I'm Ernst Renner — musician, 3D artist, and self-taught developer. I build tools that empower creative professionals to work smarter, faster, and more intuitively.
My work reflects the values of open-source: shared knowledge, accessibility, and practical utility. I release free and premium 3D assets and software that are fast, functional, and artist-friendly. If it’s not useful, it doesn’t ship.
I’ve always been a dedicated user of open-source software, but it’s clear that, over time, the very tools I rely on have become more difficult to use. As much as I value open-source ideals, the recent direction taken by many developers has, in my opinion, made these tools unnecessarily complicated. There’s a growing gap between the needs of the users and the priorities of the developers—something that’s become even more apparent over the past year.
But thanks to advances in AI, we now have the ability to correct and improve on what’s been overlooked or dismissed by the official software maintainers. It’s become more clear than ever that we, the users, are in a unique position to enhance and streamline our own workflows.
This is why I create plugins and extensions. They are not just for the sake of adding features, they arere solutions to specific problems I encounter regularly in my work.
One such tool is the TKLx Blender Extension, an addon designed for users with TKL (Tenkeyless) keyboards. If you rely on quick, one-button presses to switch views in Blender, this extension is made for you. It provides a simple, fast way to improve your workflow by mapping those commonly used view switches to just one convenient keypress.
The TKLx Blender Extension is available now on my GitHub and I’m sharing it with anyone who feels the need for a more efficient and practical solution for working in Blender. It’s a small improvement, but sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference.
I specialize in crafting intuitive tools for creative professionals, merging technical precision with artistic freedom. With over 25 years of experience, I’ve worked primarily in Linux, and more recently, macOS. My focus is on developing clean, efficient code that empowers artists and creators to work more seamlessly and creatively.
While navigating a second occurrence of Bell’s Palsy and a persistent left-hand tremor, I’ve learned to make each moment at the keyboard count. Progress isn’t always steady, and some days I simply can’t work at all. But not every day is a setback. When possible, I focus on smaller, purposeful projects that fit my current pace. With the help of AI and a flexible mindset, I continue to build, write, and share tools that make digital creation more accessible and practical.