Blender Foundation joins Academy Software Foundation as first free/open source org

This news snowed under a bit as it was released around the Blender Conference, but it's super exciting!

DreamWorks Animation’s OpenVDB Adopted as the Foundation’s First Project; Blender Foundation and Visual Effects Society Join as Associate Members

The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), a neutral forum for open source software development in the motion picture and media industries hosted at the Linux Foundation, today announced that Sony Pictures Entertainment/Sony Pictures Imageworks, Warner Bros., Blender Foundation and Visual Effects Society (VES) have joined as members. ASWF also approved OpenVDB, open source software developed and maintained by DreamWorks Animation, as the Foundation’s first hosted project. OpenVDB is an Academy Award-winning industry standard for creating more detailed and realistic volumetric images, including water/liquid simulations and environmental effects like clouds and ice.

“It means a lot for us to have been accepted as the first open source foundation member of the ASWF,” said Ton Roosendaal, Chairman of the Blender Foundation and Blender Institute Director. “This is a big compliment for our work on Blender! I look forward to working with the other members to provide access to film industry quality technology as free and open source software for everyone.”