19. November 2025

Blender 5.0 has arrived!

19. November 2025 By admin

A new era for Blender has begun – Blender 5.0 is a major step forward.

Many new features are included in this version, but unfortunately, this also means that many artists with older hardware will now have to remain on Blender 4.5 LTS. Some platforms and hardware configurations are no longer supported! I will be taking this into account in my training courses.

Many areas have undergone a massive overhaul:
ACES Colorspace, color management in general, adaptive subdivision, multi-resolution baking, shader nodes improvements, NanoVDB, Compositor improvments, VSE, and of course, numerous improvements to Geometry Nodes.
I love specially the Drag & Drop compositor setups and the ability to save out node-setups for the use in other files.

Again the Blender team made a wonderful overview page for all the features:
https://www.blender.org/download/releases/5-0/

Here’s the usual feature overview as a video, this time over 50 minutes long:
https://youtu.be/4wEqD-jK0DU?si=Ah2WbuMHIp2OixY2

The Story Tools have also been integrated now:
https://youtu.be/4wEqD-jK0DU?si=Ah2WbuMHIp2OixY2

Here is also a nice overview for the Grease Pencil features:
https://youtu.be/WYZY4n3fRM0?si=mLoz83gI6VMXA-6I

And here for the Blender 5.0 Animations & Rigging updates:
https://youtu.be/s3kcPME65ic?si=SCA6NiqO_3-ZPb_0

Overall, a very large update. I’m curious to see how these features are received in practice by the community.

17. November 2025

Godot Engine 2025 Showreel

17. November 2025 By admin

Dear followers,

As you may have noticed, I’m currently very involved in various projects.
However, things have calmed down a bit now, and I have time to write content for you again.

Today, I’d like to draw your attention to the new Godot Engine Reel 2025.

Comparing this collection of projects with those of previous years, two trends are becoming apparent:

  • In addition to the very strong 2D games for which Godot is traditionally used, more and more 3D games are now appearing. This is a fantastic development, which is of course also thanks to the ever-improving 3D features of Godot 4.X.
  • Furthermore, the quality of the projects shown is constantly increasing. It’s clear that the Godot Engine is becoming more and more established, and more and more talented teams are relying on this open-source engine.

Enjoy!

Helge Maus

P.S. You can also follow my Post on my (free) Pareon:
https://www.patreon.com/c/pixeltrain3d

Godot Introduction Training by Helge Maus / pixeltrain
24. October 2025

Next Godot Game Engine beginner’s course coming up 🔥

24. October 2025 By admin

Our next Godot Game Engine beginner’s course is coming up 🔥 . 

Would you like to learn how to implement your first game ideas in this free, open-source game engine, how to develop 2D and 3D games, how to program player interactions with GDScript, and have a lot of fun while doing it 🎮 ?

This two-day course will be offered online in cooperation with the Visualisierungs-Akademie Schweiz GmbH on November 6th and 7th (in German language, online):

👉 https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/godot-einfuhrungskurs/110d03e5-680d-414d-9521-7d46567f0712

If you need the same course in English, just contact us via DM.

— German —

Unser nächster Godot Game Engine Einsteiger-Kurs steht an 🔥 . 

Möchtest Du lernen, wie man seine ersten Spielideen in dieser freien open-source Game Engine umsetzt, wie man 2D- und 3D-Spiele entwickelt, mit GDScript Spieler Interaktionen programmiert und dabei auch noch richtig viel Spaß haben kann kann 🎮 ?

Dieser 2-Tages Kurs wird online in Kooperation mit der Visualisierungs-Akademie Schweiz GmbH am 06.+07. November angeboten.

In deutscher Sprache als Online-Kurs:

👉 https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/godot-einfuhrungskurs/110d03e5-680d-414d-9521-7d46567f0712

Und wenn du den gleichen Kurs in englischer Sprache brauchst, melde dich doch einfach per DM.

#Godot #GameDev #IndieDev #GameDevelopment #Schulung #pixeltrain #helgemaus 

The case for making art when the world is on fire | Amie McNee | TEDxManchester
6. May 2025

The case for making art when the world is on fire | Amie McNee | TEDxManchester

6. May 2025 By admin

As an artist, do you also feel overwhelmed by this loud, screaming, and over-commercialized world?
Do you feel that your creative work has little or no impact on the overall fabric of our society?
That there is no longer any room for art in a burning world?

And does it even make sense to explore your own creative process and create something yourself in the age of CRAP (“Computer-Rendered Artificial Images,” or sometimes called „Generative AI“) (by @mthie@fedi.mthie.com)?

I can understand the feeling of paralysis in the face of these major threats to your own art only too well.

I find this short TED Talk by Amie McNee so inspiring and encouraging; it speaks out of and to my soul.

The case for making art when the world is on fire | Amie McNee | TEDxManchester:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XZ9z6OewR0

Through my shamanic worldview, I am convinced that the creative process is an important, intrinsic human act of creation. It cannot be replaced. That’s why I enjoy “personal art.” Hence my love and commitment to Indies.

Happy creating 🙂

Helge

P.S. You inf this and other of my articles also on my (free) Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/c/pixeltrain3d

pixeltrain | Helge Maus is teaching online Blender & Godot
1. May 2025

New Blender remote courses with Helge Maus

1. May 2025 By admin

Here are the next dates for my Blender training courses (German and English, remote).
The German-language courses will be held in collaboration with the Visualisierungs-Akademie Schweiz GmbH:

🇩🇪 Blender Introduction Course, May 22 + May 23:
https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-einfuhrungskurs/21d29c48-ee8a-4549-a500-6f82f7ff7ddc

🇩🇪 Blender Rendering Course, June 12 and June 13:
https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-renderingkurs/98514946-325f-4818-bcdb-4f6b351a490b

🇩🇪 Blender Animation Course, July 3 and July 4:
https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-animationskurs/68ff897c-f766-4119-bea3-9f3422704d2f

🇩🇪 Blender Modeling Course, July 24 and July 25:
https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-modelingkurs/ff1b0321-e948-41c1-bca6-1c23651e75ea

The dates of my English Blender training courses (English, remote) are also available.
These courses consist of 4 sessions, each a half-day long.

🇬🇧 Blender Fundamentals course, starting May 22 + May 23:
https://www.pixeltrain.net/pixeltrains-academy/

🇬🇧 Blender Shading & Rendering course, starting June 09 + June 10:
https://www.pixeltrain.net/pixeltrains-academy/

🇬🇧 Blender Rigging & Animation course, starting July 07 + July 08:
https://www.pixeltrain.net/pixeltrains-academy/

More information and all dates can be found on my website.
Please contact me if you have any questions or specific training requests!

Blender 4.4.1 is released!
16. April 2025

Blender 4.4.1 Bugfix release is out!

16. April 2025 By admin

The first bug fix update for the current stable version of Blender has been released:

Blender 4.4.1
https://www.blender.org/download/

This version contains 108 bug fixes. A detailed list of changes and fixes can be found here:
https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/4.4/corrective_releases/

At the same time, the current LTS (long-term support version) of Blender has been updated to Blender 4.2.9.

Enjoy Blender!

PS. If you are looking for a “Blender Fundamentals class (English)” / “Blender Einführungs Kurs (deutsch)” you can find my details on: https://www.pixeltrain.net/events/

3D & GameDev Trainer Helge Maus in a remote Godot training.
9. April 2025

Godot Game Development Trainings / Schulungen

9. April 2025 By admin

The Godot game engine is rapidly developing into a strong alternative to established commercial giants like Unity or Unreal. Especially in the indie games sector, the Godot game engine offers everything you need for stable and flexible development of desktop and mobile games, without having to worry about licensing fees and regulations.

Well-structured training courses and seminars can provide an effective introduction to Godot and development in this engine.

For corporate training, you can find more information on my website at this link. I would be happy to put together a suitable training concept for Godot, GDScript, and C# for you. The training courses are offered remotely in English or German:
https://www.pixeltrain.net/godot/

If you are looking for a more affordable remote classroom training in English, then the pixeltrain Academy for Blender and Godot is just the right choice:
https://www.pixeltrain.net/pixeltrains-academy/

If you have any questions, please contact me at info (at) pixeltrain.net. I would be happy to help.

Godot 4.4.1 release
28. March 2025

Godot 4.4.1 Maintenance release is out!

28. March 2025 By admin

Godot 4.4 was released at the beginning of March. The update was another major step forward for the free, open-source game engine Godot, bringing numerous new features and improvements. 

Highlights included the integration of the external 3D physics engine Jolt, the interactive in-game editor, game stuttering solving with a new ubershader system and AgX tone mapping. And many, many more small improvement …

You can find a complete overview here:

https://godotengine.org/releases/4.4

As usual with such major updates, it requires a certain amount of time to get used to it and extensive testing of existing projects.

Naturally, minor issues, glitches, and bugs will also arise. Therefore, from a production perspective, it always makes sense to wait for at least the first bug fix release before porting a complex project.

Godot 4.4.1 was released today. Thanks to the great community and numerous dedicated developers, it took less than a month to smooth out the rough edges.

So here is the maintenance release of Godot 4.4.1:

https://godotengine.org/article/maintenance-release-godot-4-4-1

Download-Links:

https://godotengine.org/download/archive/4.4.1-stable

Have fun,

Helge

P.S. I offer corporate and individual training (remote, English, or German) on Godot and Game-Design / -Development. If you are interested, you can find some information on http://www.pixeltrain.net or write me an email: info (at) pixeltrain.net

More information at http://www.pixeltrain.net or write me a message to talk 🙂

Blender Kurse 2025 mit Helge Maus - pixeltrain
12. March 2025

Blender Schulungen / Blender training courses 2025

12. March 2025 By admin

The new dates for my next Blender training courses (German and English, remote) have been announced. The German-language courses will be held in collaboration with the Visualisierungs-Akademie Schweiz GmbH:

🇩🇪 Blender Introduction Course, March 27 and 28:

https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-einfuhrungskurs/21d29c48-ee8a-4549-a500-6f82f7ff7ddc

🇩🇪 Blender Rendering Course, June 12 and 13:

https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-renderingkurs/98514946-325f-4818-bcdb-4f6b351a490b

🇩🇪 Blender Animation Course, March 3 and 4 July:

https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-animationskurs/68ff897c-f766-4119-bea3-9f3422704d2f

🇩🇪 Blender Modeling Course, July 24th and 25th:

https://visualisierungs-akademie.ch/de/kurs/blender-modelingkurs/ff1b0321-e948-41c1-bca6-1c23651e75ea

The dates of my English Blender training courses (English, remote) are also available.
These courses are each four half-days long.

More information and all dates can be found on my website:

🇬🇧 https://www.pixeltrain.net/pixeltrains-academy/

Please contact me if you have any questions or specific training requests!