Hey Reader,

Zach here,

With our updated shortcut PDF for Blender 4.4 (which just released) and a dose of resources and inspiration from the 3D world.

After mentioning a few new Blender 4.4 features, I'll share a great animated short "Deep Rooted" followed by a funny and impressive animated ad for a stop-motion add-on.

This week P2Design is doing a sale to celebrate 150K YouTube subscribers, and finally a small reminder about our Master 3D Characters Course Sale ending soon.

Let’s dive in.

​Blender 4.4 is out! (+ Shortcut PDF Update)​

Blender 4.4 was released this week and though it's mainly a speed (always welcome) and quality polishing release, it comes with a few interesting new features.

I'd like to highlight the new improved Glare Node in the compositor (the go-to place to apply the Bloom effect now). The node is more flexible with additional and more intuitive settings and gives better results and control.

Perhaps the most impactful change is the new Slotted Actions feature that allows storing animations for many objects and settings inside one Action Clip. This might not sound exciting at first, but it is the foundation for the upcoming improvements of Blender's animation system.

​Read more about the new release and download it here​

Also, SouthernShotty explains the new features more thoroughly in this video.

With the new Blender 4.4 release, we’ve also updated our handy shortcut sheet PDF to be compatible with the latest version.

As always, including a colorful and a print-friendly version, both with a clickable menu.

​You can download the PDF here​

​"Deep Rooted"- A beautiful animated Blender Short with a good Story​

We all feel the need to grow and reach new heights, and sometimes we tend to see others as obstacles on our way. Is it the right way to see things, though? This awesome animated short tells a moving story about the harsh consequences that such a negative attitude toward others may lead to.

The movie is made in Blender, with top-notch visuals and great animation.

​"STOP-IFY" add-on Advert (you don’t want to skip)​

At first, I thought it might just be an interesting add-on for adding stop-motion effects (that I really like to add to my animations), but when I saw this video I was both amused and amazed by the creators who know their craft inside out.

It feels much more like an episode of a funny animated series than a product advertisement. If you like it, there are more fun animations like these on their YouTube channel.

​P2Design's Animation and Rigging Courses 20% OFF​

Pierrick Picaut (Blender rigging and animation kung-fu master) has just reached 150K subscribers on his YouTube channel.

To celebrate this, he does a 20% sale on all of his P2Design courses (I highly recommend them as top-quality resources).

​Click here to check P2Design's courses (affiliate link)

(Expires March 23rd, 2025).

You can learn all the details, and a little bit of Pierrick’s history in this video.

​Character Course - 20% Early Bird Discount Ends Soon​

Finally, a quick reminder that the 20% discount for our "Master 3D Characters in Blender" course ends next week (Wednesday, March 26th).

We recently added 6 new chapters with 70 new lessons, covering everything about retopology and UV unwrapping.

Use the coupon code EARLYBIRD20 at checkout to save 20%.

​Join the Character Course here​

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That’s all from me today, have a great weekend and till next time.

~Zach