A screen shot from the latest version of Blender, the powerful open source 3D modelling and animation program.

Blender 2.43 – the latest version of the world’s leading open source 3D program – was released over the weekend.

In case you’re not already familiar with Blender, it’s a software program used to model, render and animate three-dimensional computer graphics. It has tons of powerful features, including rigid body dynamics, fluid dynamics, softbody dynamics, modifier based modeling tools, and powerful character animation. It also includes a video editor, a video compositor and game engine for making 3D video games. It’s comparable to high-end 3D software like 3D Studio Max and Maya (which usually cost thousands of dollars) in many ways except price…Blender is completely free!

Blender could be a great tool for designing puppet characters in 3D. You can even use it’s game engine to create digital puppetry or Machinima. If you want to get a good sense of what it can do take a look at this gallery of Blender-made imagery, watch the short film Elephant’s Dream, or visit the web site of Plumiferos, a forthcoming feature film being made with Blender.

You can download the latest version of Blender here. If you want to explore how to use it check out the free online book Blender: From Noob to Pro or read the tutorials written last year for the Blender Summer of Documentation.