I tried Blender on Steam deck so you don't have to

[@mepblep]

Blender is actually available for Steam itself and therefore there are already premade community bindings for Blender with Steam Deck controls

[@aidanbieber9196]

Could you send a link to one of those community bindings for blender? That would be so clutch

[@DavidBerger-g2h]

​@@aidanbieber9196Start Blender then go to Community Layouts there are Layouts that Ppl created

[@Floreum]

We really need touch screen support for Blender. Some graphics tablets even have this so it would be nice to have in sculpting mode at least.

[@adrianscarlett]

Yeah, simultaneous spacemouse, touch and stylus support so you could use a finger to rotate a model and a stylus to paint or sculpt at the same time would make it amazing on tablets

[@mupmuptv]

This guy using steam desk better than me using mouse and keyboard

[@skewyangel]

I LOVE niche, specific content like this!

[@3Digitalist]

Thank you!! More coming soon

I'm using my steam deck and blender for some 3D on the go, but It's really hard without a keyboard, that's why I use it along with a small and portable keyless wireless keyboard.

[@MrHadane]

I wish there was a Blender branch made for tablets.

[@3Digitalist]

Same. However it's possible to run it on a tablet however it requires installing linux on it

[@Deadshot-zr5ob]

This answered my question: - can I run it? - yes thanks c:

[@tiagotiagot]

Blender can almost be fully used with just a mouse for general tasks. So mapping the right touchpad to mouse, left to scrollwheel (and pressing it for middle-click), triggers to left and right clicks. Is pretty much the minimal setup you need for almost all possible basic uses. They have added tons of clickable and dragable controls over the years. But of course, additional shortcuts do help speed up things a lot.

[@mariobot128]

Honestly, the Steam Deck itself is really good as a normal PC. I've been using it as my daily driver since i got it and while the start was pretty rough, ever since i got the dock it's pretty much working as well as any other desktop PC.

[@3Digitalist]

Yea and it's wild how much data that can go through the one single usb c on the steam deck too. I have a setup with the dock where an external ssd with win 10, mouse, keyboard, hdmi to monitor and an extra memorycard all is connected and running smooth

[@realhost5062]

Really awesome video! Editing goes hard

[@3Digitalist]

Thanks mate! Happy you like the editing!

[@novantha1]

I get the feeling that maybe the better way to do this is with action sets. I feel like with a couple of plugins to adjust how the controls work, it could unironically be a viable platform. Think... Being able to move the camera with the gyros, and automatically scaling / extruding via the joysticks for an easy relative change, or moving them via the trackpads for a precise change (no specific hotkeys needed). Just a few little things like that, which change contextually based on the situation (layout, animating, shaders, rendering, etc), could make it a super intuitive experience, IMO. One effect that I think could be legitimately a killer feature on Deck is a "shaky cam" by hand effect, which is something that a lot of people do via smartphone even in professional workflows, just because it seems to produce more natural effects than animating the shakes by hand.

[@3Digitalist]

Oh definitely. I think especially making an addon specifically for blender on steam deck would help a lot. Maybe also have a button that switches between modes like Fast modelling mode or Precise modelling mode

[@eftorq]

Awesome! I've already tried this for Houdini, but I lost motivation because it feels so cumbersome to setup. Very committed with the shortcut sheet!

[@3Digitalist]

That's awesome. Houdini must be quite the challenge to use on Steam deck

[@eftorq]

@@3Digitalist I think it's kind of similar to Blender, but you do way less in the viewport and way more by typing. So having the on screen keyboard ready is important

[@3Digitalist]

@@eftorq Oh that's a good point

[@francez123456789]

Blender is actually on steam btw. May pick up another TF card for blender, krita, and maybe look into some substance painter alternatives since i largely make content for metaverses.

[@PeePisser]

Substance painter is also on steam

[@roobeerrrtt1633]

very very cool! It would be so cool if youre able to upload your layouts and blender preferences to others could download the blender and Steam deck button layouts to try for themselves,

[@3Digitalist]

Yea definitely good idea! I added a link in description

[@BlenderTomato]

This video editing slaps, nice job!

[@jaythecoderx4623]

Fun fact: blender is also available on steam

[@robostep9829]

Isn't it going to download windows version and run with proton?

[@jaythecoderx4623]

​@@robostep9829 I don't think so

[@Julian_H]

​@@robostep9829no it will download the Linux version

[@galvanizeddreamer2051]

​@@robostep9829 Nope, there's a native SteamOS verison.

[@spacewhalemilk]

@@robostep9829 Nah the native linux version is also on steam. Dunno why you would use blender on steam tho.

[@Kav_Games]

Imagine being on the buss and somebody whips out a steam deck to use blender😂

[@javisolis2568]

Very niche content! But I support it! Hope this blows up and works out for you. I'll sub, like, and ofc comment to help you out. Cheers!

[@3Digitalist]

Thank you so much! And ohyeess, definitely niche 😁

[@dareka9425]

I tried Blender on my Steam Deck early in the year with mouse and keyboard. Nothing fancy since I only used Blender to make models for 3D printing. I just deformed a cube into a spiky abomination and printed it. That was the first and only time I used Blender on Steam Deck since I was only curious to see how it feel.

[@Fabio-cf3ij]

OMG thank you SO MUCH for this video!! and THANKS for the shortcuts. Now I "only" have to learn how to put them on the system 😅 a quick question: if we install windows on the deck, would it match the same performance as the integrated steam os?

[@3Digitalist]

@@Fabio-cf3ij Happy you like the video and shorts! and thanks for the tip! I think on windows it will a bit slower since steam os is linux based and lighter than windows 10. However it should run fine there too

[@foxcar29]

ONE YEAR AGO I INSTAL A UNREAL 4 LINUX VERSION...AND RUNS PERFECT ..you can desingn etc etc....and blender runs perfects i made few proyect and renderings...the steam deck its a pc with linux...or windows..its a powerfull handheld machine

[@trey_a_12]

Awesome video! I’d been looking at using DaVinci Resolve and other professional apps with the Steam Deck, wondering if the on-device controls could make for a good speed-edit experience. While that question do I’ll remains, I at least see that Blender is one of those options thankfully doable on this powerful PC Handheld!

[@3Digitalist]

Definitely! And good idea to map it for resolve. I could see it work like a speed editor with a screen. I might try that myself

[@Krufs]

Incredible video, man! 🤘

[@3Digitalist]

Thank you!

[@pułkownikkaczodziobyzpodlasia]

Better than my win xp era laptop I used when starting out 😂

[@galvanizeddreamer2051]

I feel heavy use of key-in and simulated trackpad keyboard inputs would be quite useful here. And does Steaminput have radial submenus on the deck?

[@EdLrandom]

You kinda have to render with Eevee on Steamdeck, though usually I just save the file and send it off to the computer to render

[@Anarqism]

I don't like this type of content so I'm not subbing but I'm gonna post an algorithm comment so this hopefully blows up

[@kreep8744]

Love the positivity

[@NateXL]

Appreciate the honesty

[@luluskuy]

Hey, maybe it's your comment that made me able to see this in my algorithm, it works 😂

[@funnyman3bmgo62]

Wow

[@IveNeverStoodUp]

oh my god you're so real bro. omg bro. bro no. BRO NO! NO!

[@nelsondou]

great video and editing. I was wondering exactly this. Did Eevee not work at all?

[@3Digitalist]

@@nelsondouThanks you! Eevee works too!

[@dobrx6199]

Nice video man!

[@EdLrandom]

I'm way too lazy to make a video of this quality on my off time but I have been using my Steamdeck as a laptop replacement for over a year now and that includes doing some blender work. I have a completely different approach, I feel at home in steamdeck desktop mode because I use the same Linux interface on my PC, I mapped desktop mode to do all of the input and modifier keys so I can do any shortcut more or less and even type, typing is not very fast but something like ctrl shift T in firefox or shift A to add objects and few letters to search is as fast as on a real keyboard and mouse.

[@3Digitalist]

Oh thats cool! Did you manage to bind every letter?

[@EdLrandom]

@@3Digitalist I did, so triggers are layer shifters to 2 different layers right shoulder is win key left shoulder is alt key, left back buttons are shift and ctl, right back buttons are left and right mouse clicks. The trick is to set trackpads into dpad mode which gives you 4 keys per trackpad, I have it so default layers have the right trackpad as a mouse but basically when I hold the right trigger it's a d-pad with 4 letters on it "MNKB". So basically the entire front side of the steam deck is 4 keys on the d pad + 4 keys on sticks each, xyab buttons as keys + menu and start 2 more, and 4 per trackpad, 26 keys in total, other stuff like backspace return numbers, etc are on one of the layers. Again, typing something long is not hard but it's just slow, yet holding a complicated keyboard shortcut is very ergonomic and it makes steamdeck my preferred tool for on-the-go web browsing and music making as well. Limitations though include the fact that I can't change the steam and activities button does, and after you suspend your deck in the desktop mode it might get stuck on one of the layers... must be a bug but the way to get around is just click the useless activities button after you unlock it. Oh and you gotta run steam in the background in desktop mode... a bit annoying case recently it tends to open in big picture mode even if I change the settings not to do that.

[@3Digitalist]

That's really cool. and the nice thing is that your keybinds works on most software too. How did you make the layer system btw? Can you do that natively on Steam or did you use 3rd party software

[@wycoturmoil]

...so concerned if you can do it you never stop to ask if should do it.

[@Zeloverevolution]

Cool idea! I wonder if it'd be possible with enough practice to be even more efficient than mouse and keyboard.

[@3Digitalist]

It might be, especially since you have to do less had movement to press the shortcuts

[@ZaberfangX]

if you had to do it every day I am sure be as fast as mouse and keyboard, it's building up that muscle memory don't have to even think about it

[@3Digitalist]

Definitely, and only after 3 hours it started to become muscle memory

[@Marcos_777]

I use Blender in SteamDeck and works great PD: Zbrush works fine too :D but dont recognize tablet pressure

[@3Digitalist]

That's cool. How is your keybind setup?

[@Marcos_777]

@@3Digitalist i use a bt keyboard xD

[@3Digitalist]

@@Marcos_777 Keyboards has the best keybinds 😅

[@LessThanPro]

0:40 Isn't there a steam release of blender anyway? Shouldn't matter for use, but you would even need to leave game mode to install it.

[@3Digitalist]

Yep, installing on Steam natively would be easier, but when I tried to do the GPU fix I had to install it separately

[@darkenblade986]

Very interesting video!

[@gbilo24]

Steam Deck is a very great system, but so many small bugs with it, especially in Gaming Mode.

[@Treviath]

Can you share the controller config in the description? You can do that from the configurator.

[@3Digitalist]

Hi! I coudln't figure out how to get the link to the controller config on Steam directly, but you can search for "Digitalist's Steam Deck Blender layout" to find it. Or click the gumroad link in description

[@Treviath]

@@3Digitalist In the configurator there's a gear icon next to "View Layout" and "Edit Layout". Select that. Then select "Share Layout with Community" if it's not already done and finally open Layout details. The link section shows the link and it automatically copies to clipboard.

[@3Digitalist]

@@Treviath Thanks for the tip! I added the link in description

[@AtrusDesign]

I could use Blender on Steamdeck, but with a Bluetooth mouse snd little keyboard with me. Map all controls can be a funny challenge for a KZbin video, but no way it can be good to use blender. The amount of cuts you did on your video shows how slow the workflow is.

[@christianr.5868]

It’s not bad actually, considering one button can be mapped to two keyboard inputs. It can be pretty efficient. And with action sets you can have an insane amount of keyboard shortcuts at the ready for you. Not for everybody though. It’s also more convenient for if you wanna use blender in bed

[@JurassicJordan]

I mean…I did this same exact for field modeling lmao. I made a custom controller profile for it

[@3Digitalist]

@@JurassicJordan Nice, do you use it actively for work? and what do you use for mouse movement and left mouse btn?

[@elshadrine9868]

Can you try blender on the Lenovo legion go???

[@3Digitalist]

@@elshadrine9868 I'll think about it! I want to try Blender on more platforms

[@BG-me3pc]

When the Steam Deck can do VR, Blender 3d will be First .😁

[@3Digitalist]

Definitely! I wonder how well Steam Deck works with a VR headset at the moment

[@DillsArtThing]

You didnt even need to install blender from a package manager its on steam

[@3Digitalist]

Yep, I should have installed in directly in Steam. Would have made things cleaner, but when trying the GPU fix apparently it only worked if Blender was installed outside of Steam

[@guestc142]

I guess for testing purposes it's fine, but I don't want a layer of DRM on a fos program.

[@adversionzero]

Share you mapping layout on the steam deck community, inside the steam app inside itself, man

[@3Digitalist]

Hi! Check the description for how to find the community layout

[@adversionzero]

@@3Digitalist Got it, Thanks

[@kernelcortex]

Was that Cycles rendered. Can Eevee be faster (and prettier) rendering for this setup?

[@3Digitalist]

@@kernelcortex Yes this was on cycles. But I think eevee is easier to work with on deck since it runs a bit smoother

[@naskue4187]

did you upload your layour?

[@3Digitalist]

@@naskue4187 Yes, check description!

[@frekk8]

😍😍😍

[@OLBICHL]

1:45 maybe I have another settings turned on but s+shift and z doesn't do anything, scaling to z works just by pressing s and then z

[@3Digitalist]

@@OLBICHL Oh I probably wrote it wrong, I use S then shift+Z

[@BENZO_TV]

I wanna see a iPhone 6

[@3Digitalist]

Me too

[@N8-Squared]

I did the same thing with my Wii U lol

[@3Digitalist]

Oh nice! I want to try to make it run in the Wii U too, did you make it run natively? Because I heard that Wii U can run linux, and then it might be able to run Blender too

[@N8-Squared]

@@3Digitalist Yeah I was half lying. My B. I did it how most people who can't program or get too technical with things do it. I just streamed it from my PC. It is essentially identical to what you have but just streamed instead of native. Like I went into steam and added keybinds and everything. I had one of the sticks rotate the camera and the other one move it, and the triggers zoom in and out. Buttons bound to common hotkeys. I believe when I did it steam didn't have that weapon wheel controller system yet so I didn't use that. I would be absolutely amazed if someone got it running native though. It would be really funny.

[@N8-Squared]

Also it was a random thing I did in an afternoon when I was at home sick, so my uni friends were shocked when I sent a video of me sculpting a 3d model on my Wii U gamepad lol.

[@3Digitalist]

@@N8-Squared OH that's still cool though! Might be a video idea for me to install linux and make it run on it haha.

[@N8-Squared]

@@3Digitalist HELL YEAH! I feel like keybinds would be difficult to implement but still.

[@christianr.5868]

Don’t use cycles on steam deck. Blender doesn’t register the GPU for some reason for cycles. Eevee is much better. And now with eevee next, it’s more competitive. But ideally you’d just render in your own rig

[@3Digitalist]

@@christianr.5868 Definitely. I wish I managed to make blender use the steam deck gpu though. Then we could render at least some with cycles

[@splatchoot]

​@@3Digitalistworking on it dw!

[@3Digitalist]

​@@splatchoot Nice! Really appreciate your work by the way

[@idcrafter-cgi]

why not get blender from steam?

[@3Digitalist]

That would be the easiest way yea, however when I tried the GPU fix I had to download it separately

[@lipagav232]

Answer -no

[@funnyman3bmgo62]

I think better than potato laptop

[@kelet-studios]

kek i dont have steam deck

[@Nillified]

the biggest flaw in this video is that you didnt download blender from the steam store

[@Nillified]

oh gpu fix..

[@sherlockhomes9919]

Steamdeck is a pc. So what's the surprise?

[@NKCubed]

Go try using blender on your PC with an Xbox controller for input lmao

[@j2thedissle304]

AAAAAAAAA YOU FORGOT BLENDER IS ON THE STEAM STORE AND CAN BE DOWNLOADED IN GAME MODE

[@3Digitalist]

I should've installed it directly through Steam-it would've been cleaner. But when I tried the GPU fix, it would only work if Blender was installed outside of Steam.

[@j2thedissle304]

@@3Digitalist Oh shoot. You've got a good point. I thought the file destination/access and modification would have been the same on both download types. Good to know! I loved the video. Super educational and inspiring!

[@3Digitalist]

​@@j2thedissle304 Thank you!

[@the_andre]

🫵