3DS Max 8 Review ( From production houses point of view)
- Here we are again, at the time where a new version of software is released. Where production companies want to know whether the new features are worth the trouble of upgrading. Is it stable? Is it backward compatible? Will plug ins have to be upgraded? Will it blowup my network in the middle of a project? And in this case, with Autodesk's 3ds max 8, will it make it to version 9, or are we going to be looking at 3D Studio Maya v1? This last question is something that both Max users AND Maya users should be thinking about – and one that hopefully Autodesk will adequately answer in the next few months.But...let's avoid the future for a moment, so that we can focus on the here and now…and look at the newest developments in Max 8. I'm just going to step through the New Enhancement docs and give you my insights – which I know...............Read Full Review!!
Related Links: audiovideoproducer.Com . 3DS Max 8 Review By VFxWorld Tags: 3dsMax . Maya . Review . 3ds Max 8
MakeHuman(C) is a stand-alone, multi-platform, GPL software program.
- After much work and many months of preparation, we are pleased to announce the next-generation MakeHumanC that, after five years of life as a Blender(c) python script, has finally become mature enough to be a standalone, multi-platform software program; and, of course, still free, open source and GPL. Ideas and algorithms developed during the python coding have been translated into C and visualized, thanks to an elegant GUI completely written in OpenGL. With this pre-alpha, we want to reward and satisfy the curiosity of those fans, who, for a long time now, have been following the development of this software and are impatient to see the first results. However, we must first explain some important points: - We have called this release a DEMO, not because of the existence of a commercial version, nor because a particular license is necessary; but, simply, because within the fixed date for this pre-alpha, the program's ability to save your creation is not implemented. The beta release version, scheduled for 20 November, will include this ability for both the MakeHuman specific and .obj formats, the latter for import by several widely used 3D modeling programs. - Being a pre-alpha, many elements are still incomplete. Morphings must be improved and calibrated, many icons will be created or modified, and the current GUI buttons must be considered temporary. Facial expressions are not yet active, although there are some MakeHuman Emotion Expression System (MEES) morphings now available for experimentation. However, this version gives, already, a good idea of what we have accomplished:
- Over 750 basic parametric morphing targets.
- Uses less than 10 MB RAM.
- Very low CPU usage (on some computers, this value does not even register)
- Professional renders with RenderMan compliant engines.
MakeHuman v0.8 Pre-Alpa Website Link
3ds Max 8: Addressing 3D Speed/ Performance/ Efficiency Needs
- Ryan Lesser reviews the newest tools available in Autodesks 3ds Max, including pelt mapping, render UVW template functionality, skinning, modeling and animation. Now that Autodesk has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alias — its been a long time since I have seen every artist at my company freak out over the same thing — the long-held Max vs. Maya debate is going to take a very weird turn over the next 12 months. Just whats going to happen to the fate of these two packages? Will they eventually merge, even though the two companies swear they won’t? It would seem weird to keep them both alive since they are so similar, but time will tell. In the shadow of this big news, of course, comes the release of 3ds Max 8...........Read Review!!
(Source: VFxWorld)
More than 30 killed in explosions at crowded markets in Capital (off Topic) Picture by Manish Swarup / AP- A series of explosions shook New Delhi on Saturday, tearing through markets jammed with shoppers ahead of an upcoming Hindu festival- DIWALI. As many as 20 people have been killed in an explosion in Sarojini Nagar market and 15 others have reportedly been killed in Paharganj.Red alert declared in Delhi following explosions in Paharganj, Sarojini Nagar market and Govindpuri.Most of those injured or killed in the explosions were ordinary people out shopping in the festival season. According to latest reports, RDX was used in the blasts.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a statement from Kolkata said the blasts are a clear case of terrorism.(Source: Various)
Simple CG Character Skinning
- cgSkin is a novel new skinning enhancement simulation system that is faster, better and easier to use than current skinning methods. Along with its many other handy uses, it can aid the process of Skinning up CG characters as an add on to existing methods of skinning, completely by itself, or using any other deformable objects to drive it.cgSkin enables you to control the deformation of a skin with any combination of rigid and deforming objects. It uses a unique simulation approach that incorporates bonds within the skin and to the underlying control objects. It is extremely easy to set up and initialize. You also have extensive control over how the skin stretches and sticks to underlying control objects. This control can be varied with painted weight maps. While cgSkin works amazingly well with traditional rigid bones, it really excels when you start driving the skin with deformable control objects.Combining cgSkin with ACT (Absolute CharacterTools) provides a complete workflow for realistic character animation. What does this mean in real word terms to an animator or technical director? A character can be made up of multiple meshes that can drive a cgSkin to follow the underlying pieces without a visible seam.A low polygon mesh can drive a higher polygon count mesh without the speed degradation of sub-division. Objects can also be "glued" via cgSkin onto the surface of a deforming mesh.
3ds MAX 7.5 Review By Francois Levesque
- Autodesk Media & Entertainment (formerly known as Discreet) has once again shipped a new version of its highly popular 3ds Max software, boasting several new features and enhancements. This review of 3ds Max 7.5 we will analyze new features and utilities in one of the most used packages throughout the gaming industry. This review is based on the perspective of an actual game developer.3dsMax 7.5 is part of the subscription program which is fairly new to Autodesk. For additional information regarding subscription visit Discreet's website.
Modeling
3ds Max's polygon modeling tools have always been well thought of and they still feature all the functionality that we've come to expect from a premiere animation package. However there is a lot of rivalry in the 3D animation software world. With many innovative and inexpensive software's streamlined for pure modeling. While they often lead the way in terms of exciting new tools and workflow enhancements, most 3D artist feels it is better to have a more complete general package in order to get the best finish result in-game. 3ds Max 7 has introduced a new "Preserve UVs" feature, which make this workflow smoother than ever. It enables you to move vertices across the mesh without distorting the UV's. Coupled with skin utilities, artists can go back and forth through modeling, texturing and rigging pipelines without re-doing any work. The vertex painting tools has dramatically improved in 3ds Max 7. These tools can do everything, featuring layers, blur brush, customizable palettes and an improved "Adjust Color" which include hue, contrast, saturation, value and even levels..............................................Read Full Review !!!!
DOSCH 3D: Cars 2005
- Dosch Design releases the latest product with very accurate 3D-models -Dosch 3D: Cars 2005. The product contains 15 very detailed and completelytextured 3D-models of highly realistic cars.The following cars are included: Alfa 147, Audi A6, BMW 3, BMW 645ci, BMWX3, Citroen C4, Mercedes A-Class, C-Class, E-Class, SLK, Opel Signum,Peugeot 307, Seat Toledo, Volvo XC90 and VW Golf.The completely textured 3D-models are provided in multiple file formats.................Link!
Tags: 3d Models . 3d cars
(Website Link)
EverMotions "Textures4ever Vol. 1"
- Have you ever lost your race with time doing visualizations? Have you ever ruined your render, because of bad textures? If you are an architect, and if you need to work fast but with the highest precision, this is the thing for you. If you are an cg artist, and if you want to make your renders better than ever, you have to get this collection. Textures4ever volume 1 gives you more than 200 professional, highly detailed textures of wood. Why waste costly time for making something that you can have from the best at Evermotion? ............Link!!
Tags: Architecture . Visualizations . Textures
(Source: Evermotion)
HDRI & Luminance space
- High Dynamic Range Image or HDRI : What is "high dynamic range"? Why do my reflections look so flat? Why do bright lights leave streaks at night when shot under long exposure? Lets explore HDRI - High Dynamic Range Images - and luminance space in a quite simple method with Johan Thorngren...............................Read On!! (CGI Recommended)
Tags: HDRI . CG . Tutorials
Related Links:
Paul Debevec: You can read a lot more in-depth about HDRI
HDR Shop: Image manipulation and HDR image creator
WikiCG : Everything you want to know about HDRI
(TIPS: trinisica.com)
Brazil r/s Rendering Features are Key to CG Industry Leader's Most High
Profile Success Stories !!
- SEATTLE,( PR-April, 2005) – SplutterFish LLC, a leading high-end 3D rendering software solutions provider has been gaining significant respect from the professional computer graphics industry since its inception. Top CG studios from every corner of the industry, and around the world, are relying on SplutterFish’s Brazil Rendering System for their most demanding shots............................"For a visually intense Motorola ad in which a woman’s modern apartment and contents literally fold up into a cellular phone, The Orphanage crew reconstructed the entire set in 3D to be animated and then rendered it out with Brazil r/s."............Full Press Release!!
Tags: Press Release . Plug-in . 3d . Animation . CGI
(Source: SplutterFish)
Cheetah 3D For Mac OS X
- Cheetah3D is a lean, fast and elegant 3D modelling, renderering and animation tool for Mac OS X with an easy learning curve. It offers many tools from powerful polygon editing over advanced subdivision surface modelling to HDRI and radiosity renderings. Support for many common 3D file formats rounds up its feature set.Download free demo version from thier website.
Tags: software . 3d . Design
(Cheetah Link)
Apple Announces Shake 4,- "Advance Digital Compositing"
- Apple, announced Shake 4, a major upgrade to the industry’s leading compositing software used by independent artists and visual effects facilities to create the world’s most celebrated visual effects for film and television. Shake 4 is the only compositing software with a complete toolset for both single artists and visual effects facilities. With 3D multi-plane compositing, 32-bit Keylight and Primatte keying, cutting edge Optical Flow image processing, Final Cut Pro 5 integration and an open, extensible scripting language, Shake 4 delivers all the tools required for sophisticated film and television visual effects.Tags: software . News . Downloads(Apple webLink)
Featured BOOK STORE : "ballistic publishing"
by, Amit Dixit
- Summers in da Town duderzZ...N instead of going out n tanning your skin, just relax n give your Eyes a visual treat. How………..?Just clean dust from your keyboard and log on to ballistic publishing website's 'Book Store' n browse through the collection of finest books ever published and check the photo Gallery too. CG India recommends its visitors to buy Ballistic Publishing Titles, containing the works of finest digital artist in the world.Ballistic Publishing Titles offers the highest quality publications for the Computer Graphics & digital art community……....For ongoing offers Visit online bookstore!! [Recommeded]Tags: CGI . Books . Book Store
(Visit: Ballistic Publishing)
NVIDIA MAXtreme 7 Boosts 3ds Max Performance 134%
- NVIDIA Corp. leadeing graphics and digital media processors, today announced the immediate availability of its MAXtreme 7, a 3D application tool that enhances the productivity of Autodesk 3ds Max software on NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics solutions. Initial MAXtreme 7 results demonstrate an increase in performance of up to 134% over 3ds Max using the default OpenGL driver on the application benchmark internally developed and sanctioned by Autodesk Media and Entertainment (previously known as Discreet ). NVIDIA provides the free and fully certified MAXtreme productivity tool on its Web site at: Maxtreme7.
Tags: Graphics . 3ds Max . GPU . NVIDIA
(Source: Nvidia)
Free modo Production Evaluation Available Now!
by Amit Dixit
- On April 4, 2005 Luxology LLC, an independent technology company developing high-end 3D content creation tools , announce the immediate availability of the modo production evaluation version.The production evaluation provides complete access to modo, including over 2 hours of integrated video training materials. With no restrictions, users can download and try modo in production to experience the speed and flexibility first hand.....Still waiting?
Tags: CGI . 3d . Software . Press
Register to download Modo - Evaluation (Modo WebLink)
zDepthDOF for Mental Ray
- zDepthDOF is a material shader for Mental Ray which renders zDepth images. It provides full focus control for realistic depth of field simulation.It is intended to be used in conjunction with a compositing package that can make use of zDepth images, like for example Apple Computer's Shake or Discreet's Combustion. These packages .......................More!
Tags: CGI . Animation . Plug-in
(Source: DeathFall)
(Download ZdepthDOF )
