Hey Reader,

Zach here,

With a fresh dose of inspiration and resources from the 3D world.

First, a quick reminder that our biggest sale of the year ends today.

Next, I’ll share a useful tutorial on optimizing render time in Cycles, followed by a great "Formula 1"-inspired watch animation and a cool looping stylized robot animation made in Blender.

Let’s dive in.

Our Birthday Sale Ends Today!

Don’t miss it! The sale ends today, October 31st, 2025 (23:59 CET).

It is the only time of the year, we run a sale with all our courses discounted.

Claim your 30% discount on all courses and 15% discount on all course bundles by simply using the coupon code below and entering it at the checkout page.

Coupon Code: HBD25

Check all our courses here

How to Render Faster with Cycles?

If you’re struggling with Cycles render times, this video from Jesse (Kaizen) can be a huge help.

Jesse not only shows some useful tricks and hacks to speed up render times, but also explains important settings and concepts that contribute to long or short rendering times in Cycles.

Though the answer to the "what are the best render settings" is usually the most dreaded "it depends", it’s good to know exactly on what conditions it does depend though.

Amazing Formula 1 Watch Animation made in Blender

Albin Merle made this cool animation as an experiment to celebrate Ingenieur Automatic 40 - a unique watch design by IWC Schaffhausen that Brad Pitt wears in the "Formula 1" movie.

The idea behind it is a modern take on a zoetrope (a retro pre-cinematic machine that simulated movement by showing frame-by-frame animation through a rotating cylinder with holes in it). Albin’s feel for motion and music dynamics is brilliant and evokes the speed and precision of a Formula 1 race so well.

Did I mention it was done in Blender and rendered in Cycles?

Super Jump! A Fun Robot Animation Made with Blender

Framed51 posted this robot animation he made with Blender on Reddit and Twitter.

It has beautifully crafted robot characters and a consistently stylized environment, but what’s most impressive is the dynamic animation that draws the viewer into the short and fun story that turns into an infinite time loop.

I’m looking forward to seeing more works from this talented creative.
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That’s all from me today. Have a great weekend, and till next time.

~Zach

P.S. Today October 31st, 2025 (16:00 CET) is also the submission deadline for our Birthday Cake Madness 3D Art Challenge, don't miss submitting your final render here.