Boomer Labs popular 3ds max to After Effects bridge has been upgraded to version 1.5. New features include improved Free Camera support, export of position/orientation of any Max object, floating MAX2AE export dialog, export of helper/node scale information.   [ more... ]

The latest version of RE:Vision Effects' morphing and warping plugin uses new tracking technology (found also in Twixtor 4.5) to automatically align the non-handmatched parts of the image so that often less handwork is required. For those who need to use morphing techniques in their projects this is certainly worth a look. Find out more at REVisionfx.com.

Oleg Bayborodin, the main developer behind Particle Flow, has posted a message at CGTalk forums explaining that the development of Particle Flow Tools Box #2 will be delayed until Box #3 is finished. Mr. Bayborodin will be showing off the impressive capabilities of Box #3 at SIGGRAPH.

The latest version of Mark Wilson's Point Oven animation baking and data exchange software is now available. Version 1.4b features many new improvements, including XSI support.

"A number of people have asked if there are any reviews available of CG Academy DVDs? To date there have been three reviews in 3D World." Excerpts from these reviews have been posted by Chris Thomas at CGTalk.

Version 4 of MatchMover Pro offers increased speed, higher quality feature tracks, re-writing of export formats, new ground plane alignment tool, etc. Visit REALVIZ for more.

REALVIZ has announced MMTrack, an implementation of their camera tracking technology that functions as a Max plugin. Check out the comparison table at MMTrack's information pages to see the differences with REALVIZ MatchMover Pro.

E-on software’s Vue Fusion is a suite of plug-ins designed to enable seamless integration of Vue environments in 3DS Max. In one single render pass, Max elements are rendered together with Vue elements, accurately matching shadows, reflections and illumination. Vue Fusion is expected to ship later this year, and will be demonstrated at SIGGRAPH (booth #824). Read the whole PR for more.

RenderNode reviews Endorphin 2.0: "... a unique, intuitive and amazing program."

New features in the latest version of SynthEyes camera tracking software include facial and motion capture capabilities, a perspective window with mesh-building and preview movie capabilities, and an image preprocessing system. The new edition can be seen at SIGGRAPH in Booth 816. Visit Andersson Technologies' website for more.

Di-O-Matic has released Facial Studio for Windows 1.5 which, according to their press release offers "tons of new features to increase the PhotoMatching efficiency". Visit Di-O-Matic.com for more.

Johannes Schlörb has updated his website with many new great images. Check 'em out!

Hyperfocal Skies collections feature sky textures at resolutions of 12000x4000 pixels and 360° skies at an average resolution of 14000x2800 pixels. No mention of HDRI.

According to the latest PR from Splutterfish, Brazil v2.0 new features include 3D motion blur, render-time displacement, support of 3DS Max render-to-texture, enhanced GI features including render caches (irradiance, area lighting, subsurface scattering, etc.), core performance enhancements (memory, cpu, etc) and more. Splutterfish will be showing the latest version of Brazil at SIGGRAPH.

NaturalMotion has released a free learning edition of their "virtual motion capture studio".

BrightSide's DR37-P, is a 37" display that provides peak luminance in excess of 3,000 candela/m2, a contrast ratio in excess of 200,000:1 and is capable of accurately displaying 16 bit per color channel images. According to BrightSide, their displays are 10 times brighter, deliver 100 times the contrast range and provide more vivid colors.

How to make a gun fire procedurally at targets (Particle Flow and Script Controllers)
How to make water runoff for a rising object (PFlow)
Glu3D and PFlow tutorial
Vertex paint in procedural materials   [ more... ]

"D'artiste: Character Modeling" is a 3D character tutorial book showcasing the work of Pascal Blanché, Francisco Cortina and Steven Stahlberg (plus 94 models by other 3D character artists). Visit BallisticPublishing.com for more.

Check out the latest animation (link points to 23Mb .mov file) from Spanish artist Juan José Palomo, created with Max (and lots of postprocessing).

Jamie Field reviews 3DS Max 7 for InsideCG: "... [the latest release] we have in our hands now is certainly the best yet (...) but the bottom line remains that Discreet needs to keep its house in order and not neglect the features it already has."

Polygonal Design is offering a new tool to help automate the process of creating UV coordinates for 3D meshes. A demo version of Unfold 3D is available for download. (English|French)

Dave DeVries, an experienced painter who's worked for the likes of Marvel and DC Comics has done the experiment of taking kid's drawings of monsters, superheroes and assorted images and applying his coloring and 3D shading techniques to make the images look more "realistic". The results are now part of a book called "The Monster Engine". Check it out!

Congrats to MAX Plugins.de and Dave Baker on their 5th anniversary!!! THANK YOU for keeping that great site online and always up-to-date.

The Virgo consortium, an international group of astrophysicists from the UK, Germany, Canada and the USA has released the first results from the largest and most realistic simulation ever of the growth of cosmic structure and the formation of galaxies and quasars. Some impressive CG visualizations. Check 'em out!

As some readers are probably aware, Sony's new HDR-HC1 (HDV) camcorder will start shipping soon. Even if its performance in low light is not optimal, it is at least a good sign of things to come. Here is an interesting review of the camera (that provides a good comparison to Sony's own HDR-FX1, among others).

New features and enhancements in the latest version of Bionatics' 3D plant modeler include: advanced and easy wind animation, easy pruning of trees, new customization & deformation features, new built-in renderer, handling of normal maps, and a redesigned interface. A demo version is available for download.

Toon Boom Animation has released Toon Boom Studio v3. Features include new Text and Transform tools, as well as improvements to lip synching that make it easy for users to create cut-out animation. Visit ToonBoom.com for more.

"D'artiste: Matte Painting" is a book dedicated to showcasing and teaching the skills behind the art of digital matte painting. Visit BallisticPublishing.com for more.

Sachform are demoing their new capability to create 9000x4500 pixel HDRIs. They would like to hear feedback from users in case they would be interested in purchasing HDR images of such resolution.

3DPOWERSTORE, located in Düsseldorf, Germany announced the beginning of their free PowerSessions. On July 13th and 14th they will be showing in depth Rhino3D and Sensable overview and techniques and their integration into the Max workflow.   [ more... ]

TurnTool has been testing a new 3D studio concept in Denmark. CubiCasa provides interactive 3D building visualisations to the real estate and development industries. TurnTool is now looking for international franchise partners to launch the concept in their home countries. Freelancers in every country are also needed for production of the TurnTool models, and are encouraged to contact TurnTool with samples of what they can do. A trial version of TurnTool is available for download.

The list of Autodesk Master Classes to be taught at this year's SIGGRAPH has been updated with some new offerings.