Tips to Render Videos Faster in Blender

If you’re a 3D artist, animator, or designer, you’ve probably asked yourself: “How do I render videos faster in Blender?” Rendering can be the most time-consuming part of any project. Whether you’re working on a short animation, a visual effects shot, or a full scene, knowing how to render videos efficiently is key. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the most effective tips to render videos faster in Blender without sacrificing quality.

Why Rendering Videos Takes Time

Before we get into the tips, let’s briefly understand why render videos tasks can take so long:

  • High resolution and frame rate
  • Complex lighting and materials
  • Heavy geometry and particle systems
  • Using CPU instead of GPU
  • Incorrect render settings

But don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to optimize your workflow and learn how to render videos faster.

1. Use GPU Instead of CPU

Blender allows you to choose between CPU and GPU for rendering. If your system has a dedicated GPU, make sure to use it.

How to switch:
Go to Edit > Preferences > System, then set Cycles Render Device to GPU Compute.

Why it helps: GPUs are built for parallel processing, which makes them perfect for render videos tasks.

2. Optimize Render Settings

Many new artists use default settings, which aren’t always efficient. If you want to render videos faster, tweak these settings:

  • Lower the sample count (try 64 or 128)
  • Enable Denoising to keep images clean
  • Set Light Paths to lower values (e.g., Max Bounces: 4–6)
  • Reduce the resolution during test renders

This way, you still get quality while cutting down on render time.

3. Use Eevee for Faster Rendering

Blender has two main rendering engines: Cycles and Eevee.

  • Cycles is ray-traced and photorealistic (but slower)
  • Eevee is real-time and great for stylized or preview renders

If you’re not doing ultra-realistic work, Eevee can render videos faster and still look great.

4. Use Render Layers and View Layers

Sometimes you don’t need to render everything at once. Using Render Layers lets you isolate elements like background, characters, or effects.

Why it helps:

  • Fewer elements = faster rendering
  • You can reuse or edit parts in compositing without re-rendering the whole video

This is a pro tip many artists use to render videos faster in complex scenes.

5. Use Simplify Settings

In the Render Properties, you’ll find a setting called Simplify. Turning it on lets you limit:

  • Subdivision levels
  • Child particles
  • Shadow samples

This is an easy way to speed up the process without editing your models. When you’re trying to render videos faster, every small setting matters.

6. Bake Simulations Before Rendering

Simulations like smoke, fire, and cloth can slow down your renders. Before hitting render, always bake your simulations.

How it helps:

  • Blender doesn’t need to calculate physics during each frame
  • Speeds up playback and final rendering

This is an essential step in the render videos process for any animation that uses effects.

7. Use Border and Frame Range Rendering

If you’re just testing part of a scene or fixing a specific area, don’t render the entire frame. Use Border Render (Ctrl + B in the viewport) to select only the part you want.

Also, adjust the frame range to render only the section you need. These tricks are small but very effective ways to render videos faster during production.

8. Turn Off Unnecessary Effects

Do you really need motion blur, depth of field, and ambient occlusion for every shot? If not, disable them. These effects increase render times significantly.

By trimming down unnecessary post-processing, you’ll render videos much more efficiently.

9. Use a Render Farm

When local rendering isn’t fast enough, consider using a cloud-based render farm like 3S Cloud Render Farm. It lets you:

  • Upload your .blend files
  • Choose settings and software
  • Render faster with powerful cloud GPUs
  • Download results once done

This is the best solution for professionals and studios who want to render videos faster without upgrading hardware.

10. Render as Image Sequence, Then Compile

Rendering your animation directly to video (e.g., MP4) can cause issues if the render fails mid-way. Instead, render as an image sequence (PNG or EXR), then compile it later using Blender’s Video Sequencer.

Why it’s better:

  • Easier to resume from a specific frame
    Prevents full re-renders if something goes wrong
  • Faster and safer overall when handling long videos

Final Thoughts

Rendering videos is often the final step of your creative process—but it doesn’t have to be the most frustrating one. Many 3D artists spend hours or even days waiting for animations to finish rendering, only to discover they could have optimized their settings, used better tools, or saved precious time with smarter workflows.

So instead of waiting endlessly for your next frame to finish, take control of your pipeline. Choose GPU over CPU. Embrace Eevee when possible. Use image sequences for safety. Simplify your scene and render only what’s needed. And when your computer can’t keep up—don’t stress. Render farms like 3S Cloud Render Farm are designed to help you hit deadlines, no matter how complex your scene is.

>>> Read more: How to Make Walking Animation in Blender?

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