MotionDSP's software reconstructs "high-resolution" video from low-resolution footage. The software compares multiple frames in a sequence to find pixels not being used in a given frame, and utilizes them in order to build a higher quality image. Check out some impressive still and video samples at MotionDSP.com.

Developed in conjunction with Allegorithmic, ImageSynth allows Photoshop users to create seamless textures as well as high resolution images from low resolution sources using image synthesis algorithms. ImageSynth processes the images and generates new images that are unique and will tile together seamlessly, making them ideal for use as backgrounds, brushes or texture maps. Users can manually control how the resulting image is built up spatially or use automatic options to generate the final, tiling image.

New images at 3D Artists gallery. Check 'em out!

Supinfocom students Simon Moreau, Joris Bacquet and Bastien Dubois have put up a website promoting their film "Ah", which has been created using 3DS Max. The trailer is not online yet, but some images of the film have already been posted and they look quite promising. (French)

Bit-tech.net has a great article on transparent interfaces and multi-touch panels. The article also links to a demo of a WarCraft III game table prototype, which mixes gestures with speech recognition.

The 2007 versions of Inferno, Flame, Flint, Fire and Smoke are expected to be available in September 2006. Visit Autodesk.com for more.

The Monster Engine MMOG is a video game being designed according to kids' concept ideas and drawings. Check out some pre-production sketches at TheMonsterEngine.com.

Autodesk's "Area" has some interesting interviews with renowned Max artists in its showcase section: Marek Denko, Andy Murdock and Alexei Petrov are among the first interviewed. (Registration required)

An Argentine artist quits his profitable job and moves back to his home country to dedicate his time, effort and savings to producing his own short film. Talented animator Matías Zadicoff is close to finishing his animated short after more than a year of work, and has recently posted a trailer of the movie online. Check it out! (Note: the animation contains a certain amount of digital blood)

The Gigapxl camera captures single exposures on film with enough resolvable detail to support scanning at resolutions up to four billion pixels.

Autodesk have finally opened the doors of the 'The Area' to the public. The site is intended to function as a centralized repository of 3D-related content created by and for users of Autodesk software. Read on for more.   [ more... ]

Focal Press have released a new, long-awaited book by Tony White, author of "The Animator's Workbook". More information on Tony White's projects at Animaticus.com.

Filter Forge, Inc. has released the first major update to the beta version of Filter Forge, a Photoshop plugin that allows users to create their own procedural seamless textures with normal, bump and specular maps in a visual node-based editor. The update fixes a number of problems, adds new features and significantly improves the rendering speed. The public beta version of Filter Forge is available at Filterforge.com upon registration and approval.   [ more... ]

AnimWatch have posted an interview with Daniel Martinez Lara, the force behind Pepeland, in which he talks about his new short film "Changes". There is also a Spanish version of the interview available here.

Some very impressive effects and animation in this trailer created by Blur Studio. Check it out!

AnimationMentor.com, the online animation school, have posted their first ever student showcase reel featuring some excellent work created by their students, and according to their website short films are being produced, too!

A great collection of textures for 3D artists. "The goal of CGTextures is to become the best free texture site for 3D Graphics artists. Not only the quality and quantity of textures is important, but also the usability of the site."

New user gallery at Mudbox3d.com.

Motion Media with Autodesk will be hosting a New Features event showcasing Max 9 (and Maya 8) at Club Good Hurt in Southern California.   [ more... ]

Check out some impressive architectural interior renders created by the Ixor3D team for a recent project. (Note: Cinema 4D was used to model 80% of the rooms)

Stanford professor Ron Fedkiw has updated his website with animations of interacting liquids, be sure not to miss the "water_oil" and "letters_fire" videos.

If the Queen of England can do it, why not Autodesk? Now seriously, these fine folks deserved it and got their awards at SIGGRAPH: Borislav 'Bobo' Petrov, Neil Blevins, and Lon Grohs. Congratulations to them all! It has been rumored that Mr. Blevins also caught an extra special prize, our sincerest best wishes.

Great news, more quality modeling & texturing DVDs coming your way: three DVDs by character modeler Laurent Pierlot have been released by The Gnomon Workshop. Laurent Pierlot is a Supinfocom alumnus and currently works as character modeler at Blur Studios.

The latest version of 2d3's camera tracker provides UI and workflow improvements as well as features designed to combat difficult shots and provide the technical user with more control. One such feature is the ability to copy and delete individual camera frames and being able to interpolate camera views – filling in gaps between frames to remove noise and solve from an approximate camera path. Find out more at 2d3.com.

Digimation announced the availability of the Max Monster Pak, a collection of more than 13,000 3D models, textures and motion capture files for 3DS Max users. The Max Monster Pak includes more than 5,100 textured 3D models, 7,000 texture maps and 900 motion capture files and is being released in limited supply.   [ more... ]

Engenuity has released AI.implant v4.5, the latest version of their crowd simulation software. A trial version is available upon request, visit EngenuityTech.com for more. (Note: Engenuity acquired BioGraphic Technologies, developers of AI.implant in late 2005)

For some final notes on this year's SIGGRAPH check out Jeremy Birn's report and SIGGRAPH's press release. SIGGRAPH 2007 will take place in sunny San Diego, California, close to the Gaslamp district. The website is already up and running.

Sachform Technology has released PANObase Vol.1, a collection of ultra-high-res texture maps in HDR- format (High Dynamic Range Image). The images have a resolution of 8000x4000 pixels, double that of previous Sachform products.   [ more... ]

E-on software have finally ported their Ozone plugin to 3DS Max. Ozone 3 is a plugin designed to create realistic atmospheric effects based on technology featured in E-on software’s Vue 6. Convincing flythroughs can be easily created, as well as animated clouds and sunsets. Ozone 3 ships with an extensive set of over 100 predefined atmospheres, including bright daytime, bad weather, sunrise, sunset and night time. The Max version of Ozone will be released Q4 2006 at an expected street price of US$199. More information available at E-onSoftware.com.

Skymatter have updated Mudbox's website with more information on their upcoming modeling and detailing software.

Digit Online reviews Gelato Pro: "If you work with NURBS, Gelato works out twice as fast (...) If you model with polygons then Gelato can be dramatically slower ..."

It's a bit strange to see Softimage promoting a Max plugin. But that's exactly what's happening at SIGGRAPH, according to Softimage's latest PR. Feature highlights of CAT v2.5 include: “gizmos” to manipulate CATRigs faster and easier, the ability to quickly copy and paste poses and animation for hubs limbs, hands, feet, and tails, a Pose Mixer tool for studios using bone based facial animation and new CATMotion walk modes. More information at CAToolkit.com. It seems Softimage wants to give a clear signal that development of the Max plugin continues after their acquisition.

The latest release of Softimage's software application dedicated to the creation of lifelike facial animation offers a game export solution which allows artists to deliver high quality, in-game acting with detailed facial nuances, with support for all major game platforms. Face Robot can import and export 3DS Max assets.

Massive Software has shipped version 2.6 of its crowd animation software. Version 2.6 provides GPU acceleration for faster rendering, integration of render passes, support for subdivision geometry and more.

Modo 202 provides faster render speeds, new modeling and painting tools, as well as workflow improvements. A trial version is available for download.

Read the press release at NeverCenter.com.

Toronto-based compositing software developers, Eyeon Software, are showing the latest version of Fusion at SIGGRAPH. Fusion 5.1 gains 3DS, OBJ and FBX format support, adds the ability to project images and live action onto 3D geometry and provides enhancements to paint performance, among other improvements. Read the whole PR at Eyeonline.com.

New features in this plugin for editing and compositing applications include: GPU acceleration for up to real-time rendering, integrated alpha generation with Knoll Unmult, 25 new preset flares, etc. Visit RedGiantSoftware.com for more.

(Updated August 1, 2006) More information on FumeFX: as the name suggests the new plugin simulates fire and smoke effects and their interaction with scene objects. A few animations have been posted at Afterworks.com. According to Sitni Sati, FumeFX release is scheduled for the end of 2006, the news will most likely put added pressure on Aura developers to release their plugin.
Sitni Sati, developers of AfterBurn and DreamScape, will be showing a new Max plugin at SIGGRAPH. Look for the plugin at Turbo Squid's booth. For more info read the whole Turbo Squid PR.