In an exclusive interview with Fox Renderfarm, the industry’s top cloud rendering services provider and render farm, Francesco Siddi, the COO of Blender and a visionary leader in open-source 3D innovation, shares his remarkable journey from discovering Blender as a teenager in a computer magazine to shaping its future as an industry-leading tool. He offers unique insights into Blender's community-driven evolution and its global impact on CG artists. He also reveals why maintaining community freedom remains fundamental to Blender's ongoing success.
Fox Renderfarm: Hi Francesco! We are honored to have you here! Please briefly introduce yourself.
Francesco: Hi, I'm Francesco! I work as a COO at Blender, and I've been involved in the project for many years, taking on various roles over time. I work with developers and artists, build relationships within the industry, and make sure Blender strives to remain the amazing community project it is.
Fox Renderfarm: Can you share your educational background and previous work experiences?
Francesco: My educational background is in industrial design. I've always been fascinated by how things are made and enjoy creating them. I've also loved entertainment and animation. Over the years, I've taken on various freelance jobs in that field, including a bit of web development. I've been contributing to Blender since I was a teenager, so even before I officially joined the team, I was already involved with the Blender community. My studies and early professional development have always been intertwined with Blender. I've consistently worked in computer graphics, focusing on animation, and I've always used Blender, so my background is very much integrated into Blender itself.
I discovered Blender through those computer magazines that would give out free software to play around with. At that time, I was very passionate about free software and open-source projects. Blender was one of those programs that, if you cared about open-source, you should check out. So, I did! I think I must have been around 14 or 15. At first, I had no idea what was going on, but I kept trying, and eventually, I discovered how powerful it was. It’s interesting to think back on that, especially given how much Blender has evolved since then. I can only imagine how it feels for people downloading Blender today, considering it was once a small community and a relatively unknown open-source project.
Francesco Siddi at Blender Day
Fox Renderfarm: What prompted you to enter the CG industry and join Blender?
Francesco: I have always loved animation. For me, animation as a medium enables you to tell stories and brings together all sorts of different art forms. It’s a collaborative process that requires many different talents at various levels. Computer animation, in particular, demands a strong technical and technological component. The diversity of the team involved in creating animation is amazing, and I’ve always found that really fascinating. It combines all these different aspects and allows you, especially if you pursue technical excellence, to create new things. You can invent new techniques and discover new ways of making things, which has always been intriguing to me.
That’s also why I initially wanted to work in a studio—like many others, I dreamed of working for a big film studio. However, I realized that securing a job in a studio is quite difficult and requires a lot of specialization. You need to be an exceptional specialist or an incredible generalist, and I didn't feel I fit either category. It's very specific, and you need to be in the right networks to be in the right place at the right time. People know how challenging it is to get a job in the film industry. While I was trying to pursue that path, I was also involved with Blender, helping out with the project. Eventually, an opportunity arose for me to be involved in one of the open movie projects—one of the short films that Blender produces to push technology forward. That’s how I got the job and started my journey.
Fox Renderfarm: Blender is renowned for its vibrant and large community. What strategies do you implement to encourage active engagement and communication among users from around the globe? Have you had any memorable experiences along the way?
Francesco: I think the main strategy for Blender in its relationship with the community is to really give space for the community to take the initiative and not to control it. We let it be because every community interest group acts differently and has different ideas about what’s important. For example, there are scientific communities, educational communities, animation communities, and many more. While all these groups share a love for Blender, they have different ways of collaborating. Sometimes it can be challenging because centralizing communication helps bring everyone together, allowing people to know where to discuss specific topics. However, it can also become a bottleneck, putting you in a position to influence communities in ways that may not align with their needs. While that can be interesting, allowing people the freedom to pursue their own vision for how things should be organized is very powerful, especially in the long run.
As communities such as language-based groups grow larger, this dynamic becomes even more evident. For instance, when there is a language barrier, only speakers of a certain language can connect. I have no idea what the French or German-speaking communities are discussing, but it’s fascinating that they can share a cultural trait that brings them together. It’s not about having one enormous community where everyone is present; the idea is to have many different communities where everyone can find their place. This approach makes the environment much more welcoming and accessible. There is also a danger in communities where famous individuals or superstars emerge, leading to communities built around them. While this can happen, it often turns into a business model, which may not be beneficial for everyone else. Smaller, more distributed communities are a healthier way for people to engage with the project.
Fox Renderfarm: What are your key responsibilities in managing the Blender studio? Have you encountered any challenges in the process?
Francesco: At Blender Studio, I work as the Producer/Executive Producer. I help put together projects, and I sometimes receive creative direction or a creative brief for ideas about what the studio should work on next. This involves looking at trends, observing what is happening in the computer graphics space, understanding what people are interested in, and considering what the team is excited about. I aim to come up with ideas that fit this picture and generate enthusiasm among the team, while also bringing value to the Blender project itself.
The decision-making process is centered around creating content because that’s our goal. We want to share that content and ensure that, in the process, we help Blender improve and support our community's growth. This is a significant part of my job, and it can be challenging because you have to keep many factors in mind, and you can't always make everyone happy—that's just part of the role.
The most important thing is to ensure that people understand why we are doing something. When everyone knows the purpose behind our actions, it becomes easier to help them align and move in the same direction. Clear communication is essential, and that makes a big difference.
Fox Renderfarm: What’s your most memorable project at Blender Studio? What strategies do you recommend for improving efficiency when working on projects with tight deadlines and heavy tasks?
Francesco: I don't have a specific, memorable, or favorite project. It's easy to feel nostalgic about the early projects because those were the times when you could either do something or not, with fewer worries and more fun. I have many fond memories from that period when everything felt new and exciting. However, when I think about the later projects, I recognize their impact and the innovations we pursued during those times. Each project has its own significance, and I can’t really choose a favorite. Every film serves a unique purpose, and since we work on such a diverse range of projects with different artistic visions, that variety is what makes the studio so exciting for me.
Caminandes 3: Llamigos (2016) © Blender Foundation
WING IT! (2023) © Blender Studio
Regarding working on projects, similar to what I mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to understand why you are doing something and to keep the big picture in mind. This perspective helps you overcome creative blocks. Often, when tackling specific technical challenges, it’s easy to lose sight of the overall vision. Remembering that many details may go unnoticed in the final product is important at every stage of the content creation process.
Fox Renderfarm: In your view, how does Blender uniquely empower creatives?
Francesco: Blender is very accessible. To me, accessibility means that it’s available for everyone to use to the best of their ability. Whether you want to create something simple or tackle a complex project, we strive to ensure that you can do both. This scalability is what makes Blender special and unique. It enables individuals to create comprehensive works while also allowing small teams to collaborate on larger projects.
These qualities are fundamental to the design and philosophy of the software. We always consider who will use a feature, who it’s for, and why they would want to use it. This user-centric thinking is at the core of how Blender is developed and improved, which I believe is key to its appeal among users.
Fox Renderfarm: Are there any interesting updates or features that we can expect in the upcoming versions of Blender? What are the current priorities for Blender’s development team?
Francesco: Blender has a very bright future ahead. There is a lot of development we want to pursue, particularly focusing on storytelling tools and character animation tools, along with many other improvements. I want to highlight these two specific areas because storytelling and character animation combine to enable people to convey their stories effectively.
When I refer to storytelling tools, I mean editorial workflow tools and interfaces that assist artists and story creators in assembling their vision for how a story should be told and presented. As for animation tools, I’m talking about resources that help artists create characters and deliver performances. These elements are essential for larger teams to undertake bigger projects and tell more expansive stories. While it can start and end there, it often serves as the foundation for something greater. Having good tools to facilitate this process is incredibly important, and we definitely plan to invest time in these areas. Additionally, there are various technologies in the Blender space, including generative geometry technologies, and many exciting developments are underway.
There is also ongoing work to improve particle simulations and general physics simulations. This is being developed through node-based simulation zones, which are part of the broader geometry node system. The goal is to create procedural or semi-procedural systems that help manage simulations and the workflows associated with them. We aim to enhance how these systems are directed and improve their performance.
Fox Renderfarm: How do you think AI and emerging technologies will impact Blender and the work of CG artists?
Francesco: There is a lot of discussion around AI, with some people claiming it will end jobs for many. While it will certainly impact some individuals in the short term, I believe that technological innovation has always existed. It’s ultimately our choice of how we express ourselves and what tools we use. Many artists will continue to prefer tools like Blender over simply prompting AI to generate content.
At the same time, we are seeing a convergence in technology, similar to the shift from real-time rendering to offline rendering. There is a growing tendency to achieve immediate results, and I think machine learning and AI can contribute to this, helping artists reach their goals more quickly.
From Blender's perspective, we see it as a tool to empower artists. Any AI tool should enhance the artist's capabilities, not replace them. This empowerment is not for everyone; it’s for those who genuinely want to create. It’s not just about generating content randomly; it’s about having a specific vision. Blender is a small organization compared to larger companies investing heavily in AI. While we do our part and keep learning about these advancements, we are still exploring how Blender can benefit from them and how the Blender community can leverage these technologies.
Fox Renderfarm: Now we've learned about your journey, we're curious to know what is the best part is about working in Blender.
Francesco: The best aspect of working on projects is undoubtedly the people. Being part of a team and a community is incredibly rewarding. It’s exciting to collaborate with others to build something and then see how people use it, making a positive impact in the world. I am grateful to work alongside talented individuals who share the same values and drive to create.
Fox Renderfarm: Have you heard about Fox Renderfarm’s cloud rendering services before? What is your impression of our services?
Francesco: Yes, I am aware of Fox Renderfarm, and I know that in the past, Fox Renderfarm has supported the Blender project, for which we are very grateful. Your support means a lot because it enables us to continue improving Blender. I appreciate your approach to building a render farm by creating your own infrastructure and systems to deliver services. This strategy can lead to high efficiency and allows you to tailor your tools to meet specific goals, benefiting your customers.
Rendering is a critical part of the creative process, often at the end when everything needs to come together. There’s a lot of pressure to deliver frames on time, and it’s essential that the system can handle this pressure. I believe Fox Renderfarm is doing a great job in this regard.
Fox Renderfarm: Lastly, what tips would you offer to those new to the CG industry?
Francesco: I believe it is more beneficial to focus on what you want to do and approach it practically. Instead of just asking how to get a job in a studio, think about what you want to create. I’ve often found myself driven to recreate visual effects I’ve seen in movies or to make fun videos. The key is to create—make things! We consume a lot of content but don’t produce nearly enough. By becoming a maker, you create opportunities for yourself that you may not even anticipate. If you don’t create anything, nothing will happen.
