The Node Editor Upgrade + Compositor Assets v1 release🍝

⛔ This build may have asset shelf header properties broken.

To fix, close all editors with the broken asset shelf, respawn the editor and it will be fixed. Then save the startup.

This release is focused on new Compositor assets that come out of the box, new smart asset updates and apply operators, and much much love to the node editors.

This is part of all the latest from Blender 5.0.0 and 5.1.0 to the date - with 242 new tokens of love from us and a large chunk also from Blender!

⚠️ Warning: *.BlendFile formats from this version onwards will not be backwards compatible with earlier versions of Blender 4.5.x or Bforartists 4.4.x. It's a one way trip!

What's new

• 99 new Compositor assets, including shapes, patterns, lens effects, color adjustments, filters and more
• New customizable colored backgrounds on nodes
• New icons in collapsed icon headers
• New customizable Node Editor Overlay for canvas center
• Enhanced Asset Shelf user experience: New packed mode, and love to context menu operators for Armature Pose assets
• Group Operators in Node Toolshelf: Node group operators moved to toolshelf for better accessibility
• New icons for frames with new frame operators
• New Apply operators: Apply with remesh, join, and boolean on selected meshes with one click
• Presentation Addon Enhancement: New Slides operator for presentations
• Interface Consistency Improvements: more robust columns for tabbed toolshelf
• Region Toggle Pie Menu: Added to T key and exposed in header
• Organized Node categories and groups for less bloat and better discoverability
• New Animation Timeline Footers and Dopesheet editor mode
• New quick toggle to Timeline with the Power User Tools
• Consistent paint curve dropdowns in header and sidebar for jitter and pressure settings
• Update to the Curves edit mode to be consistent with other modes
• Adopted the new Blender "Built-in" sequencer scene sync with our legacy 3D Sequencer system with timeline gizmos
• New Geometry Nodes assets and modifiers from Blender adopted to the Bforartists asset shelves
• Smart Mesh Blend by Proximity assets gets material blending, performance modes, and an improved wizard user experience

Additional Features from this Blender 5.0.x and 5.1.x series

• Improved UV user experience with sync
• New Compositor Sequencer Mode: New Sequencer modifier with access to using compositor nodes with Sequence Info strip integration
• Minimized Theme Panel Visual Update
• Frame Jump is now built into the timeline with seconds and frames
• Geometry Nodes Improvements: Multiple new Grid, SDF, and Volume nodes
• Performance Optimizations: Improved tessellation, subdivision, and general performance
• New Radial Tiling vector node
• New Repeat Zone for Shaders (with bundles and closures)
• New & Updated MatCaps: optional specular lighting in MatCaps improves shading clarity, especially on dark surfaces.
• Dope Sheet Cache Visualization – Clearer feedback on cached frames for animation performance monitoring.
• Video Sequencer Overhaul: Dedicated Strip and Strip Modifiers tabs with drag-and-drop modifier stacks, icons, and search.
• Multi-Scene Sequencer Workflows – Sequencer can now reference different scenes, with Sync Scene Time for seamless editing.
• Grease Pencil Motion Blur: Adds natural blur to strokes with adjustable steps, enhancing animation quality.
• Grease Pencil Corner Types: Per-point corner styles (Round, Sharp, Flat) for more precise stroke design.
• Faster cycles and EEVEE
• Netter Subsurface scattering, volumetrics and multi-scattering
• New sky mode for environments
• Faster unwrapping and field evaluation in Geometry Nodes
• Better FBX, Alembix and USD compatibility
• Adaptive subdivision in Cycles now official
• Metallic Thin Film Iridescence for Cycles

And much much more

ℹ️ Mac builds are coming soon.

And also, thanks again for all art, love, feedback and help for making the Bforartists community what it is today! Without your feedback and support, this wouldn't be possible

• Bforartists-5.0.0-Linux.tar.xz
• Bforartists-5.0.0-Windows.zip
• Bforartists-5.0.0-x86_64.AppImage
• bforartists_5.0.0.deb
• Install_Bforartists5_500.exe
• releasenote_bforartists5_500.txt

3D View

• Sidebar > Global Transform tab - Make tooltips unique for different paste operators #5906
• Overlays - Wireframe conditional borken #5820
• Armature - Pose - Bone Display - Add icons #5821
• Grease Pencil - Draw Mode - Remove one of the curve dropdown methods #5677
• Add Menu - Lattice submenu for "Lattice Deform Selected" now missing #5757
• Asset Shelf - Dragging in materials only goes to "packed" mode instead of others properties #5720
• Missing Grease Pencil Snap pie menu #5723
• Sculpt Mode - Sidebar - Stroke - Float Adjust Strength for Space left #5609
• View - Missing operator "Render Viewport Keyframes" #5713
• Assets - Make icon consistent for Markign Assets #5615
• Curves + Grease Pencil Edit mode - COrrect the Spline Type (convert) Consistent and Expose Align operators in Context menu #5654
• Curve/Curves/Greasepencil - Edit mode - Set Handle Type should be in center group #5612
• Header View menu - Double render viewport #5629
• Curves - Sculpt mode - Add tabs and tools to tool shelf #5611
• Painting Mode - Make sidebar strength and radius control buttons consistent #5606
• Curves - Edit mode - Add tabs and tools to tool shelf #5608
• Brush Paint modes - Regression: Collapse brush sensitivity curves #5575
• Object > Animation - Add missing "Bake Object Transform to Grease Pencil" operator #5570
• Vertex Paint - Jitter panel has a bug #5574

Sequencer

• Toolshelf - Delete selected retiming context is not robust #5810
• Sidebar - Retiming panel is broken #5702
• Put scene selecter to the center to be consistent with other selectors #5745
• Modifiers tab now legacy, remove from Sequencer #5682
• New sequencer overlay #5704
• Hard crash when switching to the sequencer (timeline grid can't draw due to bad scene context) #5565
• Sidebar - Strip - Sound Panel - Hide greyed out props #5544
• Sidebar - Strip - Time Panel - Fix alignment in "End" labels #5550
• Preview mode - Strip - Animation - Remove delete confirmations dialogues #5539
• Preview mode - Strip - New "Delete Keyframes" and "Clear Keyframes" operator #5436
• Strip Panel - Fix Indentation for "Annotation" and "Transparent" properties #5528
• Sequencer mode - Strip - New Duplicate Linked operator #5438
• Header - Shuffle could have iconography #5161
• Remove double Snapping menu #5513
• Sound Strip - Sidebar - Sound - Float Mono left #5511
• Cache Settings - Adjust split spacing in Display Cache subpanel #5517

Geometry Nodes

• New Points to Grid nodes #5684
• Volume - Operations - New SDF/Grid nodes #5880
• Volume - Write - New grid nodes #5879
• New UV Tangent Node #5840
• Volume - Sample - New grid nodes #5878
• Mesh -Operations - New Mesh to Density/SDF Grid #5877
• Point - New Point to Grid/SDF nodes #5876
• New Join Bundle node #5849
• Add & Swap Menu - Remove Group Input & Output double entries #5689
• Sidebar Toolshelf - Fix inconsistent name for vector Map Range #5828
• New "String to Value" node #5503

Preferences

• Editing - Node Editor - Use split layout for Node Color Blend property #5944
• Default Editor handle and arrows to ON #5746
• Close Menu on Leave float left #5716
• Add icon to Developer Tools #5578
• Theme - New Regions common settings: needs an icon and an update #5561
• Interface - New Accesibility toggle Reduce Motion, float left #5507
• Default numerical values to ON #5508
• Default Corner Handles to ON #5510

Properties Editor

• Modifiers - UV Project - Add UV label indentation #5022
• Modifiers - Vertex Weight Mix - Add proper indentation to Vertex Groups and Weights #5020
• Modifiers - Geometry Nodes - Fix misaligned keyframe buttons for Vector & Rotation inputs #5871
• Color Management Use White Balance - Split labels from properties #5540
• Material - Missing shadow properties need to be removed #5715
• Scene - Add icons to panel buttons #5516
• Output - Color Management Panel - Use Curves float left #5514
• Scene - Simulation - Increase split between simulation range label and toggle #5515

Compositor

• Add & Swap Menu - Remove Group Input & Output double entries #5847
• Sequencer Mode - Unsupported Inputs icon needs to be made consistent #5805
• Sidebar - Update Utilities to reflect add menu #5804
• New "Convolve" and "Convert to Display" node #5502
• Output - Group Output is "unknown" in sideshelf #5483
• Filter - Remove Sunbeams #5484
• Remove "Sunbeams" from sidebar #5437

Sculpt Mode

• Trim Tool group - Make enum labels have more room #5756
• Mesh Filter - Use split layout for non-boolean properties #5776
• Cloth Filter - Use split layout for non-boolean properties #5777
• Color Filter - Use split layout for non-boolean properties #5778
• Mask By Color tool - Use split layout for Threshold #5784
• Edit Face Set - Make enum labels have more room #5779
• Lasso Mask - Hide props when inactive #5753

Image Editor

• Paint Mode - Sidebar > Tool tab > Texture - Use split layout for Random Value Property #5948
• Mask Mode - Sidebar > View tab > 2D Cursor panel - Use split layout for numerical sliders #5939
• Sidebar - View tab > Annotations panel - Use split layout for numerical sliders #5940
• Paint Mode - Sidebar > Mask Brush > Brush Settings > Advanced - Use split layout for non-boolean properties #5928
• Paint Mode - Sidebar > Tool tab > Texture Map - Align Rake and Random props left #5933
• UV Mode - UV - Cleanup menu #5680

Mesh

• Modifiers - Vertex Weight modifiers - Fix issues in "Influence" sublayout #5898
• Sculpt Mode - Brush Settings > Advanced > Jitter - Make curve properties consistent in header and sidebar #5894
• Particle Edit Mode - Sidebar > Tool Tab > Options panel - Shorten labels of props under "Preserve" sublayout #5889
• Particle Edit mode - Sidebar > Tool > Options panel - Fix name regression for X Mirror #5735
• Edit Mode - Face Menu - Intersect Boolean - Align properties left in adjust last operator #5691

Asset

• Smart Mesh Blend by Proximity 2.0 - Update files #5811
• Mesh Blend by Proximity - Add opt-in to use relative position #5488
• Blend Normals by Proximity - Add material blend to wizard #5388
• Mesh Blend by Proximity 2.0 #5693
• Geometry Nodes - Index Mask #5647

Node Editor

• Add & Swap Menu - Group Submenu - Fix missing icons #5943
• Node menu - Add icons to Join Group Inputs and Join in Named Frame operators #5857
• Node menu - Move new Swap submenu to header #5856
• Missing "interface_item_new" #5710

Node Editors

• Add an overlay to show "canvas center" #5915
• Group Sockets - Structure - Add icons to Structure dropdown #5257
• Add icons to the new Swap Node editor #5628
• Draw icon in header when nodes are collapsed #5421

Grease Pencil

• Draw Mode - Brush Settings > Advanced > Jitter - Make curve properties consistent in header and sidebar #5607
• Draw Mode - Draw Menu > Cleanup > Reproject Strokes - Align prop left in Adjust Last Operator panel #5707
• Edit Mode - Point Menu - Set Corner Type - add missing icons #5703

Icons

• Modal Toolshelf - Create and compile Weight paint icons #5836
• Modal Toolshelf Icons consistency - Transform Icons #5658
• Modal Toolshelf Icons consistency - Edit mode - Bevel #5120

Edit Mode

• Shrink/Fatten tool - Use split layout for Drag popover #5781
• Poly Build tool - Use split layout for Drag popover #5780
• Rip Region tool - Float Fill property left #5773

Outliner

• Colored collection icons broken #5717
• Filter Panel - Refactor how indentation is handled #4627
• Blender File mode could be "Blend File" #5482

Keymap

• Curves object - Expose Context Menu for edit menu #5652
• UV Editor - 4 for island mode is broken #5653
• Node Editors - Add double click to enter node groups #5636

Addon

• Smart Delete - Optimize edges on high poly mesh #5936
• Export UV Layout - now a default addon, add icon to operator #4999

Geometry nodes

• New Grid Nodes out of experimental #5697
• lots of missing tooltips in add menu #5288

Hair Curves

• Edit Mode - Context Menu - Change Extrude Curve and Move label for consistency #5837
• Edit Mode - Header > Control Points Menu - Change Extrude Curve and Move label for consistency #5850

Hair Curve

• Edit Mode - Curves Menu - Remove Set Handle Type menu, double entry #5736
• Edit Mode - Context Menu - Add missing icons #5694

Shader Editor

• Sidebar - Consolidate the "Converter" group #5814
• World Shader - Use Nodes toggle has been removed #5475

Animation Editors

• Dopesheet/Footer - New Timeline and footer with double entries #5808
• Move Playhead snapping to the right (options) #5506

Power User Tools

• Remove time jump operators, expose delta timejump to top level #5718
• Make the frame jump operators show up in the footers also #5434

Icon

• Add the Save UV icon #5685
• Scale Action icon up #5497

Theme

• Sequencer - Add channel text to white #5639
• Node Editor - Make Scrfipt header color what it used to be #5586

Grease Pencil Edit mode

• Stroke menu - expand Simplify Stroke in tool shelf, add it to toolbar #5318
• Stroke menu - Simplify Stroke - separate tooltips #5314

Grease pencil in object mode

• Grease Pencil Overlays - missing X Y labels #5481
• Grease Pencil Overlays - double entry and false indention #5426

Other

• Remove Online Manual entry from the compositor context menu #5964
• Compositor sidebar , Node tab, Properties panel with File Output node - align props left #5972
• UV Editor, Sidebar, View tab, 2D Cursor panel - put labels in front of sliders #5963
• UV Editor, UV menu, Moven on Axis sub menu needs icons #5958
• UV Editor, UV menu, Move on Axis submenu, add icons #5959
• Image editor , sidebar, Image tab - put label in front of seam slider #5937
• Fix regression in image editor add menu - add back add feather vertex and slide #5922
• Image editor, paint mode, sidebar, tool tab, stroke mask subpanel, two labels #5934
• Question: Flatpak Runtime Outdated #5921
• Blender icon on Linux instead of BFA's #5741
• 3d view, sidebar, animation tab, fix to camera subtab, align props left #5905
• workflow to write the automated manual issues has quit working #5802
• Remove Timeline quick navigation and mode toggle + add timeline toggles to Power User Tools #5839
• 3d view in quadview, sidebar, view tab, indent props in quadview panel #5901
• Switching the bone while weight paint #5886
• Relation line for IK chain length #5732
• Mesh with Hair curves in sculpt mode - missing icons in tool shelf #5739
• Toolshelf in 3d view, add primitive tool, active tool settings in sidebar, missing snap to default value #5737
• NameError: name 'derow' is not defined #5817
• Shader Node Editor- Add Utility group of nodes to the sidebar #5596
• Bezier curve in edit mode, curve pen tool, tool settings, align prop left #5762
• Video Editing, Properties Editor, new Strip Properties tab, new Strip Modifers tab, align props left #5795
• Mesh with Hair curves in sculpt mode, hair curve modifiers - align props left #5738
• Update bforartists-softwaregl script to allow run in vm #5763
• Grease pencil in edit mode, Pen tool, active tool settings, add label in front of dropdowns #5765
• Bezier curve in edit mode, draw tool, tool settings, align prop left. #5761
• Grease pencil in edit mode, Interpolate tool, Active tool panel, align prop left. #5766
• Edit mode with a mesh object. Polygon tool, tool settings in the sidebar, align prop left. #5747
• Missing Geometry Transform Constraint in menu #5748
• Pose mode, pose menu, create pose asset saves in a Blender folder #5733
• Error opening a window in Bforartists #5359
• Warning: property value not found #5699
• Grease Pencil drawing broken #5708
• geometry nodes, bake, sidebar, node tab, fix properties/bake items panel #5673
• Edit mode, vertex menu, blend from shape, adjust last operator, align prop left #5667
• Properties editor, Data tab, Shapekeys panel, align prop left #5669
• Update Readme in repository #5135
• Recreate VFX preset blend #5664
• Edit mode, Mesh menu, double menu entry Limited Dissolve #5645
• Edit mode, mesh menu, weights, greyed out legacy items #5626
• Mesh in Edit mode, Mesh menu, Cleanup, adjust last operator panel, align props left #5644
• Edit Mode, Mesh menu, Normals, Point Normals to target, align props in last operator left. #5624
• "All groups are locked" error when no vertex groups are locked #5625
• Hidden props in the timeline header #5590
• bforartist Sculpting mode for Mac M4 #5589
• Grease pencil in vertex paint mode - missing brush settings #5401
• Disable Material icon rendering causes crash through asset shelf #5554
• Create manual issue workflow fails #5543
• Week 36 Extra: VSE api deprecation #5501
• Collection tab in properties editor , tab vanishes with a fatal click at Include #5226
• Grease Pencil in sculpt mode, header, Double entry auto masking #5491
• Workspace Layouts - hide the editor type menus #5927
• Compositor, view menu - double menu entry Asset Shelf #5965
• Build - make lite - missing function causes make lite to fail. #5969
• User Interface - TreeView - Fix wrong icon for search dropdown #5945
• Default Asset Library - New Compositor nodes #5867
• Image/UV Editor - Sidebar > Image tab - Use split layout for Seam Margin property #5951
• Video Editing Workspace - Sequencer view type -Strip menu - double entry Change Effect Type #5273
• Particle mode with mesh object - missing background in sidebar in the tool tab #5734
• Sequencer + Compositor - New "Sequencer" mode with Sequencer Info strip #5806
• 3D View/Window - Add Region Toggle pie to T, and expose to header #5495
• Compilation - Missing enumerator for spaces #5883
• Properites Editor - Modifiers - Geometry Nodes - Square sockets are horizontal/misaligned instead of vertical #5870
• 3D View & Properties - Tool tab - Workspace panel - Filter Add-ons list - Move checkboxes left #5834
• Geometry Nodes & Compositor - New Enable Output node #5848
• Text Editor - Remove redundant redo/undo operators #5683
• Set Dimensions addon - add addon back to all the other primitives in edit mode #5698
• Workspaces - Shader - Move he "color" sidebar panel down to the correct order #5816
• 3d View - Pose - In-Betweens - Remove missing operators and update sidebar #5822
• Asset Shelf/browser - Armature Pose Asset - New operators in context menu, expose also to header #5427
• Nodes - Add icon to radial tiling node #5620
• Sequencer Modifier Tab - Copy to Selected menu needs icons #5744
• Curve Edit Mode - Curve Pen - Float Close Spline property left #5789
• Default Library - Make apply not store duplicates and remesh reliably #5796
• Essential Assets - Migrate system to "Bforartists essentials" #5651
• Toolbar Manager - Fix various mixed case typos #5381
• Grease Pencil in Draw Mode - Missing essentials brush #5709
• Splashscreen - Clamp version number #5719
• Mesh menu in edit mode - normals - icons for sub menus #5621
• Color Nodes Backgrounds - Add to preferences #5618
• Nodes Editor - Node Group indicator improvement #5627
• Auto Smooth - Loads the wrong smooth asset #5646
• Asset shelf - Add packing import method to the asset shelf UI #5623
• Timeline - Double properties #5633
• Properties - Modifiers - Change idname of Add Modifier menu #5602
• Object menu in 3d view - parent sub menu - missing entries #5538
• Movie Clip Editor - Change default theme for timeline text to white #5496
• Default Assets - Move Shaders and Compositor nodegroups to own library #5585
• Mesh Edit Mode - Mesh > Transform - "Set Dimensions" addon operator throws error #5591
• 3D Viewport - Object > Clean Up - Add icon for "Remove All Materials" operator #5588
• Adjust last operator Mirror - align props left #5309
• Top Bar Editor - Image Group - Missing operator #5577
• Shader Nodes - Use Nodes in Object shader mode deprecated (and double) #5563
• Status Bar/Splashscreen/About - Show "Sub Versions" in easier addon and Blender compatibility #5355
• Brush Settings - Fix inconsistency in drawing `use_locked_size` property #5568
• Overwrite Warning - Add explicit versioning information about Bforartists and Blend files (not "Blender") #5356
• Compiling - change oneapi ocloc path to the official install directory #5562
• Various Modes - Brush Settings - Align boolean properties left #5556
• 3D Sequencer - Migrate current system to the new Blender official system #5474
• Top Bar - Workspaces Context Menu - New Remove workspaces operator #5435
• Areas - Top Left Corner Menu - Add icons and expose the toggle #5509
• Workspace Template - Add "Color Balance" to "All" #5473
• Texture Node Editor - Update Node Add shelf to the modern consistent method #3764
• Dopesheet - Grease Pencil - Delete breakdown Keyframes #5167
• Mac - Missing function causing crash again #5476

Splashscreen is kindly provided by Bluenile3D, the latest winner of the Splashsscreen submissions competition hosted in the Discord server! Thank you!

Draise, Reiner, Blenux (Juso), Znight (Trung Pham), Quackers, Eyad, Sean and all you arty supporters