Open Source 3D Creation Suite Blender Coming to iPad Pro
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The developers of popular open-source 3D creation suite Blender have announced that they’re developing a native iPad Pro version of the suite. The new iPad app will include support for Apple Pencil Pro, while also offering a multitouch interface to make artists familiar with tablets more comfortable.
From the blog post announcement:
Multi-touch interfaces like tablets have been common for years, but only recently thanks to increased processing power, have they started to serve as primary computing devices. To support Blender’s mission of making 3D technology accessible to everyone, it’s important to fully embrace these platforms.
In addition to the iPad Pro, the team will likely also release the application for other tablet platforms, including the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and the Wacom MovinkPad, among others.
The announcement says the first version of the app will focus on sculpting and basic object manipulation. Other tools, such as the Grease Pencil and storyboarding, will come to tablets in later releases.
The actual Blender app for the iPad Pro is still in development and not ready for prime time. However, the development team showcased several mockups of the app in their announcement to give potential users a sense of what to expect.
The mockups depict a single-window environment that offers quick access to the app’s tools through contextual overlays and floating UI elements.
One of the mockups illustrates kit-bashing, utilizing an asset library, and demonstrates how the app can be used to view files prepared on the desktop while on the go. The demo showed off the use of application templates, wheel menu window overlays, sidebar tabs using icons, and how the app provides quick access to the Outliner and Properties Editor in the 3D Viewport.
Another mockup explored the concept of single-window mesh sculpting. It demonstrated a helper overlay with curated shortcuts, how a tool panel could be moved from the sidebar tab into a floating pop-up, and much more.
The development team promises that the iPad Pro version of the Blender app will not be a simplified mobile version. “There is no specific intention of simplifying or tailoring Blender to appeal to an audience that might not be familiar with Blender or 3D,” the team explains.
The team says that instead, it is aiming to implement new core features in Blender while also designing a custom application template that is tailored for users working with tablet devices like the iPad Pro, for example:
- Artists who need a pen device for specialized tasks (like painting, sculpting, and 2D animation).
- Artists who use tablets as their primary device.
- Artists who need to use Blender on the go.
No firm release date for the iPad Pro version of the app has been announced. However, Blender plans to showcase a live tech demo at the upcoming SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver. Also planned are discussions and design workshops for Blender HQ and the Blender Conference, scheduled for later this year.
Until now, Blender has been limited to desktop platforms, including Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs, Windows, Linux, and Steam. The latest Blender build is available as a free download for all of those platforms from the Blender website.
