Blender 4.1 brings enhanced performance, OpenImageDenoise on GPU, and Python 3.11

Blender 4.1 has been released, more than four months after the significant 4.0 update, featuring a variety of enhancements in performance, stability, and user experience. Among the notable updates, OpenImageDenoise now operates on GPU on compatible hardware, and cycles rendering on Linux has been accelerated by 5%. Additionally, all nodes in the Compositor are now functional in the Viewport, with the exception of Render Layer passes.

The 4.1 update introduces improvements in compositor precision, as well as enhancements to the Kuwahara and Pixelate nodes. It also presents a new animation keying workflow. In terms of organization, Bone Collections have been made hierarchical, and there have been several advancements in the Graph Editor and Non-Linear Animation (NLA), including the ability to bake channels.

Significant speed increases have been implemented in the Video Sequencer in terms of drawing, rendering, effects, and scopes. Blender 4.1 also allows for USD export of armatures and shape keys as USD skeletons and blend shapes.

The upgrade also features the Python programming language updated to version 3.11, a new Bake node in Geometry Nodes, and a range of user interface improvements. This new version of Blender continues to enhance the functionality and user experience of this comprehensive open-source 3D creation software.