Kelly Murdock reviews ZBrush 3.1 for GameDev.net: "... stronger and more innovative than ever."

The latest version of the compositing application incorporates the Colour Warper tool found in Flame systems and includes improvements to the schematic view. Combustion 2008 is expected to be available in December 2007. Visit Autodesk.com for more.

Splutterfish are on a news roll: they have now announced the availability of Brazil r/s 2.0. The renderer is being released after going through extensive beta-testing in production environments. New features include: speed and performance improvements, 64 bit support for handling large-scale projects, a reworked sampling core that supports combinations of features that previously killed rendertimes, full 3D-motion blur, rendertime displacements for arbitrary objects (Pro-Beta version), on-demand caching of irradiance and photon illumination, numerous artist-inspired extras and script support, and more. Read the press release and the complete list of features at Splutterfish.com. In addition, Splutterfish have announced the availability of their first Professional-Edition beta version (2.1 Pro-Beta), which introduces even more new features, and is available exclusively to Brazil r/s v2 Professional Edition clients.

(Updated December 3, 2007) Some more information on Planet 51 can be found at 3DyAnimacion.com. (Spanish only)
Ilion have posted more information on their upcoming film Planet 51. Snapshots from the movie look excellent, if the script is as good as the images then this film may certainly prove to be a worthy competitor to those being produced by established animation studios. The synopsis as well as the images displayed reveal Ilion's intention to break into de American market. We wish them the best of luck with their first film.

Rsizr is a free online implementation of an image resizing algorithm called seam carving that tries to keep intact areas in an image that are richer in detail. Rsizr can read JPG, PNG and GIF image formats. It's advisable to read the help file before using the application.

Neil Blevins has added 2 new scripts to his collection: modifierUtilities, which lets you perform various modifier related tasks on a set of selected objects, and parentSelector, which selects any objects that are not parented to anything. He has also updated a load of the older scripts. As always, the scripts are available from Neilblevins.com.

RTTGroup is a new plugin that replaces and extends the render to texture functionality built into Max. Features include: texture rendering from many objects into a single resulting texture, advanced and space efficient automatic unwrap mapping algorithm, displaying the scene with original or "baked" textures, MaxScript support for automating any render-to-texture related tasks and more. RTTGroup works with Max version 6, 7, 8, 9 (32-bit) and 2008 (32-bit).

Read the article at New Scientist Tech.

Read the article at New Scientist Tech.

A tutorial (PDF) by Danish artist Jonas Ussing. Check out the sample video to see the technique at work.

The latest version of Next Limit's renderer is now available to current owners of the software. Version 1.6 features include Maxwell Displacement, instances, multithreading voxelization, enhanced plug-ins, network improvements, etc. More information will be made available soon, read the message posted at the official forums for the details.

A great experimental project by Spanish artists Pablo Barquín, Marcos Coral and Mauro Gimferrer that mixes time-lapse photography with 3D animation. The short was completed as part of their studies at the school 9zeros. Barquín, Coral and Gimferrer built the motion control system themselves and used it to capture 2700 photos of the beautiful Barcelona sky; camera movements were driven by 3D camera paths created in Max. Videos of the motion control system and a comparison between the 3D camera movements vs the photographed ones can be found on YouTube. Great work, definitely worth checking out!

Read the news at Digital Arts.

Mental Bout Max has made available two new training modules for Mental Ray users: the 4th and final part of their 'Elevated Lifestyle' project, and a module that belongs to their new 'Shader Series'. Read the official announcement for more.

Splutterfish have posted information regarding a significant update to their renderer that incorporates many new features, and they have also disclosed information on upcoming developments. The list includes Material Editor rendering via Brazil, a Dome Light optimized for HDRI-based lighting, an Analytical Bump feature, Physical Sky environment, Bi-Directional SSS, correct behavior and blending of volumetric lights and fog, etc. More information and some sample images at Splutterfish.com and the Brazil r/s V2 Field Guide.

Yes, demo versions of 3D software abound. But the actual news here is that the renders produced by this low-cost version of Houdini have no watermarks, the software is not time-limited in any way, and it has 99% of the features of Houdini Master. The new Houdini Apprentice HD offer will no doubt be especially appealing to schools and universities that have a hard time getting the funds to purchase great numbers of academic licenses. Visit SideFX.com for more.

Trapcode Form is a grid-based 3D particle system that can generate fluid, organic patterns, geometric structures and swirling animations. Maps can be used for defining the various properties of the particle system. Furthermore, Trapcode Form has the ability to drive graphics according to audio input. The software is available as a plugin for After Effects, and other AE plugin architecture compatible software.

"And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes..." A great short film by Trevor Cawood, CG work produced at The Embassy VFX. Check it out!

The Brazil r/s Materials Gallery is a website and discussion group for sharing materials and textures for use with the Brazil Rendering System. Quite a few materials have already been contributed by users and the site is accepting submissions from anyone who owns a copy of Brazil r/s for 3DS Max. Read the FAQ and visit the Materials Gallery at Splutterfish.com for more.

Sequencemaster provides various production tools for fast manipulation of large volumes of image sequences.

From "Luxo Jr." to "Lifted", all in one DVD. Check it out!

James Mathers reviews the RED ONE camera for Studio Daily: "... a professional tool requiring a competent crew (...) and quality support gear for best results."

VectorMagic is an online bitmap to vector image converter that produces great results. The website and code are part of a research project by James Diebel and Jacob Norda at Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL).

The trend continues. Read the news at the New York Times.

Some impressive images added lately to the ZBrushCentral Featured Gallery. Be sure not to miss the work of artists Thao Le, David Hauptman and Joel Mongeon, among others.

Richard Taylor will be screening an audiovisual presentation and discussing his career and the inspiration for his art this coming Monday (November 5th) in San Diego. The event will take place 7pm, at the Lyceum Theatre Gallery in San Diego's Gaslamp District. More info at ArtOfDigitalShow.com.

IT'S ART Magazine interviews talented Canadian artist Neil Blevins.

NewTek has announced the relase of the VT[5], the latest version of their video production suite. New features include virtual set technology and HD post production capabilities.