the creative potential on the iPad.

Designed for Experienced Blender Users

It's important to note that this isn't a simplified version of Blender targeted towards beginners. The team explicitly states that this iPad app is built for existing Blender users. There's no intention of dumbing down the software. Their vision focuses on providing a consistent, powerful experience across different platforms:

The audience is 'Blender users'," the developers emphasize. "There is no distinction between desktop or tablet users, the same way mouse/keyboard and graphic tablet users are treated equally."

The interface is being carefully designed to maximize screen real estate on the iPad. The design incorporates floating UI elements and contextual overlays to provide quick access to tools without cluttering the workspace. Menus are collapsed by default, and the traditional tool settings header is replaced with intuitive, pen-friendly floating panels.

A Glimpse into the Future

While a specific release date hasn't been announced, Blender plans to showcase a live technical demonstration at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver. This will be followed by further discussions and design workshops at Blender HQ and the Blender Conference later in the year. This suggests that the development is progressing well and a release is likely on the horizon.

Following the iPad Pro launch, the plan is to expand to other touch-based devices, including the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and Wacom MobileStudio Pro. This demonstrates Blender's commitment to making its powerful software accessible across a wider range of devices.

Benefits Extending Beyond the iPad

Interestingly, the development effort for the tablet version will have positive repercussions for the desktop version of Blender as well. The team intends to incorporate new features developed for the tablet interface into the desktop version. This includes the development of a Quick Favorites editor and a Helper overlay featuring curated shortcuts, improvements that will enhance the user experience for all Blender users.

A Bold Step for Open-Source 3D Software

Blender's foray into the tablet market represents a significant leap for the open-source 3D community. By creating a fully-featured, native iPad app, Blender is not only expanding its reach to a new audience but also pushing the boundaries of what's possible with mobile 3D creation. This commitment to innovation reinforces Blender's position as a leader in the open-source 3D software landscape.

You can download the latest version of Blender for free from the official Blender website, compatible with both Intel and Apple silicon Macs. Stay tuned for further updates on the iPad app’s development and prepare to experience the power of Blender in a whole new way.

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This article, "Blender iPad Pro App in Development with Apple Pencil Support" originally appeared on MacRumors.com.

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