Wacom becomes Blender’s latest Corporate Patron
Graphics tablet and pen display manufacturer Wacom has become the latest Corporate Patron of the Blender Development Fund, upgrading from its previous Corporate Gold membership.
The change – announced as part of a partnership to “develop a next-generation Blender experience for Android tablets” – means an extra €210,000/year in funding for Blender.
Wacom now one of the biggest corporate backers of Blender development
Wacom was already a Gold sponsor of the Blender Development Fund, but the upgrade to Corporate Patron status is a considerable one, taking its contribution from €30,000/year to €240,000/year.
The extra €210,000/year equates roughly to the salaries of three full-time Blender developers.
Wacom becomes one of the largest corporate backers of the open-source 3D software, alongside Epic Games, Qualcomm and VR and XR headset manufacturer Pico.
Part of a partnership to develop a ‘next-gen Blender experience’ on Android tablets
The change is part of an “expanded partnership” between Wacom and Blender following the Blender Foundation’s announcement of new tablet editions of the open-source 3D software.
The new editions will feature a reworked user interface designed for use on smaller screens with pen and touch input.
The changes will roll out first on iOS and later on Android – Wacom’s main area of interest.
The MovinkPad 11, Wacom’s new 11-inch Android drawing tablet, is one of the devices namechecked in last month’s Blender Developer blog post announcing the tablet editions.
As well as development of a “next-generation Blender experience for Android tablets”, Wacom says that it support more general “optimization of pen and touch performance” in Blender.
“Our collaboration with Wacom is a major step in making Blender more intuitive on pen and touch devices,” said Francesco Siddi, COO at Blender.
Read Wacom’s announcement of its expanded partnership with Blender
Visit the Blender Development Fund website
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