Saturday, December 14th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerAdobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betahtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/241214_Substance3DStager_GenerativeBackground.mp4The composition of images generated by Substance 3D Stagers Generative Background text-to-image system can now be guided by placeholder 3D objects in a scene.Adobe has released Substance 3D Stager 3.1, the latest version of its scene layout and rendering software, in beta.The update adds new generative AI features, including the option to use 3D objects to guide the composition of images generated by Substance 3D Stagers Generative Background feature, and a complete new text-to-3D system, intended for generating background objects.An intuitive way for less specialist 3D artists to create virtual product photographsLaunched in 2021, Substance 3D Stager is a shot layout and rendering application.Aimed at designers as well as specialist 3D artists, it is intended to provide an intuitive workflow for creating photorealistic brand visualisations and product mockups.Users can lay out scenes using physics-based tools to place assets, and pick from libraries of readymade materials and environment stages mimicking real-world studio lighting.Use placeholder 3D images to guide Generative BackgroundThe update builds on the new generative AI features introduced in Substance 3D Stager 3.0, which added new text-to-image system Generative Background.Substance 3D Stager 3.1 adds the option to use placeholder 3D objects in a scene to guide the composition of the background image generated.It is also now possible to generate non-background images using a similar workflow.New text-to-3D system for background models and propsThere is also a new text-to-3D system to our knowledge, the first time one has been released publicly in an Adobe application or the web version of Firefly, its generative AI toolset.There is little information in the release notes, and Adobe doesnt seem to have released any images of its raw output, so its difficult to assess the quality of the models generated.However, its described as being intended as background objects and props, so presumably, theyre fairly low-resolution.Weve contacted Adobe to ask for more information about the feature itself, and the data set on which the AI model was trained, and will update if we hear back.Match Image now generates a 360-degree environment lightOther changes include update to Match Image, which automatically matches the camera perspective and lighting of a 3D scene to a background image.The feature now creates a panoramic 360-degree environment from the background image, using it to provide more accurate ambient lighting and reflections in the scene.It is possible to export the background light in PSD or EXR format.Workflow improvements include in-viewport camera controls, and a new contextual taskbar, for quick access to common controls.It is also now possible to render images in JPG format as well as the other standard file formats supported, and to import and export 8K textures in Substance 3D SBSAR materials.Price, system requirements and release dateSubstance 3D Stager 3.1 is compatible with Windows 10+ and macOS 12.0+. The software is now rental-only, Adobe having discontinued the old Steam perpetual license at the start of the year.It is available as part of Adobes Substance 3D Collection subscriptions, which cost $49.99/month or $549.88/year for individuals; $1,198.88/year for studios.Read a full list of new features in Substance 3D Stager in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsCell Fluids 2.0 for Blender is outPopular lightweight Blender fluid simulation add-on now lets you art direct simulations with guide curves. Check out the other new features.Tuesday, December 17th, 2024Unigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD filesGame engine now imports meshes, materials, lights and animation in USD format, including in the free Community edition.Monday, December 16th, 2024Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025Tracking app's new AI-powered roto workflow lets users isolate objects with a single click, then propagate the matte through an entire shot.Monday, December 16th, 2024Master Designing Sci-Fi Props for FilmDiscover how to create 3D designs that can be turned into physical movie props with The Gnomon Workshop's detailed tutorial.Monday, December 16th, 2024Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betaScene layout and rendering app gets new generative AI features, including a new text-to-3D system for creating background models.Saturday, December 14th, 2024Nekki releases Cascadeur Mobile 1.2New iPad and iPhone edition of Nekki's AI-assisted character animation software can now import and export data in FBX format.Saturday, December 14th, 2024More Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaFoundry releases Katana 8.0Foundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Older Posts

Monday, December 16th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerMaster Designing Sci-Fi Props for Filmhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Gnomon Workshop has released Designing Sci-Fi Props for Film, a guide to concept design and modeling, recorded by concept artist Kris Turvey.The workshop provides over three hours of video training in Photoshop, CAD application Fusion, and Substance 3D Painter for texturing.Discover how to design and model sci-fi props suitable for use in movie productionsIn the workshop, Turvey demonstrates his complete workflow for designing and modeling a sci-fi object that can be fabricated as a physical prop for use in a movie: a handheld DNA scanner.Beginning with his mind-mapping process to generate ideas, he explains how to develop concepts quickly by sketching in Photoshop. He then demonstrates how to take those quick concepts to more advanced presentations using simple techniques with the Airbrush and Selection tools.Turvey then takes one of the designs into Fusion, showcasing the parametric 3D modeling techniques he uses to create models that can be physically fabricated.To complete the workflow, he demonstrates how to take the final Fusion model into Substance 3D Painter to apply materials and generate final presentation renders efficiently.As well as practical techniques, Turvey sets out the design principles involved in creating objects that communicate their function to an audience quickly and effectively.Viewers of the workshop can download the final Fusion project file as well as the tutorial videos.About the artistKris Turvey is a freelance concept artist and art director with over 15 years of experience. He serves on the core committee of the British Film Designers Guild and is a member of BAFTA.He has worked on movies and TV shows including Dune: Part Two, Renegade Nell and Black Doves, as well as projects in games, advertising and live events. Pricing and availabilityDesigning Sci-Fi Props for Film is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.Read more about Designing Sci-Fi Props for Film on The Gnomon Workshops websiteHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.Latest NewsCell Fluids 2.0 for Blender is outPopular lightweight Blender fluid simulation add-on now lets you art direct simulations with guide curves. Check out the other new features.Tuesday, December 17th, 2024Unigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD filesGame engine now imports meshes, materials, lights and animation in USD format, including in the free Community edition.Monday, December 16th, 2024Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025Tracking app's new AI-powered roto workflow lets users isolate objects with a single click, then propagate the matte through an entire shot.Monday, December 16th, 2024Master Designing Sci-Fi Props for FilmDiscover how to create 3D designs that can be turned into physical movie props with The Gnomon Workshop's detailed tutorial.Monday, December 16th, 2024Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betaScene layout and rendering app gets new generative AI features, including a new text-to-3D system for creating background models.Saturday, December 14th, 2024Nekki releases Cascadeur Mobile 1.2New iPad and iPhone edition of Nekki's AI-assisted character animation software can now import and export data in FBX format.Saturday, December 14th, 2024More Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaFoundry releases Katana 8.0Foundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Older Posts

Tuesday, December 17th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerCell Fluids 2.0 for Blender is outhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"CG artist and programmer Shahzod Boyhonov (specoolar) has updated Cell Fluids, his promising lightweight fluid solver based on Blenders Geometry Nodes system.Cell Fluids 2.0 makes it possible to art direct fluid flow with guide curves, to increase the resolution of a simulation, and to integrate simulations with a larger ocean surface.A promising lightweight semi-realtime Blender fluid simulatorFirst released last year, Cell Fluids is a Geometry Nodes-based fluid solver.Its compatible with both Blenders Cycles and Eevee renderers, and is described as being fast enough to work interactively, with the simulation being calculated in semi-realtime.It isnt a particle-based solver it generates a water surface with displacement rather than a full 3D fluid so it has some limitations, listed in the online documentation.However, as well as rendering simulations inside Blender, users can bake them to a static mesh and flow maps, for export to game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.Art direct simulations by using guide curves to control fluid flowNew features in Cell Fluids 2.0 include the option to art direct simulations by using guide curves to control the direction in which the fluid flows.There are also new shaders mimicking a range of real-world materials, including lava, oil and juice, although the plugin doesnt currently have true viscosity support for thicker fluids.New options for creating larger, more details simulationsCell Fluids 2.0 also introduces some significant new features when it comes to using the plugin in production, including the option to increase the resolution of a simulation.It is also possible to subdivide a simulation as a post-process, to further enhance details.The update also introduces a simple ocean blending system, for blending the borders of the fluid surface generated with a larger ocean plane: it currently only works for relatively still water.Potential use cases include simulating the wake of a boat without the need to simulate the entire expanse of ocean surrounding it.It is also now possible to simulate custom frame ranges, and to increase the speed of a simulation.Price and system requirementsCell Fluids 2.0 is compatible with Blender 4.1+. It now costs $25, up $5 from the original release.Read more about lightweight real-time fluid solver Cell Fluids on Blender MarketHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsCell Fluids 2.0 for Blender is outPopular lightweight Blender fluid simulation add-on now lets you art direct simulations with guide curves. Check out the other new features.Tuesday, December 17th, 2024Unigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD filesGame engine now imports meshes, materials, lights and animation in USD format, including in the free Community edition.Monday, December 16th, 2024Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025Tracking app's new AI-powered roto workflow lets users isolate objects with a single click, then propagate the matte through an entire shot.Monday, December 16th, 2024Master Designing Sci-Fi Props for FilmDiscover how to create 3D designs that can be turned into physical movie props with The Gnomon Workshop's detailed tutorial.Monday, December 16th, 2024Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betaScene layout and rendering app gets new generative AI features, including a new text-to-3D system for creating background models.Saturday, December 14th, 2024Nekki releases Cascadeur Mobile 1.2New iPad and iPhone edition of Nekki's AI-assisted character animation software can now import and export data in FBX format.Saturday, December 14th, 2024More Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaFoundry releases Katana 8.0Foundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Older Posts

Monday, December 16th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerBoris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Boris FX has begun its 2025 updates to Mocha Pro, its planar tracking software.Mocha Pro 2025.0 introduces a new AI-powered rotoscoping workflow, including an Object Brush for isolating objects in a frame of video with a single click, and Matte Assist ML, for propagating the mask automatically throughout the remainder of a shot.The softwares new 3D tracking toolset gets the option to track objects as well as the camera.New AI-powered Object Brush isolates objects in a single frame with one clickMocha Pro becomes the second of Boris FXs applications to get new AI-powered rotoscoping features, following their introduction in Silhouette 2024 and 2024.5.The Object Brush, which is powered by the Mask ML algorithm used in Silhouette, makes it possible to isolate objects in a single frame of footage with a single click.Users click inside the object they want to isolate to have automatically generates a matte for it.The selection can be refined by selecting extra parts of the image to include or exclude, or by using the existing Area Brush tool to paint areas in or out manually.Once the boundaries are finalized, Mocha converts the selection into editable splines.New Matte Assist ML feature propagates single-frame object mattes throughout a shotAlternatively, users can propagate the matte throughout a shot with the Matte Assist ML option in the softwares new Matte module.It automatically follows the object being matted in the source frame throughout the rest of the footage, generating animated vector masks matching its changing outline.The edges of the masks can be shrunk or dilated using built-in controls.As well as garbage matting, suggested use cases include creating holdouts for foreground objects.Updates to 3D tracking and data exportThe release also extends the 3D tracking toolset introduced in Mocha Pro 2024, which integrated the core solver from SynthEyes, Boris FXs 3D tracking software.Users can now solve for moving objects within 3D scenes as well as the camera. The solve can be used with both planar tracks and PowerMesh tracks, for organically warping surfaces.There are also workflow and performance improvements, including a new unified export dialog for tracking data. You can find a full list in the release notes.Pricing and system requirementsMocha Pro 2025 is available as a standalone application, and as Adobe, Avid and OFX plugins. The standalone edition is compatible with Windows 10+, RHEL/CentOS 7-9 Linux and macOS 12.7.6+. The plugins are compatible with After Effects and Premiere Pro CC 2014+, HitFilm Pro 2017+, Media Composer 8+, Nuke 8+, Flame 2020+, Fusion Studio 8+, Silhouette 2020+ and Vegas Pro 14+.A new licence costs $695 for the Adobe, Avid or OFX plugins, $995 for all the plugins, or $1,495 for the standalone edition plus all of the plugins. Find subscription pricing here.Read an overview of the new features in Mocha Pro 2025 on Boris FXs blogRead a full list of new features in Mocha Pro 2025 in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsUnigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD filesGame engine now imports meshes, materials, lights and animation in USD format, including in the free Community edition.Monday, December 16th, 2024Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025Tracking app's new AI-powered roto workflow lets users isolate objects with a single click, then propagate the matte through an entire shot.Monday, December 16th, 2024Master Designing Sci-Fi Props for FilmDiscover how to create 3D designs that can be turned into physical movie props with The Gnomon Workshop's detailed tutorial.Monday, December 16th, 2024Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betaScene layout and rendering app gets new generative AI features, including a new text-to-3D system for creating background models.Saturday, December 14th, 2024Nekki releases Cascadeur Mobile 1.2New iPad and iPhone edition of Nekki's AI-assisted character animation software can now import and export data in FBX format.Saturday, December 14th, 2024ukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaCheck out the popular GPU-accelerated UV packing and UV stacking tool, now available for Maya as well as Blender.Friday, December 13th, 2024More NewsBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaFoundry releases Katana 8.0Foundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Older Posts

Monday, December 16th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerUnigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD fileshtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Unigine has released Unigine 2.19.1, the latest version of the real-time 3D engine.The update makes it possible to import as well as export data in USD format, and makes the USD Export plugin available in the free Community edition of the software.A high-end real-time 3D engine for enterprise-scale engineering and simulation projectsFirst released in 2005, Unigine began as a more general-purpose game engine, but since 2012 has focused on enterprise markets, including simulation, training, engineering and city planning.Unique features include 64-bit precision for world space co-ordinates.That means that, unlike most standard game engines, which use 32-bit precision, Unigine can simulate planet-scale scenes rather than much smaller game worlds.The high-end editions the Engineering SDK and Sim SDK, both priced on demand also support GIS data and common CAD data formats, and support OpenGL as well as DirectX.However, the software can also be used for entertainment work, and since 2020, has been available free for commercial projects that generate under $100,000/year in revenue.Unigine 2.19.1: updates to USD support and character animation workflowAs the version numbering suggests, Unigine 2.19.1 is a primarily a patch update to Unigine 2.19, which was released in August, but it includes some significant changes for entertainment work.One is that it support for Universal Scene Description has been extended, making it possible to import data in USD format as well as export it.Users can import and export meshes, materials, lights, cameras and skinned characters, including both skeletal and blendshape-based animations, in .usda, .usdc and .usdz format.And whereas the USD exchange plugin was initially only available with the Sim and Engineering editions, it is now available in the free Community edition.Another key change is that animation preview is now built into the Unigine Editor, making it possible to view animations directly in the Asset Browser, without having to assign them to a Skinned Mesh object.Other changes include improvements to Screen-Space Ray-Traced Global Illumination (SSRTGI), and support for NVIDIAs DLSS and AMDs FSR render upscaling technologies in VR as well as on desktop.There are also updates to the web streaming system and SpiderVision plugin added in 2.19.Pricing and system requirementsUnigine 2.19.1 is available for 64-bit Windows 10+ and Linux (kernel 4.19+). Both engine and editor are hardware-agnostic: you can find a list of supported AMD, Intel and NVIDIA GPUs here.The Community Free edition is free to use for non-commercial work and commercial projects with revenue or funding under $100,000 in the past 12 months.The Community Pro edition has no revenue cap, with subscriptions now costing $1,500/year. You can find a feature comparison table with the enterprise editions here.Read an overview of the new features in Unigine 2.19.1 on Unigines blogRead a full list of new features in Unigine 2.19.1 on the Unigine forumHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsUnigine 2.19.1 can now import and export USD filesGame engine now imports meshes, materials, lights and animation in USD format, including in the free Community edition.Monday, December 16th, 2024Boris FX releases Mocha Pro 2025Tracking app's new AI-powered roto workflow lets users isolate objects with a single click, then propagate the matte through an entire shot.Monday, December 16th, 2024Master Designing Sci-Fi Props for FilmDiscover how to create 3D designs that can be turned into physical movie props with The Gnomon Workshop's detailed tutorial.Monday, December 16th, 2024Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.1 in betaScene layout and rendering app gets new generative AI features, including a new text-to-3D system for creating background models.Saturday, December 14th, 2024Nekki releases Cascadeur Mobile 1.2New iPad and iPhone edition of Nekki's AI-assisted character animation software can now import and export data in FBX format.Saturday, December 14th, 2024ukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaCheck out the popular GPU-accelerated UV packing and UV stacking tool, now available for Maya as well as Blender.Friday, December 13th, 2024More NewsBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaFoundry releases Katana 8.0Foundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Older Posts

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Released on 14 November 2024. Scroll down for news of the 1.2 update.Nekki has released Cascadeur Mobile, a new mobile edition of Cascadeur, its AI-assisted character animation software. The new app makes it possible to animate 3D characters on an iPhone or iPad, then export the animation to refine in the desktop edition of Cascadeur.Create animations based on real-world physics, aided by AI-based toolsLaunched in 2019, Cascadeur is intended as an artist-friendly alternative to conventional animation software for game development, motion graphics or visual effects work.Although it has standard tools for rigging, posing and animating characters, its unique selling point is a set of AI-assisted, semi-automated toolsets.Its AutoPosing system lets users quickly establish key poses for a character by positioning a small number of joints, with Cascadeur taking care of the rest of the body.The software can then calculate a physically correct trajectory between the poses.New mobile edition: pose and animate characters in augmented realityCascadeur Mobile adapts those workflows for use on mobile devices.Users can pose characters to match a reference images or videos, using gesture controls and a simplified version of the standard Cascadeur interface.The characters can be animated using core features from the desktop application, including the timeline, IK/FK interpolation, Ghosts, Trajectories and the Tween Machine.The rough animation can then be converted into a physically accurate version of itself using the built-in AutoPhysics system, with a separate slider control adding secondary motion.The app also includes an AR Mode, making it possible to animate characters in augmented reality, as shown in this video.Updated 14 December 2024: Nekki has released Cascadeur Mobile 1.2, the first major update to the app since its original release.There are a few quality-of-life updates, but the main change is file exchange: it is now possible to import animation in FBX format, and export it in FBX and glTF formats.Price, system requirements and release dateCascadeur Mobile is compatible with iOS 13.0+ and iPadOS 13.0+: according to Nekki, you need an iPhone 11 or better for an optimal experience.The base app is free, but cannot import or export files, and lacks support for video references. To export data, you need a paid-subscription, which costs $7.99/month or $49.99/year.The full toolset is also available free to users with Pro subscriptions to the desktop edition of the software, which have a standard price of $49/month or $588/year. Download Cascadeur Mobile from the App StoreHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Friday, December 13th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerBlender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D claymationhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Animator and educator Daniel Martnez Lara has released ClayPencil, a free Blender add-on that can be used to convert 2D animations to claymation-style 3D.The Geometry Nodes set-up fills outlines created using Blenders Grease Pencil 2D animation toolset with 3D geometry, making it possible to create 3D animation using 2D techniques.Convert Grease Pencil outlines to animatable 3D geometryClayPencil according to Martnez Lara, the name really refers to the animation technique rather than the add-on itself makes use of the recent changes to Grease Pencil in Blender 4.3.In particular, it is now possible to modify Grease Pencil objects using Geometry Nodes, Blenders node-based 3D modeling framework.The ClayPencil Geometry Nodes set-up makes it possible to convert Grease Pencil strokes from 2D to 3D, or to fill Grease Pencil outlines with solid geometry.That means that with manual refinement, and after applying a suitable clay shader it can be used to convert 2D animations to 3D animations that resemble traditional claymation.An experimental but promising initial releaseMartnez Lara describes the initial release of ClayPencil as highly experimental, so users are warned to expect glitches.However, early adopters are already getting good results with it, as you can see from demo videos like the one above from animator and illustrator Ron Letkeman.The download comes with the base Blender .blend scene file, plus two demo scenes, including the cowboy character shown in the video at the top of this story.System requirements and release dateClayPencil 0.1 is compatible with Blender 4.3. Its a free download.Download free Blender animation add-on ClayPencil from GumroadSee more demos of ClayPencil on the Pepe School Land YouTube channelHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaCheck out the popular GPU-accelerated UV packing and UV stacking tool, now available for Maya as well as Blender.Friday, December 13th, 2024Blender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Neat free Geometry Nodes setup lets you create 3D animation using 2D workflows in Blender's Grease Pencil toolset.Friday, December 13th, 2024Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaNext major update to Nuke introduces native multishot compositing, and improves roto performance and BlinkScript editing.Thursday, December 12th, 2024Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpSketchUp edition of the renderer gets support for 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for lighting, and new material override options.Thursday, December 12th, 2024The new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Katana 8.0Check out the new features in the lighting and look development software, including support for USD export and USD roundtripping.Tuesday, December 10th, 2024More NewsFoundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaOlder Posts

Friday, December 13th, 2024Posted by Jim Thackerukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for Mayahtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Developer ukasz Czy has released UVPackmaster 3 for Maya, a new Maya edition of his GPU-accelerated UV packing plugin.The tool enables artists to pack UV islands from 3D models into space-efficient layouts, minimizing texture distortion, and reducing file sizes on 3D design, animation and VFX projects.A fast, efficient GPU-accelerated UV packing toolOriginally only available for Blender, UVPackmaster 3 is a fast, efficient UV packing plugin capable of running on CUDA-enabled NVIDIA GPUs as well as a workstations CPU.It performs a heuristic search to find the most space efficient layout for the UV islands from a UV-unwrapped 3D model, and is capable of packing thousands of UV islands in seconds.It supports tiled UV layouts, including UDIMs, with users able to split UV islands into any number of named groups, and adjust packing on a per-island or per-group basis.The plugin can also be used to stack topologically similar islands, further minimising use of UV space.Now available for Maya, although currently only on WindowsThe new release makes the add-on available for Maya as well as Blender: according to Czy, the Maya edition has the same set of features as the Blender version.You can find an overview of its features on the product website, and more details in the online documentation.However, unlike the Blender edition, which also runs on Linux and macOS, the initial release is Windows-only.Pricing and availabilityUVPackmaster 3 is compatible with Maya 2022, running on Windows 10+ only. A new single-user licence now costs $44. Multi-user Studio licences start at $159.Read more about UVPackmaster 3 for Maya on the product websiteGet UVPackmaster 3 for Maya from GumroadHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest Newsukasz Czy releases UVPackmaster 3 for MayaCheck out the popular GPU-accelerated UV packing and UV stacking tool, now available for Maya as well as Blender.Friday, December 13th, 2024Blender add-on ClayPencil turns 2D animation into 3D 'claymation'Neat free Geometry Nodes setup lets you create 3D animation using 2D workflows in Blender's Grease Pencil toolset.Friday, December 13th, 2024Foundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaNext major update to Nuke introduces native multishot compositing, and improves roto performance and BlinkScript editing.Thursday, December 12th, 2024Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpSketchUp edition of the renderer gets support for 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for lighting, and new material override options.Thursday, December 12th, 2024The new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Katana 8.0Check out the new features in the lighting and look development software, including support for USD export and USD roundtripping.Tuesday, December 10th, 2024More NewsFoundry releases Mari 7.1Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaOlder Posts

Thursday, December 12th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerChaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUphtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Chaos has released V-Ray 7 for SketchUp, the latest version of the renderer.The release adds native support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for realistic interior lighting, and updates V-Ray Scatter, V-Ray Sun and Sky, V-Ray GPU, and the VFB.Users also get new options for handling material overrides, and support for layered textures.The new version was released alongside that of V-Ray 7 for Rhino, which has similar features.Native support for rendering 3DGS scan dataV-Ray 7 for SketchUp introduces new features from the V-Ray 7 core, first rolled out in October in V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max.Key changes include support for 3D Gaussian Splats (3DGS).A new 3D scanning method, 3D Gaussian Splatting generates high-quality reconstructions of real-world objects or scenes from source photos or video.Although there are free third-party add-ons for rendering 3DGS data in Blender, Unity and Unreal Engine, V-Ray is one of the first CG applications to support the technology natively.Chaos tells us that it expects the functionality to appeal to both architectural visualization and VFX studios, particularly as a way of creating detailed background environments.You can read a good overview of how 3D Gaussian Splats work, and the pros and cons of workflows based around them in this post on Chaoss blog.Lighting and rendering: Support for luminaires, and updates to V-Ray Sun and SkyChanges to lighting and rendering in V-Ray 7 include support for luminaires.Users can now import baked lighting data for real-world light fittings in PLW format, making it possible to recreate the illumination they create more accurately in interior scenes.The V-Ray Sun and Sky system has been updated to support the PRG Clear Sky model used in Corona, Chaoss other major production renderer.According to Chaos, it generates more realistic lighting effects than the previous model, particularly at sunrise and sunset, and when rendering the sky from greater altitudes.The firefly removal algorithm, for removing bright flecks in renders, has also been updated.V-Ray GPU: support for caustics, and native support for Metal on macOSV-Ray GPU, V-Rays hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, gets initial support for rendering caustics, bringing it closer to feature parity with the main CPU render engine.On macOS, V-Ray GPU also now natively supports Apples Metal graphics API, doubling rendering performance on Apple Silicon processors.VFB: vignetting and freeform render regionsThe V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB), for viewing and editing images rendered in V-Ray, gets a new Vignette Layer, making it possible to apply vignetting effects to renders.A new Filters tab applies readymade, non-destructive color correction presets.The VFB also now supports polygonal region rendering, making it possible to specify render regions with custom shapes to help resolve key areas of an image more quickly.In addition, users can now stop renders midway while preserving post effects, including denoising.Updates to V-Ray ScatterObject scattering system V-Ray Scatter has also been updated.New features include camera clipping, to limit scattering to areas within the camera view, and edge trimming to clip away parts of instances outside the boundaries of their host surface.SketchUp-specific updates to materials and render elementsAs well as the changes common to other editions of V-Ray 7, the update also includes changes specific to V-Ray 7 for SketchUp, including new options for material overrides.Users can now perform partial overrides, with options to override refractive materials independently, or to preserve key properties like bump and refraction while overriding.There are also new override presets for stylized rendering, for quick iteration on a project.Other improvements to materials and texturing include support for layered textures, a built-in mix curve to control falloff effects, and the option to apply color gradients to textures.The Light Mix render element, for relighting renders inside the VFB, now supports emissive materials as well as conventional lights.It is also now possible to add multiple Cryptomatte render elements to a project.Updates to Chaos Cloud and Chaos CosmosOutside the core application, cloud rendering service Chaos Cloud gets new functionality for creating virtual tours of 3D environments, complete with floor plans and minimaps.Users can place Hotspots to act as navigation points in the environment for the viewer, and Highlights to provide text or image annotations for key details.Chaos Cosmos, the online asset library now available with all V-Ray subscriptions, gets support for asset variations.The variant system is initially being used for seasonal changes to trees and plants.Subscription prices up since V-Ray 6Chaos has also raised the price of V-Ray subscriptions since the previous release.V-Ray Solo subscriptions now cost $84.90/month or $514.80/year, up $5/month or $48/year, and V-Ray Premium subscriptions cost $119.90/month or $718.80/year, up $24/year.V-Ray Enterprise subscriptions are unaffected.Pricing and system requirementsV-Ray 7 for SketchUp is compatible with SketchUp 2021+, running on 64-bit Windows 10+ and macOS 10.15+. The software is available rental-only. V-Ray Solo subscriptions cost $84.90/month or $514.80/year, V-Ray Premium subscriptions cost $119.90/month or $718.80/year, and V-Ray Enterprise subscriptions cost $598.80/year.Read an overview of the new features in V-Ray 7 for SketchUp on Chaoss blogRead a full list of new features in V-Ray 7 for SketchUp in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsFoundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaNext major update to Nuke introduces native multishot compositing, and improves roto performance and BlinkScript editing.Thursday, December 12th, 2024Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpSketchUp edition of the renderer gets support for 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for lighting, and new material override options.Thursday, December 12th, 2024The new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Katana 8.0Check out the new features in the lighting and look development software, including support for USD export and USD roundtripping.Tuesday, December 10th, 2024Foundry releases Mari 7.1Now available: 3D texture painting software gets new 2D painting mode for editing source images or creating custom decals.Monday, December 9th, 2024Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024More NewsAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsOlder Posts

Thursday, December 12th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerFoundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betahtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Foundry has released Nuke 16.0, the latest update to its family of compositing apps, in beta.The update lays the foundations of a new native multishot compositing workflow, updates Nukes 3D compositing system, and improves interactive performance when rotoscoping.NukeX, the advanced edition, gets workflow improvements to the BlinkScript editor.Nuke Studio, which includes editorial capabilities, gets support for multi-channel soft effects, and a new quick export system.A parallel release, Nuke 15.2, provides many of the same features, but remains on the VFX Reference Platform CY2023 spec, rather than updating to CY2024.In the past, Foundry has asked us not to embed demo videos from beta releases in stories, since details can change before the final release, but you can watch them on its website.Nuke 16.0, NukeX 16.0, Nuke Studio 16.0: New native multishot workflowNuke 16.0 is Foundrys first serious step towards implementing support for a native multishot compositing workflow inside the software. Whereas Nuke was designed for use on individual shots, with a one-to-one relationship between a shot and a Nuke .nk script, Foundry now aims to let artists reuse scripts across shots.The backbone of the system is Graph Scope Variables (GSVs), which make it possible to define the data required for multiple contexts and scopes in a single Nuke script, while Group nodes define the nature of those scopes, and make it possible to inherit and override variables.The release introduces many of the day-to-day features needed for working with GSVs and Group nodes, including a new VariableGroup node, for defining variables or scopes, and a VariableSwitch node, for switching between different shots or scopes using those variables.A new Variables Panel lets artists interact with the available variables within a script, and a Group View lets them view and edit the contents of multiple nodes without having to switch tabs.GSVs are also now supported in LiveGroups, and when rendering from the command line, making it possible to render scripts in the correct shot context.Some of the functionality was actually introduced in Nuke 15.1, but the UI for the new features was hidden by default.Nuke 16.0, NukeX 16.0, Nuke Studio 16.0: Updates to the 3D system and ScanlineRenderThe USD-based 3D compositing system introduced in Nuke 14.0 gets an update in Nuke 16.0.Although there are a couple of new nodes, a key objective is simply to update the most commonly used nodes including GeoCard, GeoTransform, GeoMerge and GeoScene based on user feedback. Foundry has also started the building blocks for ray tracing, with ScanlineRender2, the new version of the ScanlineRender render node, being a ray traced architecture by default, although shader support for lights and materials is still not fully implemented.The functionality is aimed at compositors particularly for generating accurate render passes late in production and shouldnt be thought of as a replacement to large-scale scene renders. Nuke 16.0, NukeX 16.0, Nuke Studio 16.0: Better roto performanceUnder the hood, the release also features a number of changes intended to improve performance when rotoscoping, particularly when using large numbers of roto shapes, or when working with motion blur.The changes are intended to reduce UI lag, and to raise the frame rates achieved when playing back complex shots to levels sufficient to resolve edge issues like boiling.NukeX 16.0, Nuke Studio 16.0: Quality-of-life improvements to BlinkScriptTDs get quality-of-life improvements to the BlinkScript editor, Nukes native scripting system, which has been updated to support common IDE functionality.That includes text and type behaviours like auto-indenting and bracket autoclosure; find and replace; and a Tab menu with autofill suggestions and context-specific documentation.A new Safety Rails system makes it easier to catch problems when prototyping new BlinkScripts and makes the consequences less dramatic when mistakes occur.Nuke Studio 16.0: Multichannel Soft Effects and a new quick export systemNuke Studios Soft Effects system gets support for multichannel effects, with users now able to view and modify multilayer EXR files within the timeline.Potential uses include masking color effects with non-RGBA layers like mattes or depth passes.Support for layer transforms in the timeline is intended to reduce the need for slap comps, and to enable supervisors to provide more accurate feedback when creating sample frames.In addition, a new render engine based on Nuke Studios real-time playback engine speeds up exports of sequences as ProRes, DNxHD, DNxHR and H.264 videos.It provides an average 12-fold increase in performance over the existing export system.VFX Reference Platform support and changes to pipeline integrationNuke 16.0 also moves the software to support the VFX Reference Platform CY2024 spec.A parallel release, Nuke 15.2, is intended for studios who dont want to update their pipelines yet, adding many of the same features while remaining on CY2023.Both releases switch Nuke from Apples system OpenGL library to Foundrys own alternative, FoundryGL, when running on macOS, Apple having deprecated OpenGL in macOS 10.14. Price and system requirementsNuke 16.0 is compatible with Windows 10+, Rocky Linux 9.0 and macOS 13.0+. It is currently in beta for users with existing licenses. Foundry hasnt announced a final release date yet.The software is available rental-only, with annual subscriptions costing $3,469/year for Nuke, $4,729/year for NukeX, and $5,779/year for Nuke Studio. Nuke Render licenses cost $419/year.Subscriptions to Nuke Indie, the feature- and resolution-limited commercial edition for artists earning under $100,000/year, cost $499/year.Read an overview of the features in the Nuke 16.0 beta on Foundrys websiteRead a full list of new features in Nuke 16.0 Beta 3 in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsFoundry releases Nuke 16.0 in betaNext major update to Nuke introduces native multishot compositing, and improves roto performance and BlinkScript editing.Thursday, December 12th, 2024Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUpSketchUp edition of the renderer gets support for 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for lighting, and new material override options.Thursday, December 12th, 2024The new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Katana 8.0Check out the new features in the lighting and look development software, including support for USD export and USD roundtripping.Tuesday, December 10th, 2024Foundry releases Mari 7.1Now available: 3D texture painting software gets new 2D painting mode for editing source images or creating custom decals.Monday, December 9th, 2024Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024More NewsAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsOlder Posts

Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betahtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Originally posted on 25 October, and updated with the link to the initial beta release.The long-awaited new version of V-Ray for Blender is due out in beta this year, developer Chaos has told CG Channel.The updated plugin will have a feature set based on the V-Ray 7 core, and will be available via its own single-product subscription, in addition to standard V-Ray subscriptions.The first update to the V-Ray Blender integration for five yearsV-Ray actually already has an integration for Blender: just not a current one.The old plugin, which exported scenes from Blender to V-Ray Standalone, became an official Chaos product in 2014, but has been in limbo for years.The last new nightly build came out in 2019, and supports Blender 2.79: 19 releases and four entire release series behind Blender 4.3, the current version of the software.Since then, Chaos has periodically hinted that a new version was in development, most strongly in its Chaos Unboxed livestream in February.Includes core features from V-Ray 7The new V-Ray for Blender is a brand new and more conventional integration.Chaos tells us that it is based around V-Ray 7, the latest version of the renderer, currently available for 3ds Max.The initial release will be based around the V-Ray 7 core, but will not have V-Ray 7s complete feature set.In particular, the initial release may not have all of V-Rays scene-building tools, like geometry replication system V-Ray Enmesh.Pitched as an alternative to RenderMan for Blender for VFX and animation workWhile V-Ray has both CPU and GPU render engines, Chaos told us that it expected a key market for the new edition to be studios looking for a CPU-based production renderer.The sector is currently served by Blenders native Cycles renderer, and RenderMan for Blender, the new-ish Blender integration for Pixars heavyweight VFX and animation renderer.Available via a unique single-product subscriptionV-Ray subscriptions currently provide access to all of the current integrations of the software, which include Maya, Houdini, 3ds Max and Cinema 4D.On its release, the new Blender integration will be added to that list.However, it will also be available via its own unique single-product subscription.Chaos told us that Blender would be a first-class citizen in the V-Ray product line, and that the single-product option would include the same additional features as standard subscription plans, such as access to online rendering platform Chaos Cloud.Updated 11 December 2024: Chaos has released the first public beta of the new V-Ray for Blender.Its a free download, but to access it, you will need to register for an account on the Chaos website and fill out a short usage questionnaire.You can find more information about its features in the online documentation, and support for installation issues on Chaoss forum.Price, system requirements and release datesThe new V-Ray for Blender is available free in beta, with a stable release due in early 2025.The initial beta is compatible with Blender 4.2 on Windows 10+ only, but Chaos is asking for feedback about which other versions of Blender to support next.V-Ray is rental-only, with node-locked V-Ray Solo subscriptions priced at $84.90/month or $514.80/year, and V-Ray Premium subscriptions priced at $119.90/month or $718.80/year.Chaos hasnt announced pricing for the new Blender-only subscription plan.Register for the beta of V-Ray for BlenderRead more about V-Ray for Blender in the online documentationHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsThe new V-Ray for Blender is available in betaUpdated: Long-awaited new Blender integration for V-Ray based on the V-Ray 7 core is now available in free public beta.Wednesday, December 11th, 2024Foundry releases Mari 7.1Now available: 3D texture painting software gets new 2D painting mode for editing source images or creating custom decals.Monday, December 9th, 2024Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024Autodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxSource code for the USD add-on for the 3D modeling and animation software is now available under an Apache 2.0 license.Saturday, December 7th, 2024Get Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleDownload an 8km x 8km UE5 environment created in a massive 10-week art jam, with custom plugins and world-building tools.Friday, December 6th, 2024Maxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024More NewsMaxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Tutorial - Maya for Animators: Body MechanicsOlder Posts

Monday, December 9th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerFoundry releases Mari 7.1html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Originally posted on 11 October for the beta, and updated for the final release.Foundry has released Mari 7.1, the next version of its 3D texture painting software.New features include a 2D Paint Mode for creating or editing 2D images without having to switch to another application, and a new Switch node for creating texture variations.New 2D Paint Mode lets users edit source images or create decals without leaving MariThe main new feature in Mari 7.1 is the new 2D Paint Mode, for creating or editing 2D images without the need to open an external application like Photoshop.Suggested use cases include cloning out imperfections in source images, and creating custom decals and grunge maps.It supports the key features of Maris 3D painting toolset, including the Paint Buffer, Node Graph and Layer Stack, and can be accessed via a new 2D pane next to the Orthographic view, making it possible to switch between 3D and 2D modes quickly.Users can export the Node Graph to disk in 2D mode in a new .mrimg file format.The update also adds a new Image Write node type intended for use in 2D mode, equivalent to the existing Bake Point node for 3D workflows.It makes it possible to bake out a 2D image to the Image Manager that is automatically updated on each rebake.New Switch node toggles between texture variantsOther key changes in Mari 7.1 include the new Switch node.It enables artists to create multiple variants of a texture for example, clean and dirty states by choosing which parts of the Node Graph to render, switching between them with a UI toggle.Workflow improvements to the node graphThe update also features workflow improvements to the node graph, including the option to click anywhere within a Backdrop node to select all of the nodes contained within that area.It is also now possible to save part of the node graph as a Shelf item, bundling the network and any source images into a single Node Package.Other improvements include the option to choose from swatches of commonly used colors when creating a new Paint node, with users also able to add their own custom swatches.Custom Procedurals renamed Smart MasksIn addition, Maris existing Custom Procedurals system has been renamed Smart Masks to help users visualise how they might want to use the procedural groups in their projects.The same terminology is used in Adobes 3D painting software, Substance 3D Painter.The update also adds a Grunge shelf with readymade Smart Masks created by Digital Domain Lead Texture Artist Stuart Ansley.Still on the CY2023 spec for the VFX Reference PlatformAlthough Mari 7.1 remains on the CY2023 specification for VFX Reference Platform, two versions behind the latest spec, several third-party libraries have been updated. Find a full list here.Price, system requirements and release dateMari 7.1 is compatible with Windows 10+ and Rocky Linux/RHEL 9. Mari is available subscription-only. Individual subscriptions have a standard price of $86/month, or $689/year. Subscriptions for teams cost $1,169/year.Read an overview of the new features in Mari 7.1 on Foundrys websiteRead a full list of new features in Mari 7.1 in the release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsFoundry releases Mari 7.1Now available: 3D texture painting software gets new 2D painting mode for editing source images or creating custom decals.Monday, December 9th, 2024Tutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024Autodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxSource code for the USD add-on for the 3D modeling and animation software is now available under an Apache 2.0 license.Saturday, December 7th, 2024Get Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleDownload an 8km x 8km UE5 environment created in a massive 10-week art jam, with custom plugins and world-building tools.Friday, December 6th, 2024Maxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024More NewsMaxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Tutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderOlder Posts

Saturday, December 7th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerAutodesk open-sources USD for 3ds Maxhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Autodesk has open-sourced USD for 3ds Max, the USD plugin for 3ds Max, its 3D modeling and animation software.The source code for the plugin is available on GitHub under an Apache 2.0 license.Increasing adoption of USD outside VFX and feature animationFirst released in 2022, USD for 3ds Max makes it possible to use workflows based around Universal Scene Description in 3ds Max.The open-source framework for exchanging scene data between CG applications was originally developed by Pixar, and has been widely adopted in VFX and feature animation pipelines.However, it is now being adopted in industrial design and visualization, in part thanks to NVIDIAs adoption of USD in its Omniverse design collaboration platform.Pixar, NVIDIA and Autodesk itself were all founder members of the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), the body founded last year to guide future development of the technology.Support for USD-based workflows inside 3ds MaxUSD for 3ds Max lets studios use 3ds Max in USD-based pipelines, making it possible to import and export data in USD format, and to load USD stages directly in the viewport for editing.On its GitHub repository, Autodesk describes the add-on as supplementing 3ds Maxs XRef referencing workflows, to enhance, and in many use cases, replace existing referencing setups.The latest of Autodesks USD tools to be open-sourcedUSD for 3ds Max is the latest USD-related tool that Autodesk has open-sourced, following on from Bifrost USD, for Mayas multiphysics plugin, in 2022.(USD for Maya, the primary Maya USD add-on, has always been open-source, having been originally developed outside Autodesk.)The change should enable studios to build the add-on with the specific version of USD required in their production pipeline, and to customize the default import and export process.Autodesk has continued to develop its open-source USD add-ons for Maya actively, releasing new versions with every update to the software.Pricing and availabilitySource code for USD for 3ds Max is available under an Apache 2.0 licence. The add-on is compatible with 3ds Max 2022+. You can find a list of dependencies in the build instructions on the GitHub repo.The plugin is still officially in beta: the latest release is version 0.9.You can find pricing and system requirements for 3ds Max itself in this story on 3ds Max 2025.3.View the source code for USD for 3ds Max on GitHubHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsTutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024Autodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxSource code for the USD add-on for the 3D modeling and animation software is now available under an Apache 2.0 license.Saturday, December 7th, 2024Get Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleDownload an 8km x 8km UE5 environment created in a massive 10-week art jam, with custom plugins and world-building tools.Friday, December 6th, 2024Maxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024More NewsMaxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Tutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Older Posts

Sunday, December 8th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerTutorial Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface Vehicleshtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Gnomon Workshop has released Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface Vehicles, a best-practice guide to creating 3D models for use in VFX production, recorded by Josh Docherty.The workshop provides over two and a half hours of video training in Maya and the Arnold and Redshift renderers, plus PureRef, Photoshop and Lightroom.Create a detailed 3D vehicle model suitable for use in VFX productionAlthough VFX artists are often supplied with scan data to work from, there are also times when 3D assets have to be created from very limited reference material, often to very tight deadlines.In the workshop, which is aimed at junior-level modelers, ILM veteran Josh Docherty reveals how to model a high-resolution vehicle without scan data, relying solely on camera lineups.He sets out practical techniques for creating a clean, robust model using Mayas native modeling tools, focusing on producing a pipeline-quality asset in a limited amount of time.Docherty also discusses how to create a 3D model that meets the needs of artists working in other departments of a VFX studio, including look dev, rigging, animation, FX and lighting.According to The Gnomon Workshop, the tutorial reveals how to push [3D] models to the industry gold standard for visual effects production.It uses reference images available on Bring a Trailer, and a free HDRI from Poly Haven.About the artistJosh Docherty is a freelance Senior Visual Effects Asset Artist with over eight years of industry experience, working on over 30 film and TV shows and over 20 commercials. He has worked for VFX and animation studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Wt FX, The Mill and Blink Industries, and on cinematics for Gunzilla Games. Pricing and availabilityModeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface Vehicles is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.Read more about Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.Latest NewsTutorial - Modeling for Film & TV: Hard-Surface VehiclesDiscover to create a truck model suitable for use in a VFX production pipeline with The Gnomon Workshop's best-practice guide.Sunday, December 8th, 2024Autodesk open-sources USD for 3ds MaxSource code for the USD add-on for the 3D modeling and animation software is now available under an Apache 2.0 license.Saturday, December 7th, 2024Get Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleDownload an 8km x 8km UE5 environment created in a massive 10-week art jam, with custom plugins and world-building tools.Friday, December 6th, 2024Maxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024More NewsMaxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Tutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Older Posts

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Check out WeFX's breakdown of its monstrous effects from Season 3 of sci-fi horror series FromWatch the full video on WeFX's website (includes gory things being done to cows): https://www.wefx.com/from03breakdown

Autodesk has open-sourced USD for 3ds Max. Source code for the add-on, which makes is possible to use the 3D modeling and animation software in USD-based production pipelines, is available under an Apache 2.0 license.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/autodesk-open-sources-usd-for-3ds-max/

Cinema 4D 2025.1 is out. Check out the new features in Maxon's 3D animation and motion graphics software, including the revamped real-time Boolean modeling system, and updates to animation, simulation and USD workflows.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/maxon-releases-cinema-4d-2025-1/

Redshift 2025.2 is out. Check out the new features in Maxon's GPU renderer, including new options for material variation and non-photorealistic rendering, universal GPU denoising, and a new USD Command Line Rendering tool for render farms.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/maxon-releases-redshift-2025-2/

Friday, December 6th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerGet Epic Games free Project Titan Unreal Engine samplehtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Epic Games has made the Unreal Engine project created during its Project Titan art jam available to download for free.The project, created by over 1,400 contributors over a 10-week period, is an 8km x 8km open-world environment, and comes with accompanying custom tools and video training.Created during one of the worlds largest collaborative game jamsHeld earlier year, Project Titan must be of the largest collaborative game art jams ever staged.Between 28 March to 7 June 2024, over 1,400 contributors contributed over 10,000 meshes, including 200 skeletal meshes for characters, with over 5,000 materials and over 180 Niagara particle systems.The resulting 8km x 8km open-world landscape has now been cleaned up for release, and is designed to run on platforms from mobile devices to high-end PCs.A valulable learning resource for Unreal Engine 5s world-building techThe Project Titan sample game is available under a Standard license on Fab, Epic Games new online marketplace, which permits use of the assets in commercial projects.However, its probably better to regard it as a learning resource not suprisingly, given the circumstances under which it was created, Epic notes that the project is not solely focused on best practices.The release is accompanied by a set of training videos, including mini-tutorials and recorded critiques from game industry experts on how the project could be improved.Together, the assets provide a practical example of how open worlds can be created using key Unreal Engine 5 technologies including Nanite and Landmass, plus Mover for characters.The project also includes an array of plugins and world-building tools developed for the jam.System requirements and availabilityThe Project Titan sample is compatible with Unreal Engine 5.5+. It is available under a Fab Standard license, which permits use of the assets in commercial projects.Read more about Project Titan on Epic Games blogDownload the free Project Titan Unreal Engine sample projectHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsGet Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sampleDownload an 8km x 8km UE5 environment created in a massive 10-week art jam, with custom plugins and world-building tools.Friday, December 6th, 2024Maxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2iPad edition of the digital sculpting app gets GoZ support for Cinema 4D, plus ZSpheres templates for female, male and hand mannequins.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024More NewsCheck out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Tutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5Older Posts

Check out beloFX's wintry invisible effects from George Clooney/Brad Pitt action comedy Wolfs Watch the full video on the beloFX Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/1023969536

Free asset: get Epic Games' free Project Titan Unreal Engine sample. The 8km x 8km open-world UE5 environment, created during a massive art jam, comes with video training and custom plugins and tools.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/download-epic-games-free-project-titan-unreal-engine-sample/

Thursday, December 5th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Maxon has released Redshift 2025.2, the latest version of the GPU renderer.The update adds new nodes for varying materials in a scene, new non-photorealistic rendering options, and support for GPU denoising across NVIDIA, AMD and Apple Silicon hardware.For VFX and animation work, studios get a USD Command Line Rendering tool for running Redshift on a render farm without other DCC software installed.New nodes for randomly varying materials across scene objectsNew features in Redshift 2025.2 include Random Color Switch and Random Material Switch.The nodes vary the materials applied to a set of objects within a 3D scene, with Random Color Switch randomizing colors and textures, and Random Material randomizing entire materials.Both come with Color Jitter options for additional random variation.You can see examples of their output in the release thread on the Redshift forum, which showcase their potential applications for motion graphics work.Updates to non-photorealistic renderingRedshifts new non-photorealistic rendering toolset gets another update, adding a new set of Backfacing controls to the Contours shader.They make it possible to render separate contour outlines for the back-facing edges of an object, helping to create blueprint and X-ray render effects.It is also now possible to control more precisely how contours are drawn around overlapping and intersecting objects in a scene.GPU denoising supported on AMD, Apple and NVIDIA hardware via OIDN 2.3In addition, Redshift now uses OIDN (Open Image Denoise) 2.3 as the default render denoiser.The change improves denoising speed, and means that denoising is now supported on the GPU on all compatible hardware: AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, and Apple Silicon chips.Redshift RT, Redshifts interactive render engine, gets a new Global Light Sampling option, improving performance on scenes with many lights.New USD Command Line Rendering tool for running Redshift on render farmsFor studios using Redshift in USD-based production pipelines, another major change in Redshift 2025.2 is the new USD Command Line Rendering tool.It reads USD files and renders them to disk, making it possible to run Redshift headlessly on a render farm, without the need to have a DCC application like Houdini or Maya installed.There is also a new Redshift Lite installer: a smaller, faster-downloading and faster-to-copy installer, intended for use on web-connected devices.Updates to the integration pluginsCinema 4D users get an update to the Substance 3D Material, including new texture placement options and support for triplanar projection without the need to add any triplanar nodes to the shader graph.The 3ds Max, Blender, Houdini and Maya plugins get bugfixes.Price and system requirementsRedshift 2025.2 is compatible with Windows 10+, glibc 2.28+ Linux and macOS 13.3+.The renderers integration plugins are compatible with 3ds Max 2018+, Blender 3.1+, Cinema 4D R25+, Houdini 20.0+, Katana 4.5+ and Maya 2018+ (Maya 2022+ on Linux).The software is rental-only, with subscriptions costing $46/month or $264/year. Read a full list of changes in Redshift 2025.2 on the Redshift forum(Login required)Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsMaxon releases Redshift 2025.2GPU renderer gets new non-photorealistic rendering options and a USD Command Line Rendering tool for use on render farms.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2iPad edition of the digital sculpting app gets GoZ support for Cinema 4D, plus ZSpheres templates for female, male and hand mannequins.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemUpdated for version 1.17: VR modeling software gets new non-destructive workflow for blocking out complex hard surface models.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024More NewsOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Exclusive Cyber Weekend offer on The Gnomon Workshop trainingTutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5Older Posts

Check out Dupe VFX's breakdown of its fluid (and fish) simulation work from ocean-going Amazon Prime drama NautilusWatch the full video on Dupe VFX's website: https://dupevfx.com/work/nautilus-and-nemo-fight-the-bad-guys-with-dupes-vfx-assistance/

Don't miss World VFX Day(s) this weekend. The two-day event features over 20 hours of free livestreamed talks, including making-ofs and careers advice.Day 1 takes place from Tokyo's Megalis VFX studio from 4pm JST on 6 December. Day 2 takes place from Hollywood's Gnomon school from 10am PST on 8 December.More info: https://worldvfxday.com/

Otoy has released OctaneRender 2026.1 in alpha. Check out the new features in the experimental tech preview of the GPU renderer, currently including native MaterialX and 3DGS support.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/otoy-releases-octanerender-2026-1/

Check out MPC's breakdown of some of its 310 VFX shots from Season 2 of historical drama The Serpent QueenWatch the full video on the MPC YouTube channel (includes some fairly gruesome stabbings): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shVwrA6erf8

Thursday, December 5th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerMaxon releases ZBrush 2025.1html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Maxon has released ZBrush 2025.1, the latest version of its digital sculpting software.The update introduces a new Quick Polygroup Brush, updates the existing Anchors Brush, and improves integration between ZBrush and Maxons Redshift renderer.New Quick Polygroup Brush creates Polygroups automaticallyThe new feature in ZBrush 2025.1 is the Quick Polygroup Brush, for creating Polygroups.It enables users to create a group simply by clicking on the surface of a model, with ZBrush creating a Polygroup for the surrounding region based on edge flow.Updates to the Anchors Brush and the GoZ bridges to 3ds Max and MayaOther than that, ZBrush 2025.1 is primarily a workflow and bugfix update, updating existing tools.The Anchors Brush introduced in ZBrush 2023.2 for quickly posing characters gets a new Bend mode, in addition to the existing Move, Rotate and Twist modes.It enables users to reposition parts of the model using two anchor points, giving more natural bending.There are also fixes to the Chisel Brush and to Lightbox, and the GoZ bridges for 3ds Max and Maya now support 3ds Max 2025 and Maya 2025, the current versions of the software.Support for AOVs and the OIDN denoiser in RedshiftThe integration of Redshift, Maxons renderer, within ZBrush has also been extended, and now supports AOV passes and the OIDN (Open Image Denoise) render denoiser.According to the release notes, interactions are much faster, with changes to lights, HDRIs and materials displayed in real time in the viewport.Redshift was first integrated into ZBrush in ZBrush 2023, and includes CPU rendering by default: rendering on the GPU currently requires a separate subscription.Price and system requirementsZBrush 2025.1 is compatible with Windows 10+ and macOS 11.5+. It is rental-only. ZBrush subscriptions now cost $49/month or $399/year.Read a full list of new features in ZBrush 2025.1 in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Homepage image: the ZBrush 2024 promo image was created by Stephen Davidian.Latest NewsMaxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2iPad edition of the digital sculpting app gets GoZ support for Cinema 4D, plus ZSpheres templates for female, male and hand mannequins.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemUpdated for version 1.17: VR modeling software gets new non-destructive workflow for blocking out complex hard surface models.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaExperimental preview showcases new tech in development for the GPU renderer, including native MaterialX and 3DGS support.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024More NewsOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Exclusive Cyber Weekend offer on The Gnomon Workshop trainingTutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5KeenTools releases FaceTracker for BlenderOlder Posts

Thursday, December 5th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerMaxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.1html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Maxon has released Cinema 4D 2025.1, the latest version of its 3D software for motion graphics, VFX and visualization work.The update overhauls Cinema 4Ds Boolean modeling system, improving the speed and stability of Boolean operations, and making it possible to set up more complex Boolean hierarchies.There are also updates to the simulation toolsets, including a new Particle Node Modifier, plus updates to Scene Nodes, the animation tools, and USD workflows.3D modeling: new Boolean generator provides faster, more stable, more flexible BooleansThe headline change in Cinema 4D 2025.1 is the new Boolean modeling system, for creating hard surface models non-destructively by performing Boolean operations on geometry.According to Maxon, workflow with the new Boolean generator is consistent with the old Boole object it supersedes, but is faster and more robust, particularly when animating Booleans.Unlike the Boole object, which is limited to two inputs, the new generator supports any number of input objects, making it possible to create more complex geometry.Boolean operations can also now be organised into nested hierarchies.Vertex, edge, and polygon selections are preserved during Boolean operations, and attributes like UVs and colors are preserved as they are for selections.However, scenes containing legacy Booleans are not converted automatically to the new system, and will need to be updated manually.https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/241205_Cinema4D20251_CollisionNoise.mp4Simulation: new Collision Noise and Collision Priority options for rigid bodiesThe Unified Simulation System progressively expanded over recent updates gets another update in Cinema 4D 2025.1.For rigid body simulation, a new Collision Noise setting (shown above) adds random variation to output, and there are new Collision Priority settings to prevent unwanted penetrations.For motion graphics, the MoGraph Matrix Object now syncs with simulated rigid body positions.Simulation: Out of Core Storage permits larger Pyro simsThe Pyro toolset, for smoke and fire simulation, gets a new Out of Core Storage option, making it possible to perform larger simulations by assigning more GPU memory to Pyro.There is also a new Ambient Temperature control for simulations, and new options to have simulation pressure control Vorticity and Turbulence.Simulation: control particle simulations with nodesThe new particle toolset introduced in Cinema 4D 2024.4 gets a new Particle Node Modifier, making it possible to control particles using a node-based workflow.All of the existing Scene Nodes can be used to control particles, and there are also a number of new nodes with particle-specific properties.It is also now possible to define custom particle properties to be used in Emitters and Modifiers, including the option to specify what output data is generated for a custom property.Updates to Scene Nodes, animation, rendering and pipeline integrationChanges to the Scene Nodes system include the option to use child objects or linked objects as generators to create custom mesh or spline generators.There are also new Geometry by Type and Geometry Info nodes, and updates to existing nodes.Animators get workflow improvements including the option to copy and paste data in the Powerslider in the same way as the timeline, and the Tween Tool gets a Global Space Mode.When rendering, users can now specify custom frame ranges, or opt to skip existing frames.For pipeline integration, support for USD workflows has been expanded.Users can now import character animation in USD format, including joint hierarchies and skin weighting; and can import and export some animated camera and light settings.It is also now possible to send and receive data directly to the iPad edition of ZBrush, Maxons digital sculpting app, thanks to the introduction of GoZ support in ZBrush for iPad 2025.2.Price and system requirementsCinema 4D 2025.1 is compatible with Windows 10+ and macOS 13.6+. It is available rental-only, with Cinema 4D subscriptions costing $109/month or $839/year.Read a list of new features in Cinema 4D 2025.1 in the online release notesRead more about the new features in Cinema 4D in the online manualHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsMaxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.13D animation and motion graphics software gets revamped Boolean modeling system, plus updates to simulation and USD workflows.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.1Digital sculpting software gets new Quick Polygroup Brush, updated Anchors Brush, tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.Thursday, December 5th, 2024Maxon releases ZBrush for iPad 2025.2iPad edition of the digital sculpting app gets GoZ support for Cinema 4D, plus ZSpheres templates for female, male and hand mannequins.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Adobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Check out Substance 3D Modeler's new Primitives systemUpdated for version 1.17: VR modeling software gets new non-destructive workflow for blocking out complex hard surface models.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaExperimental preview showcases new tech in development for the GPU renderer, including native MaterialX and 3DGS support.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024More NewsOtoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaiClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemDownload ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsBlack Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Exclusive Cyber Weekend offer on The Gnomon Workshop trainingTutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5KeenTools releases FaceTracker for BlenderOlder Posts

Check out Scanline VFX'x breakdown of its effects for Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Part Two: The ScargiverWatch the full video on the Scanline VFX Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/1036202477

ZBrush 2025.1 is out. Check out the changes in Maxon's digital sculpting software, including this one-click Quick Polygroup Brush and tighter integration with the Redshift renderer.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/maxon-releases-zbrush-2025-1/

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/241023_Substance3DModeler115_Primitives.mp4Originally posted on 23 October 2024, and updated for Substance 3D Modeler 1.17 .Adobe has introduced a new Primitives workflow to Substance 3D Modeler, its VR sculpting tool.Substance 3D Modeler 1.15 moved the feature, which makes it possible to assemble complex hard-surface models from 3D primitives, out of beta and into the stable release.Substance 3D Modeler 1.17 makes further UI and quality-of-life updates.Sculpt organic and hard-surface models in VR using a virtual clay workflowSubstance 3D Modeler is a SDF-based tool that lets users sculpt both organic and hard-surface models in virtual reality, or in desktop mode using a mouse and keyboard.Workflow combines elements of sculpting and Boolean modelling, with users able to build up forms with virtual clay, then join or cut into them with Boolean operations.You can find more details in this story on Substance 3D Modeler 1.0.Substance 3D Modeler 1.15: new Primitives workflow for hard-surface assetsSubstance 3D Modeler 1.15, released in October 2024, moved the new Primitives workflow to the stable release.The functionality released in beta in May makes it possible to assemble complex hard-surface models by performing Boolean operations on 3D primitives.Since the beta, Adobe has added six new Combine modes to primitives Inset, Extrude, Groove, Tongue, Repel and Avoid making it possible to create a wider range of models.A new Blending type selector makes it possible to choose between smooth or chamfered blending.Substance 3D Modeler 1.17: Further quality-of-life updatesTo that, Substance 3D Modeler 1.17 the next stable version of the software: there was no Substance 3D Modeler 1.16 makes further UI and workflow improvements.The most important parameters, the Width and Depth sliders, have been moved to the top of the Combine mode parameters, and have been assigned non-zero default values.In addition, pasted and duplicated primitives are now added after the lowest selected object in the hierarchy.Price and system requirementsSubstance 3D Modeler 1.17 is compatible with Windows 10+, and these VR headsets.It is available via Substance 3D Collection subscriptions, which cost $49.99/month or $549.88/year. Perpetual licences are available via Steam, and cost $149.99.Read a full list of new features in Substance 3D Modeler in the release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Originally posted on 8 November 2024, and updated for ZBrush for iPad 2025.2.Maxon has updated ZBrush for iPad 2025.1, the new tablet edition of ZBrush, its industry-standard digital sculpting software.ZBrush for iPad 2025.1 introduces more features from the desktop edition, including support for bitmap textures, UV layouts, displacement maps and surface noise, plus new options for customizing the toolbars.ZBrush for iPad 2025.2 adds GoZ support for Cinema 4D, making it possible to send data to the 3D animation and motion graphics software in a few clicks.ZBrushs core functionality, repacked in a UI designed for use on a touchscreen deviceReleased earlier this year, ZBrush for iPad is a much-anticipated tablet edition of digital sculpting software, widely used in concept art, game development and visual effects.It includes the core functionality from the desktop edition, including over 200 of the most popular sculpting brushes.Other key features include dynamic tesellation system Sculptris Pro, plus DynaMesh for true clay-like sculpting, and Live Boolean modeling.The tablet edition also includes ZBrushs Dynamics toolset for simulating cloth, and applying soft-body dynamics to sculpts.For texturing sculpts, users get 3D painting toolset Polypaint.New texturing options from the desktop edition, including texture map and UV controlsZBrush for iPad 2025.1 extends those texturing options considerably, since the update adds the Texture Map, UV Map and Displacement Map sub-palettes from the desktop edition.The new tools make it possible to apply bitmap textures to sculpts, convert Polypaint data to textures for export, UV unwrap models, and import models with an existing UV layout.Maxon has also added the desktop editions Surface Noise feature, for applying procedural noise to sculpts: one nice change in the tablet edition is the option to use photos from the iPad camera as a source of surface noise.Workflow and interface improvementsUI and workflow improvements include the option to add any control from the software to the customizable bottom toolbars, not just brushes, materials, texture and alphas.The Apple Pencils roll feature is now supported for changing values on the four main brush sliders, and tooltips are displayed on hover on devices that support the Pencils hover feature.The iPad edition also now supports the same set of languages as the desktop version, with the update adding localizations in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.Updated 4 December 2024: Maxon has released ZBrush for iPad 2025.2.The update adds GoZ support for Cinema 4D, making it easier to send sculpts to the 3D animation and motion graphics software, as in the desktop edition of ZBrush.In addition, the software now includes ZSpheres templates for Female, Male and Hand mannequins.Price and system requirementsZBrush for iPad is compatible with iPadOS 17.0+ requires an iPad with a A12 Bionic chip or later.The base app is free, but is export-disabled. Access to the full feature set requires a paid subscription, which costs $9.99/month or $89.99/year.ZBrush for iPad is also included in subscriptions to the desktop edition of ZBrush, which now cost $49/month or $399/year.Read an overview of the new features in ZBrush for iPad on Maxons websiteRead a full list of new features in ZBrush for iPad in the App StoreHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Substance 3D Modeler 1.17 is out. Check out the new features in the virtual reality modeling software: primarily updates to the new Primitives workflow, for rapidly blocking out complex hard-surface models.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/adobe-releases-substance-3d-modeler-1-15/#latestupdate

Maxon has released ZBrush for iPad 2025.2. Check out the new features in the iPad edition of the digital sculpting software, including GoZ support for Cinema 4D.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/maxon-releases-zbrush-for-ipad-2025-2/#latestupdate

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Otoy has released the first public beta of OctaneRender 2025.1, the next major version of the GPU production renderer.Key features in the release include a new decal system, support for rest attributes for better texture projection onto animated meshes, and a new camera node mimicking real-world lenses.The update also introduces a new Octane Server node for rendering elements of a scene on remote instances, and integration of Otoys Render Network inside the software.Many of the new features were previously scheduled for OctaneRender 2024.2, while other features previously announced have now been moved to OctaneRender 2026.1.https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/241203_OctaneRender20251_RestAttributes.mp4New decal system and support for rest attributes for texture projectionKey changes in OctaneRender 2025.1 include support for rest attributes to reduce distortion when projecting textures onto animated meshes that do not have existing UVs.When rest attributes are enabled, OctaneRender uses rest vertex positions and normals to calculate UV co-ordinates.The update also introduces a native decal system, for projecting textures onto mesh geometries within a scene, particularly to add surface patterns, or to add dirt and damage effects.Use texture-based displacement on Vectron primitives and volumesOther new features in OctaneRender 2025.1 include the Vectron displacement node.It makes it possible to use texture maps to displace Vectron primitives and volumes created using the Volume SDF node.It works in real time, at any scale, and is compatible with complex SDF trees or the Mesh Volume node.New realistic lens camera node recreates real-world lens effectsOther new features include the realistic lens camera node, which mimics the optical properties of real-world camera lenses.In the current build, it mimics 16 lens types you can find a list in the online release notes including Canon, Cooke Optics, Minolta, Nikon and Zeiss lenses.The new node reproduces real-world lens effects including Bokeh, vignetting, chromatic aberration, and barrel distortion.New Octane Server node and access to the Render Network from within OctaneRenderFor rendering, a new Octane Server node makes it possible to render another scene on a remote instance and use the result as an AOV or texture in your current scene.It is a highly experimental feature, and currently works in the Standalone edition of the software, and only on Windows.The remote instance can be another instance of the Standalone edition of OctaneRender, or a separate Octane Server app.In addition, the release makes the Render Network, Otoys distributed online GPU rendering service, available directly within OctaneRender.Users can upload scenes and check the progress of render jobs from inside the software.Updates to existing featuresThe release also includes updates to existing features, including the Chaos Texture node, which scatters a texture randomly across a surface.It is now possible to use a texture map or procedural noise to distort the scattering pattern, and to use texture projection types other than the mesh UVs.There are also 11 new blend modes for output AOV layers, including Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity, Hard Mix, Linear Light, Vivid Light and Pin Light.Better performance on M3 and M4 chips in Octane XMac users also get improved performance in Octane X, the Metal-native edition of the software.The update improves hardware acceleration on current Apple M3 and M4 chips, adding support for non-triangle primitives, including hair, particles and analytic lights.The test scene shown in the release thread on the Otoy forum shows a 1.5x increase in render speed over OctaneRender 2024.1 on a top-of-the-range M4 Pro chip, although Otoy says that the speed boost is smaller on less complex scenes.Features that havent made it into OctaneRender 2025.1Most of the key features in OctaneRender 2025.1 were previously scheduled for OctaneRender 2024.2, which now seems to have morphed into the current release.The only feature announced for 2024.2 not to be included is the Neural Filters system, intended to make it possible to use neural filters from Stability AI and other providers directly in [a] scene.It has now been moved to a separate experimental build of the software, OctaneRender 2026.1, along with other previously announced and, in some cases, much-delayed features including meshlet streaming, native support for MaterialX, and rendering of 3D Gaussian Splats.Price, system requirements and release dateOctaneRender 2025.1 is currently in public beta. Otoy hasnt announced a release date, but in the past, it has typically taken three to six months to get from the first beta to a stable release.OctaneRender is compatible with Windows 10+ and Linux, and requires a CUDA 10-capable NVIDIA GPU.Octane X is compatible with macOS 14.0+ on Macs with Apple M1 and later processors, and with iPadOS 17.0+ on devices with A12 Bionic and later chips.The software is rental-only, via Otoys Studio+ subscriptions, which cost 23.95/month, and which include integration plugins for 21 DCC applications, plus a range of third-party software.Otoy also provides free Prime editions of both OctaneRender and Octane X, which are limited to rendering on a single GPU, and which come with a smaller set of DCC integration plugins.Read a full list of new features in OctaneRender 2025.1 on Otoys forumHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Free assets: ActionVFX has made 20 stock FX clips of asteroids available for free - if you download them by the end of the day. The clips are provided in ProRes 4444 format, in 2K and 4K resolution, with an alpha channel, and are licensed for commercial use.https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/12/download-actionvfxs-20-free-stock-vfx-clips-of-asteroids/

Check out ILM's VFX breakdown of its tornado simulation work for TwistersWatch the full video on the Industrial Light & Magic YouTube channel (more sims and some neat reference footage): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOByDMEI_Ls

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerOtoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphahtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Otoy has released OctaneRender 2026.1, a new alpha preview of the GPU production renderer.It was released in parallel with OctaneRender 2025.1, the next actual production-ready build of the software, and showcases more experimental technologies.Features included in the initial alpha release include support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, and native MaterialX support, both previously scheduled for OctaneRender 2024.Those due to be added in future updates include new neural rendering modules and the much-delayed meshlet streaming system.Includes native support for MaterialX and 3D Gaussian SplatsOctaneRender 2026.1 includes a number of key features that Otoy has announced previously.They include native support for MaterialX, the open material standard increasingly being adopted in VFX workflows, and already supported in other renderers including Arnold, Houdinis Karma renderer, RenderMan, Unreal Engine and V-Ray.It also supports rendering of 3D Gaussian Splats, the new 3D scene reconstruction technology now being adopted in both VFX and architectural visualization, and supported in V-Ray.Both features were originally scheduled for the OctaneRender 2024 release cycle.Other features in the current alpha include real-time shader-based displacement, a new Neural Radiance Cache system, and support for trace sets.Neural rendering and meshlet streaming due in future updatesFeatures not included in the initial alpha, but scheduled for future OctaneRender 2026.1 updates, include the much-delayed meshlet geometry streaming system.Described as like Unreal Engines Nanite, but for path tracing, it was originally announced for the Octane 2023 release cycle, then re-announced for 2024.Other features scheduled for future updates include neural rendering, intended to make it possible to launch [machine learning] and neural filters locally or through the Render Network.So when will these features become production-ready?This is the first time that Otoy has released a preview build for the next-year-but-one, so its difficult to say when the features in Octane 2026.1 will reach a stable release.Its also difficult to say whether all of the features will actually become production-ready by 2026: this is the third year that meshlets have been announced, without reaching even an alpha build.For those reasons, its probably better to treat OctaneRender 2026.1 simply as a chance to test some of the experimental technologies that Otoy has in development.Well bring you more detailed coverage of the features once they seem closer to a final release.Price, system requirements and release dateOctaneRender 2026.1 is currently in alpha. Otoy hasnt announced a final release date.OctaneRender is compatible with Windows 10+ and Linux, and requires a CUDA 10-capable NVIDIA GPU.The native Metal edition, Octane X, is compatible with macOS 14.0+ on Macs with Apple M1 and later processors, and with iPadOS 17.0+ on devices with A12 Bionic and later chips.The software is rental-only, via Otoys Studio+ subscriptions, which cost 23.95/month, and which include integration plugins for 21 DCC applications, plus a range of third-party software.Otoy also provides free Prime editions of both OctaneRender and Octane X, which are limited to rendering on a single GPU, and which come with a smaller set of DCC integration plugins.Read a full list of new features in OctaneRender 2026.1 on Otoys forumHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsAdobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaExperimental preview showcases new tech in development for the GPU renderer, including native MaterialX and 3DGS support.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaCheck out the new features in the next major production version of the GPU renderer, including new decal and lens effects systems.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024iClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemMajor update to the real-time animation app adds new AI-based AccuPose system, plus motion trails and non-destructive clip editing.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024Download ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsThe clips of asteroids and asteroid fields are licensed for commercial use - but you need to grab them by the end of 3 December.Monday, December 2nd, 2024Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsUpdated 3 December: Discover discounts on CG hardware and software available during Cyber Week, from Autodesk to ZBrush.Saturday, November 30th, 2024More NewsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Exclusive Cyber Weekend offer on The Gnomon Workshop trainingTutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5KeenTools releases FaceTracker for BlenderCheck out Blender crowd animation add-on Population 2Download SideFX's free Project Greylight toolkit for HoudiniAdobe releases Photoshop 26.1Chaos ships Corona 12 Update 1 for 3ds Max and Cinema 4DOlder Posts

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerAdobe releases After Effects 25.1html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Adobe has released After Effects 25.1, the latest version of the compositing software.The update improves 3D workflows within After Effects, making it possible to control whether 3D layers accept lighting from a scene, and adding thumbnail previews for imported 3D models.The versions of Cinema 4D Lite and Mocha AE included with After Effects have been updated.New Accepts Lights setting for 3D layersAfter Effects 25.1 continues Adobes ongoing overhaul of the softwares 3D toolset.The most significant change is a new Accepts Lights setting for 3D layers, which can be toggled off to prevent the contents of the layer from being affected by light sources within the scene.Layers without Affects Lights enabled also do not receive shadows or highlights from lights.According to Adobe, the feature is particularly aimed at scenes that include self-illuminated 3D objects, like phones and monitor screens.After Effects now displays thumbnail previews for imported 3D models.Other workflow improvementsWorkflow improvements include thumbnail previews of 3D models imported in GLB or OBJ format: the two 3D file formats currently supported in After Effects.When working at 32-bpc (32-bits per channel) color depth, eight blend modes are now supported on the GPU on layers with motion blur applied.There are also new scripting hooks for managing themes and fonts within projects.Updates to Cinema 4D Lite and Mocha AEIn addition, Cinema 4D Lite, the cut-down version of the 3D software included with After Effects, has been updated to Cinema 4D 2025.Mocha AE, the cut-down version of Mocha Pro, Boris FXs planar tracking software, bundled with After Effects has also been updated, and now supports the OCIO color management standard.Price and system requirementsAfter Effects 25.1 is available for Windows 10+ and macOS 12.0+ on a rental-only basis. Single-app After Effects subscriptions cost $34.49/month or $263.88/year.In the online documentation, the update is also referred to as the December 2024 release or After Effects 2025.1.Read more about the new features in After Effects 25.1 in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsAdobe releases After Effects 25.1Check out the changes to 3D workflows in the latest update to the compositing software for motion graphics and VFX work.Wednesday, December 4th, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alphaExperimental preview showcases new tech in development for the GPU renderer, including native MaterialX and 3DGS support.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024Otoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1 in betaCheck out the new features in the next major production version of the GPU renderer, including new decal and lens effects systems.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024iClone 8.52 adds new AI-assisted character posing systemMajor update to the real-time animation app adds new AI-based AccuPose system, plus motion trails and non-destructive clip editing.Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024Download ActionVFX's 20 free stock VFX clips of asteroidsThe clips of asteroids and asteroid fields are licensed for commercial use - but you need to grab them by the end of 3 December.Monday, December 2nd, 2024Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday 2024 deals for CG artistsUpdated 3 December: Discover discounts on CG hardware and software available during Cyber Week, from Autodesk to ZBrush.Saturday, November 30th, 2024More NewsNekki releases Cascadeur 2024.3Exclusive Cyber Weekend offer on The Gnomon Workshop trainingTutorial - Maya for Animators: Body Mechanics3DGS Render 2.0 now lets you edit 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderNevercenter releases Silo 2025 and Milo 2025Boris FX releases Sapphire 2025Epic Games releases RealityCapture 1.5KeenTools releases FaceTracker for BlenderCheck out Blender crowd animation add-on Population 2Download SideFX's free Project Greylight toolkit for HoudiniAdobe releases Photoshop 26.1Chaos ships Corona 12 Update 1 for 3ds Max and Cinema 4DOlder Posts