Blender 2.49b

Blender has proven to be an extremely fast and versatile design instrument. The software has a personal touch, offering a unique approach to the world of Three Dimensions. Use it to create TV commercials, to make technical visualizations, business graphics, to do some morphing, or design user interfaces. You can easy build and manage complex environments. The renderer is versatile and extremely fast. All basic animation principles (curves & keys) are well implemented.

Interface
* Revolutionary non-overlapping and non-blocking UI delivers unsurpassed workflow
* Flexible and fully configurable window layout with as many screen setups as you prefer
* Undo support on all levels
* Anti-aliased fonts with international translation support
* Any window space can be easily switched to any window type (curve editor, NLA, 3D view etc)
* Built-in text editor for annotations and editing Python scripts
* Graphical user interface for Python scripts
* Custom themes
* Consistent interface across all platforms

Modeling
* A range of 3D object types including polygon meshes, NURBS surfaces, bezier and B-spline curves, metaballs, vector fonts (TrueType, PostScript, OpenType)
* Very fast Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces with optimal iso-lines display and sharpness editing
* Full multiresolution sculpting capabilities with 2D bitmap/3D procedural brushes (Paint, Smooth, Pinch, Inflate, Grab) supporting symmetry
* Modifier stack deformers such as Lattice, Curve, Armature or Displace
* Mirror modifier with middle vertices clipping and automatic deletion of inner faces
* Non destructive real time Boolean and Array modifiers
* Mesh modeling based on vertex, edge and/or face selection
* Smooth soft selection editing tools for organic modeling
* Python scripting access for custom tools

Rigging
* Fast skeleton creation mode
* Interactive 3D paint for vertex weighting
* Fast envelope based skinning
* Automatic Skinning that really works (heat equilibrium based)
* Mirror editing (bone creation and weight painting)
* Double Quaternions reduce shrinking and other bone deformation errors
* Volume deformer uses a mesh cage to deform complex meshes with great results
* Bone layers and colored groups for better rig organization
* B-spline interpolated bones; forget about elbow twists
* Constraint stack for IK solver setup and other constraints
* PyConstraints; if you need something not yet implemented code it in python with real time feed back, no compiling needed

Rendering
* Very fast inbuilt raytracer
* Oversampling, motion blur, post-production effects, fields, non-square pixels
* Tile-based and fully threaded
* Render layers and passes
* Render baking to UV maps and object to object baking (full render, ambient occlusion, normals, textures)
* Render engine tightly integrated with the node compositor
* Halo, lens flares and fog effects
* Vector motion-blur post-process effect (using node compositor)
* Realistic defocus (DOF) post-process effect (using node compositor)
* Edge rendering for toon shading
* Interactive preview rendering panel in any 3d view
* Ambient Occlusion
* Radiosity solver
* Integral support for the Yafray render engine
* Export scripts available for external renderers such as Renderman (RIB), Povray, Virtualight, lux render, Indigo, V-Ray

Animation
* Armature (skeleton) deformation with forward/inverse kinematics with pole target support
* Auto IK allows posing FK chains easily
* Non-linear animation editor for mixing individual actions created in Action editor
* Automated walkcycles along paths
* Animated constraint system
* Vertex key framing for morphing, with controlling sliders
* Edit and create new blendshapes from existing targets
* Character animation pose editor
* 'Ipo' system integrates both motion curve and traditional key-frame editing
* Audio playback, mixing and editing support for sound synchronisation
* Timeline offers fast acces to many playback functions, autokey, help markers
* Python scripting access for custom and procedural animation effects

Shading
* Diffuse shaders such as Lambert, Minnaert, Toon, Oren-Nayar, Lambert
* Specular shaders such as WardIso, Toon, Blinn, Phong, CookTorr
* Node editor for creating and mixing complex materials
* PyNodes: write your own Python shaders with realtime feedback, no need to compile
* Material previews rendered by main render engine
* Fast, realistic subsurface scattering
* Blurry reflections and refractions
* Tangent shading to give any shader an anisotropic effect
* Versatile procedural textures system