The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, has granted Ton Roosendaal and the Blender Open Source Software the Ub Iwerks Award at the 46th Annual Annie Awards™. As part of the juried awards category, the Ub Iwerks Award recognizes the technical advancements that make a significant impact on the art or industry of animation.
It was an incredible honour for Ton and for the Blender project to accept this award! This is the first time this industry award was granted to a free/open source software project.
About the Award
Named after the man who is credited for giving shape, movement, and personality to Mickey Mouse, the Ub Iwerks Award was created and given to individuals or companies for technical advancements that make a significant impact on the art or industry of animation.
Past recipients of this award include Dr. Ed Catmull for his breakthrough technologies at Pixar, Scott Johnston for his innovative work in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Digital Domain, Inc. for their groundbreaking innovations in Titanic, and Eric Daniels for the development of the ‘Deep Canvas’ process for Walt Disney’s Tarzan.