Just one month after announcing their own 3D modelling application Substance 3D Modeler, Adobe have just joined the Blender Development Fund as a Gold level sponsor. The Blender Development Fund is the primary mechanism of funding the paid developers working on the Blender team.
The announcement is brief and to the point:
Today Adobe announced that they will join the Blender Foundation’s Development Fund as a corporate Gold member. Contributions from corporate members directly support core Blender development, for generally approved projects on blender.org.
“We are thrilled Adobe is joining the Blender Development Fund to help ensure the longevity and success of this dynamic open-source community.” said Sébastien Deguy, VP of 3D & Immersive at Adobe. “We’re excited to help strengthen and improve this accessible suite of tools.”
“This is a great step forward,” says Blender founder and chairman Ton Roosendaal, “it’s a prime example of the industry increasingly accepting to work with free/open source software.”
It is an interesting move, as Adobe competes with Blender in several ways, including their new 3D application, texture painting, animation and video editing. In other ways, Blender’s success also helps Adobe move other applications such as Substance Designer/Painter and of course Photoshop. You can learn more about Adobe funding the Blender Foundation in the video below.