The guys at IKinema have an awesome idea in development that is making their award winning animation technology more available to the masses. For those of you who don’t know IKinema, it is a plug-in for Maya that lets you create full-body animations quickly and easily with brilliant realistic results. It is a time saving tool that eliminates the need for characterisation or special rigs as it does the hard work for you, letting you work directly onto a rig. You can combine multiple models into a single animation, retarget from any source to any target, customise or tweak motion capture and animation as well as retarget data inside Maya in real-time.
The CAMERATRACKER for AFTER EFFECTS 24hrs Discount Offer
Attention all Adobe After Effects users, today may be your lucky day. The Foundry are running a massive discount on CAMERATRACKER, where you can save over 40% if you purchase a nodelocked version today. This offer is for a limited time, running over the course of January 24th only. The promotion will close at midnight tonight, where ever you are in the world.
New Animation Software Market Report Shows Growth in New Sectors
Not sure how many of you picked up on this story, but a new report on the Global Animation Software market was released last month. The cost of the full report is a little steep at 3,983 Euro, but the press release did have some interesting snippets of information, which I thought I would share with you.
The Foundry Open Beta for HIERO
This is possibly the moment many of you have been waiting for… HIERO, The Foundry's latest software project, has gone to beta. A closed beta ran over a short period of time for few individuals who got their name on a waiting list nice and early, and from what I’ve heard, they really enjoyed putting it to the test.
News Round-Up: Monday 16th Jan 2012
After an interesting last week in our Los Angeles studios, I have come back to what seems to have been a week dominated with announcements about the state of our education system. But my round up of news is not just about education news, and this week, there is news about what the London Olympic stadium is going to look like, details of Cinecite's internship program and lots more...
Win an HP Mobile Workstation with V-Ray for 3ds Max Software
For all of you architects and designers out there, we’ve just launched a competition which could see you win the latest kit on the market! In association with HP and Chaos Group we have a much coveted prize up for grabs for one lucky winner who can answer three questions correctly. The successful winner will take home an HP EliteBook laptop with software V-Ray for 3ds Max – two essential tools to compete in a fast paced, competitive industry.
V-Ray Renders in 3 Seconds on a New BOXX Workstation
We came across this video and just had to share it with you all. Check it out!
Phoenix FD 2.0 Release
Chaos Group recently released Phoenix FD 2.0, the latest version for their grid based simulator. This latest version now comes with liquids, foam & splashes simulation capabilities, a particle shader and GPU preview improvements.
Tweak Software Release RV 3.12.13
Tweak are working hard to develop and expand their powerful playback software, RV-image and sequence viewer. Their latest development comes in the form of RV 3.12.13. With this new version you get all the usual benefits of real time reviewing software, but now with the additional support of Python to make this version the most powerful yet. This new addition to the product has been in beta for a while now, and has benefitted from extensive feedback from customers reporting rough edges and bugs. With this valuable knowledge behind them Tweak are happy to release RV with Python, confident that the results will impress all.
The Changing Landscape of the Commuter
I have been a commuter for the past 20 years and I have had a lot of time to observe the small train eco-system. Over the years, it has been an incredible platform (excuse the pun!) to witness the general public's shifts in mentality and how technology has reached all areas of their lives.
MARI 1.4 Has Launched!
MARI has already gained a reputation for being a powerful compositing tool, but the team at The Foundry continue developing this software to make MARI an even faster, more flexible tool.
Esri CityEngine; A New World of Possibility
I wonder how many of you have heard or Esri? Before I go on to explain why I am writting about them today, here is a quick introduction to this very interesting company.
A Successful UGM for Softimage
On 16th November 2011, Escape Studios and Autodesk joined forces to organise a Softimage user group meeting. The event was held at the Autodesk London office on Broadwick Street, where product manager Jason Brynford ‘Chinny’ Jones presented updates as well as a preview on the Softimage roadmap. An over subscribed event, the UGM attracted an obvious attendance from users within Soho but also users from as far as Sweden, France, Bulgaria, and Germany.
Book A HIERO Demonstration with Escape Studios
The news is travelling fast that The Foundry have a new product in development. This product is called HIERO and is thought to be the 'missing link' in shot management system for VFX pipelines. Designed specifically to help increase output and manage multiple jobs, this tool is said to be a game changer for the post production community.
New Release: Maxwell Render 2.6
The guys at NextLimit have just announced the release of Maxwell Render Suite 2.6 which introduces some great new features and improvements.
MARI vs. Photoshop Webinar Now Available to Watch Online
The MARI vs. Photoshop webinar held on November 2nd 2011 was hugely successful. Registrations were record breaking and there was an encouraging attendance on the day. For what is becoming a popular topic at the moment, The Foundry are certainly paving the way for the future of compositing pipelines with products like NUKE and MARI.
A MARI Massive Update!
News Round-Up: Monday 14th Nov 2011
Here is my usual Weekly Round-Up of News, with stories that I have picked up over the past week. If you have suggestions for stories I missed, just drop me a line or post a comment.
MARI Tuition: A Very Popular Subject
Back in September, Escape Studios and The Foundry joined forces to run a series of free MARI tutorials. To start with, there were two training programmes on offer, but due to an overwhelming demand we scheduled in a third. The aim for the tuition was to introduce professional artists working in the industry to some key features available in MARI, that are fast becoming an integral part of the modern pipeline.
The Foundry Release OCULA 3.0
The latest version of OCULA has arrived. Last Thursday, 3rd November 2011, The Foundry announced their release of OCULA 3.0, a leading live action, stereo-3D correction and integration toolset for compositors. A production proven tool, OCULA is a plug-in that has been used extensively on major productions such as Avatar, TRON: Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. For these films, working in stereoscopic 3D had many undiscovered challenges. Over a course of trial and discovery, OCULA has developed into a reliable tool that meets the demands of artists to mend polarisation issues in photographic plates or correct common stereo-3D defects with precise speed and ease.