The latest version of Maxwell Render is now available, with new features and many enhancements. More information at MaxwellRender.com.

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

Pixologic announced the release of ZBrush 3, the lastest version of their modeling and detailing software. Visit Pixologic.com for more.

New features in Shoran Software's render management system include automatic chunk resubmission (based on time thresholds), user-specific emailing, rendering schedules for user accounts, an option to also search subdirectories in the frame checker, various other improvements and bug fixes. Downloads, screenshots, a complete changelog and more can be found at RenderPal.com.

Lumonix announces the release of new version 1.5 of ShaderFX, the node-based real-time shader editor for Max, with many new features and improvements. Read on for more.   [ more... ]

"Do you miss the 10 Second Club? We sure do." AnimWatch are holding a contest that allows animators to practice their skills by creating the visuals for a short dialogue, complete with sound clip and transcription. Deadline for entries is Monday, June 11.

Check out this great animation by French CG artist/director Nicolas Lesaffre, created with 3DS Max.

Experienced Max users will probably remember Sisyphus' Grass-o-Matic plugin, which got lost in the void of recompiles. AFK has released the latest version of Super Grass, a plugin designed to create single grass blades, grass bundles, grass lawn patches or complete grass lawns.

Mike de la Flor reviews 3DS Max 9 for Studio Daily: "... performance enhancements and 64-bit compatibility (...) alone are worth the upgrade price."

Neil Bennett reviews Halide film-look After Effects plugin: "... a few rough edges, but Halide has a lot to offer."

Users of NodeJoe, the schematic material editor plugin for Max, have been posting shader trees and renders at NodeJoe.net. Check 'em out!

New features in Andersson Technologies' camera tracker include: an image stabilization system, the ability to add many new accurate trackers after an initial solve for creating tracker-based meshes, "Coalesce" engine to find and combine co-located trackers (especially handy for green-screen shots), UI improvements and more. Check out the tutorials section to get a glimpse of the new features or read a detailed list at their site. 2007½ is a no-cost update for owners of SynthEyes 2007, a demo version is available for download.

Service Pack 2 for Max 9 is now available in 32 and 64 bit versions: "Service Pack 2 includes a number of fixes specific to Windows Vista, as well as fixes across several functional areas including Animation, Backburner, Batch Rendering, Biped, Editable Poly, Editable Mesh, Hair, Materials, Maxscript, mental ray, Reactor, Render to Texture, SDK and UV Unwrap."

Update: if you've installed the Production Booster, you won't be able to install SP2 on top of it. You'll need to re-install Max, install SP1 and 2, and then install the Production Booster.

New images and videos at Afterworks.com (see the "reference" section).

Read the news at NewsScientistTech.com.

Alexander Zelianko from Belarus has written a Region Renderer tool that renders directly into a frame in the viewport. The script is available for $39 from Turbo Squid and is compatible with Max 7, 8, 9 (both x32 and x64 versions). It can be downloaded for free only for personal, non-commercial use.

Read the whole PR at IBM.com.

SplutterFish have released the hugely popular BlurBeta plugins recompiled for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit). Thanks guys!

Find out more at CinemassiveDisplays.com.

OnOne Software have released the latest version of Genuine Fractals, their image scaling software for Photoshop. Read the whole PR at OnOneSoftware.com.