Aimed at bringing high-level production capable tools down to the little guy, IKinema, a UK animation technology company, has created WebAnimate.

WebAnimate is an all-in-one platform that can professionally retarget and customize through your browser. Based on the same IKinema technology that major studios use, like Framestore and 20th Century Fox, WebAnimate’s built-in toolset allows users to fashion rigs, manipulate bones, retarget/customize motion capture data and create animation all in the span of a few minutes. Best of all the price is free. To check it out go here

Maxon Re-Introduces Cineversity

The creators of CINEMA 4D have re-launched a brand new version of its premier educational online resource.  Introduced just before the holidays–which is a nice touch!–Cineversity is a redo of its online video tutorials website. The new site is designed around the latest web innovations and is aimed at simplicity and making it easy for artists to get the learning resources they need to master CINEMA 4D.

There are more online video tutorials than ever, a new searching capability and the ability for users to create playlists so they can customize their training. Maxon CEO Paul Babb stated: “We are committed to the CINEMA 4D community to provide educational material that will increase the artist’s proficiency and productivity.”

There are both free and paid membership levels. If you are a CINEMA 4D user or considering becoming one this is a must-see resource. To visit it go here.

Luxion updates KeyShot 3 Plugins

Also just prior to the holiday break, Luxion, the makers of KeyShot 3, introduced updated plugins allowing users of certain CAD and 3D applications to directly transfer 3D data into the GPU-based rendering application for Windows and Mac.

The world’s first real-time ray tracing and global illumination program, KeyShot 3 now has plugin support for the following applications:

• Creo 1.0
• Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3, 4 and 5
• Rhinoceros 4
• SolidWorks 2011 and 2012
• SketchUp 7 and 8

There are no costs for the plugins. The updated plugins can be downloaded immediately and installed within the modeling software supported. To learn more visit here.

Lightwave 3D 11 features tons of new features. Instancing enables you to create mass duplicates of objects in a scene with very little overhead. These “virtual” polygon counts will not cause your machine to run out of memory. Instances are not mere clones they can be randomly different via scaling, position, rotation and even surface complexity.

Flocking enhances natural motions with such things as schools of fish, birds, et cetera. Fracture is a new modeler tool and was designed specifically to compliment Bullet dynamics in the Lightwave Layout. It allows the 3D artist to “pre-fracture” an object ready for destruction. Bullet is a fast, production-proven, open-source physics engine that does what you think it does. Lightwave 3D 11 features the Bullet engine directly in Layout.

Lightwave 3D 11 now has a much enhanced Virtual Studio Tools, allowing the user to configure various third-party device controllers (e.g.: SpaceNavigator, Playstation Move). GoZ is a new interchange technology in this version that enables users to send model and texture data to and from Pixologic’s ZBrush.

Rendering is improved thanks to new improvements in the Render Buffer. Saving and viewing various buffers produced by the render engine to make up an image is now more powerful and easier to use. This improves renders out for compositing.

Version 11 now includes Python scripting. Python is an industry standard for scripting and further allows the customization of Lightwave 3D. FiberFX has a new volume rendering mode called Stroke. Version 11 allows you to now make very realistic fibers. FiberFX now uses the new instancing technology as well.

Other Improvements

The user interface has been enhanced, especially in the area of the node editor. There are IK rigs improvements, huge speed boosts in areas such as loading scenes, many modeler optimizations and enhancements. Items can now be modeled off axis. There are OBJ file format support improvements, shader improvements and a whole lot more.

Lightwave 3D 11 is offered today for registered current users as a pre-release advanced beta. The full final release is scheduled for end of year.

To learn more about the new Newtek Lightwave 3D 11 visit them online here.

Strata 3D CX 7 is the latest release of the company’s flagship program which over the years has been redesigned to integrate highly with Adobe’s Creative Suite software, targeting traditional 2D design professionals and helping them bring 3D to their creative arsenal. CX 7 brings end-to-end power for the entire 3D workflow with a simplified learning curve and familiar toolset.

“We had an excellent response and a lot of positive feedback from our recent launches of the Design 3D CX 7 for Mac and the Cxi release in the Mac App Store. Designers really love the new features and functionality and we’re excited to finally place it in the hands of our PC customer base,” said Ken Bringhurst, Strata President.

To learn more about Strata Design 3D CX 7 for Windows or the Mac, go to the Strata website here. Training for Strata is available online at Strata University here.

Strata Design 3D CX is a modeling and animation software suite for creatives who desire superior results and usability. It provides an end-to-end 3D workflow, with a simplified learning curve and a familiar toolset developed to help 2D designers easily transition to the world of 3D design. The program also provides deep tie-ins with Adobe Creative Suite, improving the workflow between 2D and 3D environments.

Key New Features in Strata Design 3D v7 for Mac

• Faster rendering and advances for blurred effects, anisotropy and more
• Sun and Sky feature for natural lighting effects
• Native UV editing environment for perfect texture control
• New texture features, including channels for Normal and Anisotropy maps
• Subdivision surface modeling enhancements, with pro level features
• New Boolean modeling engine
• Grid Templates that act like ‘virtual tracing paper’ for modeling from images
• Match Motion features for putting 3D design work into video
• Project templates with ‘predefined’ lighting, environments and backgrounds
• Customizable shortcuts and user sets
• Compatible with Mac OS X Lion (10.7)

“Everyone at Strata is really excited about this major update to our flagship product,” said Ken Bringhurst, Strata President. “We set out with an ambitious plan to update the program with the most requested enhancements from our customer base and I think we nailed it with this effort. Even our most discriminating pro users have been raving about the new features and improved functionality.”

Options for Suites

The Strata 3D CX Suite can include Design 3D CX and also Strata Foto 3D, Strata Enfold 3D and Strata Live 3D, all at 50 percent less than regular price in conjunction with the suite. Strata Design 3D 7 for Mac is available immediately at the Strata website. There is an introductory price of 545.USD available now. Regular price for a new license is 695.USD.

To learn more visit them online.

01 - Strata Design 3D CX 7 for Mac. New flagship 3D product suite includes numerous feature improvements in the areas of modeling, rendering, animation and workflow. It is also Lion ready!

“Though necessary, I find modeling and texture painting tedious and time consuming,” Ridlen explains. “I knew there had to be a toolset that could quickly guide me through this process so I could spend more time doing what I love: realistic animation. DAZ 3D’s professional-quality models and software provide exactly what i need to tackle the complex previsualization requirements of any project.”

In  2005, Ridlen was commissioned to create a three minute CG previsualization involving multiple characters and several props for the film project titled Archangel. Instead of diving head-first into what could easily take several weeks  worth of modeling work, Ridlen scoured the Web for an inexpensive solution that would easily integrate into his existing animation pipeline and help to expedite the character modeling process altogether. In a matter of minutes, he stumbled upon DAZ Studio.

“I was astounded to find such a strong and useful program for free,” he notes. “DAZ Studio allowed me to quickly generate all the characters and I was able to purchase and customize additional costumes and props with surprising detail at very little cost. The versatility, range and quality of the morphs provided fast creation of several different characters, all from a few base models.”

Utilizing the affordability of the DAZ 3D models, combined with the time-saving amenities offered through DAZ Studio’s robust posing features, Ridlen was able to reduce his estimated modeling process by nearly 75 percent, allowing him to spend more time animating, lighting and adding visual effects to bring dazzling detail to the production.

However, it wasn’t just the time saving and cost-effective solution DAZ Studio provided that convinced Ridlen to continue his use of DAZ 3D tools for additional projects. It was the compatibility with his existing software suite.

Working primarily in Newtek’s Lightwave – with additional help from eyeon’s Fusion and Next Limit’s Realflow – DAZ 3D tools and assets seamlessly integrate into Ridlen’s pipeline, providing a highly streamlined workflow: “DAZ 3D offers a variety of morphs that allow quick modification of character features without opening an outside modeling program,” says Ridlen. “However, if I want to further modify or finely texture in Lightwave, it just requires a simple export. There is also a Lightwave plug-in that allows me to convert many objects into morphs for a base model, all at once. With a workflow like this, I was immediately hooked.”

DAZ 3D proved its worth once again when, in April 2010, Ridlen was contracted by visual effects production house Pixel Magic to help with asset creation for New Regency’s spoof film, Vampires Suck. With a mere $20 million budget for all production costs, the visual effects share was remarkably low, considering the amount required.

To create a fully CG baby that would be “juggled” by the film’s main character, Ridlen called upon DAZ 3D’s Millennium Baby 3. Using DAZ Studio’s morph sliders, he reshaped the model’s facial features and resized the head and limbs to achieve the look he was striving for. “Human form, particularly faces, are about the toughest thing to make convincing in CG,” he admits. “DAZ Studio’s texture maps helped to provide nice detail, while the UV maps created an ideal template for adding to the existing texture maps or painting new ones.”

Using a human character rig, Ridlen was able to simply drop the modeled baby into Lightwave for finishing. Additionally, the rig pose was saved within DAZ Studio for easy application to any other figures as needed, then exported directly into the Lightwave rig with very little tweaking.

The use of the DAZ 3D model and DAZ Studio not only saved time, but meant that Pixel Magic could bid the sequence at a lower cost than it would have required to develop the model from scratch or scanning. This also helped the CG team land the client amongst a sea of qualified bids. “Once again, DAZ 3D allowed me to jump right into rigging, lighting and shot set up,” notes Ridlen. “We were very happy with the outcome, and the sequence makes people laugh. Mission accomplished.”

Throughout his nearly 15 years as a CG artist, Ridlen has utilized DAZ 3D tools and assets for multiple projects. His main goal has been to provide a quality product, and DAZ 3D has become synonymous with this goal.

“It has become a bit of a running joke between me and my colleagues,” Ridlen recalls. “Every time we face a daunting CG challenge, we always turn to each other, nod and immediately say: ‘DAZ!’ The funny thing is, it’s no joke. DAZ 3D is a fun little secret weapon.”

To learn more about DAZ 3D visit here: http://www.daz3d.com/

KeyShot 3 features an all new animation system that brings simplicity to complex animation sequences in the same manner it does to complex, high-quality photorealistic image renders.

01 - Luxion's KeyShot 3 introduces patent-pending new animation technology.

“Computer animation is often a tedious task that requires expert knowledge to setup even simple animations,” says Dr. Henrik Wann Jensen, chief scientist of Luxion. “We decided to develop an animation system that is just as simple to use as KeyShot has been for rendering. In order to achieve this, we built the animation system directly into KeyShot 3 without relying on keyframes.”

KeyShot 3

KeyShot 3 is oriented more towards designers and engineers than visualization pros. Even marketing people are targets for this powerful but easy-to-use system. Key features of the new animation system in KeyShot 3 include:

• Everything happens inside KeyShot’s realtime raytraced environment: setup, edit and playback
• Full interactivity during setup, edit and playback of the animation
• Patent-pending non-key frame animation system based on off-set transforms
• Offset transform system enables individual animation components to a single or multiple parts, move them in the timeline, and copy, paste or move them within the model hiearchy
• To develop more complex animations the user adds multiple transforms to each object

Siggraph 2011 marks the first showing of KeyShot 3. Luxion is in booth #780. KeyShot 3’s animation system can be added to KeyShot and KeyShot Pro for 500.USD.

Currently in beta, KeyShot 3 is targeted at a fall release. KeyShot is available for both Mac and Windows. To learn more visit them online here.

Abvent has recently run a US-based Road Show tour of the latest Artlantis 3 software, touting its superb feature set and combination of power, speed and price. Artlantis 3 works seamlessly with CAD/BIM programs in architecture like ArchiCAD, Revit and Vectorworks Architect. Now graduates have the opportunity to continue to leverage their skill in the professional world.

01 - Artlantis can produce QuickTimeVR panorama and object movies so you can fully immerse yourself inside your creation.

Students must report their student version serial numbers to Artlantis resellers. Only licenses prior to 1 July 2011 are accepted, and older expired serial numbers are also valid provided they did not obtain the license within the framework of another Young Architect program.

Artlantis is the fastest, stand-alone rendering application developed especially for architects and designers. It can produce QuickTime VR panorama movies and fly-thru animations.

To learn more visit here.

Anime Studio 8

Anime Studio Debut 8 is claimed by the company to be the world’s easiest animation program and the best first steps to “becoming the next great animator.” Produced by the Smith Micro Productivity and Graphics Group, Anime Studio Debut 8 offers simple but powerful tools to deliver professional-grade animations that most novices can master quickly.

“Animation has the unique ability to communicate the joy, sorrow, laughter, and adventure that live action can’t always convey,” said Dave Gibbons, Watchmen co-creator and well-known comic book artist. “I’ve used Smith Micro’s graphics solutions for many years. Products like Anime Studio provide fun, easy-to-create tools that let you add life to your storytelling and make character animation a breeze.”

Anime Studio Debut 8 offers new Automatic Image Tracing features, a built in Character Wizard, a new Beginner’s Mode, a tool that helps guide first time animators, better built in help and tutorials and a streamlined interface.

Going Pro

The professional version contains all the features of Debut, including its innovative Automatic Image Tracing features, plus features for professional studio work flows. These include items like Real Time Media Connection, Global Rendering Styles, more advanced uses within the Character Wizard and more.

Both versions feature bone-rigging and the professional version offers more advanced capabilities in this area as well.

Anime Studio Debut 8 is available for 49.99.USD while the Pro version is available for 199.USD. You can learn more about both versions here: http://anime.smithmicro.com/index.html

Artlantis Render 3.0 and Artlantis Studio 3 are some of the most capable software programs in their respective class and they are designed specifically for the visual needs of architectural professionals. Yet the French company behind the software has at times taken a somewhat laissez-faire approach toward the giant US market. This is about to change.

Road Show Details

AFR (Anthony Frausto-Robledo): What is the “Road Show” about? Why is Abvent and Objects Online doing this event now?

Chris Stringer, GM (CS): The Road Show is about showcasing Artlantis, a world-class rendering and animation software. It’s about getting the message out to the US market that Artlantis has the best combination of rendering and animation features available for architects, in an easy-to-use but powerful formula and that it works seamlessly with all the major CAD platforms, including Autodesk Revit, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks and others.

This is an example of the type of animation you can produce in Abvent’s Artlantis 3 Studio. Video courtesy of Abvent / Objects Online.

The Road Show will help us establish closer ties with our reseller network, bring in current customers for further training to make sure they are using the program’s full features to their advantage, and help us spread the word more about Artlantis’ great capabilities.

AFR: What kinds of things will the Road Show offer architects and designers? What will they learn?

CS: We are focusing on two types of events. The first event is the demo event which will present a detailed and captivating overview of Artlantis to the architectural community. There will also be an opportunity for questions and answers so architects can learn just how easy it is for Artlantis to fit into their design workflow and what advantages it offers.

The second event is longer and involves hands-on training for our current customers. Though it could also be valuable for advanced rendering users who are just starting with Artlantis. We will go through four to five exercises covering key elements on Artlantis, from setting up scenes, to working with textures and objects, to lighting and to economizing models.

About Artlantis

AFR: What do you feel are some of the best features in Artlantis Studio in the latest release?

CS: I would say that Artlantis has always been built on the strength of its preview render window. You always had that immediate interaction between changes to your scene and the results of those changes. You can drop in people, trees, change textures, lights, et cetera and right there in the preview window you get instant results.

AFR: This with Radiosity too?

CS: Yes, you have Artlantis’ superb Radiosity engine results…right there in the preview window. This is what makes Artlantis unique in the market.

AFR: Do you have to use Radiosity? Can you use another lighting method for even faster results?

Chris Stringer (CS): You don’t have to use Radiosity, but using it gives superior results, due in part to the way it now automatically balances light levels, much like the human eye does. You can use the faster global illumination engine instead, but you have to set up your lighting levels differently if you intend to create final renderings using that engine. The difference in quality is dramatic, though, and most users will probably prefer Radiosity. The expert rendering parameters give users the ability to create faster, lower-quality Radiosity renderings before it comes time to create the final renderings. There are also some new built-in post-processing rendering filters that generate some of the same quality effects offered in image-editing applications like Photoshop.

AFR: What are the system requirements like with Artlantis? Can you get great results with moderate-level Mac and Windows machines?

Next page: Continued more about Artlantis in detail and the Road Show

recoil plugin

Eric Soulvie developed the plugin for both Mac and Windows versions of modo 501 using the modo Plug-In Software Development Kit (SDK). It utilizes version 2.77 of the Bullet physics engine. Recoil simplifies the process of setting up dynamic actions. Simply tagging any mesh item to be dynamic, the object is then ready to respond to forces like gravity or collisions from other objects in modo.

01 - recoil is the first serious commercial plugin developed with the new modo plugin SDK (software developer kit).

“recoil is a fast, powerful and fun-to-used product that will be attractive to our large community of modo users,” said Brad Peebler, president and co-founder of Luxology. “This is the most extensive use of the modo plugin SDK to date and represents a significant milestone for modo as a 3D platform.”

What recoil Does:

• Any mesh item can be made dynamic, responding to forces
• Objects can be given “wake-up” conditions and an initial “impulse” behavior
• A system of connectors, including springs and motors enables complex linked behaviors like spinning gears, elastic coils or swining chains
• Dynamic simulation can be combined with traditional keyframe animation
• recoil is also useful for stacking objects so that they come to a resting position naturally, such as cubes of  sugar in a dish or gumballs in a vending machine

recoil™ is available immediately and retails for 199.USD. To learn more visit Luxology’s main website here.

Used in both entertainment, media and technical engineering fields, the Autodesk DEC products include the following products for Mac-based design and creative professionals: Autodesk Maya 2012, Autodesk Mudbox 2012, Autodesk Flame 2012, and Autodesk Smoke 2012.

The 2012 products enable iterative workflows and help users manage complexity and provide new creative tools. Autodesk products have been used in the creation of popular movies like “Black Swan” and chart-topping video games such as “Medal of Honor.”

Marc Petit, senior vice president of Autodesk Media & Entertainment, said that “Movie, video and game and television audiences are demanding more sophisticated content, which is causing production complexity to outpace budgets.”

New 2012 Digital Entertainment Creation Products include:

• Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 — windows
• Autodesk Maya 2012 – mac and windows
• Autodesk Softimage 2012 — windows
• Autodesk Mudbox 2012 — mac and windows
• Autodesk MotionBuilder 2012 — windows

Finishing products include Autodesk Flame and Smoke 2012 which are aimed at both the Windows and Mac video editing world. Game middleware products include Autodesk HumanIK 2012 and Autodesk Kynapse 2012.

To learn more visit www.autodesk.com

To read our review of Autodesk Mudbox 2011 go here.

Sketchers Studio Features

Sketchers Studio works with your Google 3D models. It supports SketchUp model files natively. It also supports the models in Google’s 3D Warehouse and you can view the 3D Warehouse from within the Sketchers Studio application.

Sketchers Studio looks a lot like Apple’s iMovie or Garageband application with a twist. It merges a 3D model window into the interface wherein you view and manipulate your Google models. You can create flythrough animations and animate 3D objects themselves.

A “Live Mode Controller” enables you to move around your Google model so you can add scenes while you are walking around in 3D space. The program also supports visual effects, though they are basic and very limited. These include a simple Particle System, simple motion effects and things like shadow effects.

The latest version is Sketchers Studio 1.2.3 and it runs exclusively on the Mac (Universal Binary) running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later. The product costs 59.USD. To learn more visit them here: http://sketchersstudio.com/en/index.html

New Features in Cinema 4D R 11.5

• Superior Rendering Improvements – New bucket rendering and a significant retooling of the render engine itself lead to vastly improved render speeds an quality. R11.5 takes true advantage of the latest state-of-the-art multi-core processors and adds new render instancing.
• Enhanced Picture Viewer – the new Picture Viewer in R11.5 offers a vast set of new creative tools to reviewing and editing images and animations, including features like Render History with the ability to compare renders, plus image filters and adjustments, post filter effects and layer management. The RAM player enables users to play back animations with sound even while the rest of the job is being rendered.
• New MoGraph 2 – the new features for motion graphics include new MoDynamics, an optimized physics simulation package with hundred of objects that can be easily be made to collide or be affected by such forces as gravity or friction; plus PolyFX for providing quick and easy explosion effects; plus MoSpline for cloning existing splines and animating them with forces and effectors.
• Improved Interoperability – numerous improvements with R11.5 offer users better integration with programs like Adobe’s After Effects, including support for additional object types; support for Apple’s Motion now includes export of 3D data; plus support for Autodesk FBX 2010 allows for quick and easy interchange between a variety of 3D applications.
• Snow Leopard and Windows 7 Support – with R11.5 the company continues to build on its legacy of leading-edge support of the very latest operating systems. R11.5 is fully compatible with Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard, including access to up to 64 GB of virtual memory. 

“MAXON is committed to providing powerful enhancements to CINEMA 4D that really improve the productivity of users across various disciplines, including film, broadcast, architecture, product visualization, games, multimedia and more,” states Harald Egel, MAXON co-founder and CEO. “The many improvements in the new Release 11.5 will help all customers gain even better results, save valuable time and resources.”

“CINEMA 4D gives my design team the ability to make miracles happen within ridiculously tight deadlines,” said John LePore, associate creative director for Perception NYC. “The new features and enhancements in Release 11.5, especially those in MoGraph 2, truly augment an already mind-blowing arsenal of creative tools.”

Cinema 4D R11.5 is available now, including the new MoGraph 2 module. To learn more visit them online or visit your nearest MAXON dealer.

To read a recent product review of Cinema 4D go here.

Luxology has announced the immediate availability of modo 401, the latest version of company’s award-winning 3D software package, for 3D artists working in a wide variety of industries from design visualization, package design, game development, film visual effects (VFX), video production and graphics arts. 

modo 401

Luxology has been adding numerous features to modo for the Mac and PC at a rapid clip and today modo 401 is an end-to-end solution encompassing modeling, sculpting, painting, animation and rendering in an innovative and easy-to-use user-interface (UI). 

modo 401 has a focus of improvements in the areas of rendering and animation, dozens of new features and innovative workflow improvements. ”modo 401 continues our emphasis on making the 3D creative process as fluid as possible for designers and artists,” said Brad Peebler, president of Luxology. “This new version is packed with improvements and is clearly our biggest upgrade of modo to date.”

Rendering

New improvements in rendering include caustics, dispersion, blurry refraction, volumetric lighting and Pixar-patented deep shadows. New Instance Replicators allow dense amounts of surface detail with trillion polygon detail. Also new are light linking and support for multiple environments provide precise control over how each part of a scene is individually lit.  modo 401 supports stereoscopic rendering and will render on up to 32 cores across a network of 50 workstations. 

Animation

New and improved features include inverse kinematics, dynamic parenting, channel constraints and modifiers. modo 401’s new animation capabilities facilitate the creation of sophisticated rigs that can driven with a few simple inputs. And new pre-built animation assemblies allow users to apply animation to their models automatically. 

Workflows

User-driven feedback has led to optimized workflow improvements. A new deeply threaded Preview renderer boasts extremely rapid updates and progressive rendering capability. modo 401 boosts artist productivity by facilitating the re-use of assets throughout the content creation process. modo 401 ships with over 1500 pre-built assets. 

“These pre-built assets in modo offer us a way to get to final quality more quickly,” said Gary Fitzgerald of DesignworksUSA. “modo also allows us to capture and re-use our own design assets for greater efficiency.” 

New productivity improvements include some items like:

• new per vertex collision with geometry in most modeling tools
• new Profile Presets simplify modeling of edge-based details like crown moulding or complex bevels. 
• new Fur material enables multitude of material appearances from hair, bristles and fur to water droplets
• new data import and export options: Collada, FBX, 3DM and a new SolidWorks 2009 file importer for Windows only

For those 3D users following US design software juggernault Autodesk, and their continued acquisitions, there have been some concerns that the healthy and competitive field of high-end 3D packages might collapse down with product integration. We have reported on Architosh that Autodesk states they have no such plans. But even if they did, rest assured that there are still several independent top-notch tool sets that vie heavily for technical dominance in this field. Maxon’s Cinema 4D is one of them.

In a previous review we took a broader look at the application. This review will be solely focused on the use of C4D AE v11 in the AEC visualization space. Maxon is a subsidiary company of German AEC software giant Nemetschek AG. As such it is a sister-company application to two leading BIM/CAD applications also under the German software giant’s umbrella: ArchiCAD and Vectorworks Architect. It also is a sister application to Nemetschek AG’s own ALLPLAN BIM software, the leading BIM software in Germany.

01 - C4D R11 has excellent built-in detection of new software with a streamlined ability to download updates including key plugins and updated help files.

From this view C4D AE 11 is made to work hand-in-glove with all three of these BIM packages. The product ships with plugin modules to support files from these BIM applications directly into C4D AE 11. Installing them is also quite simplified as the plugin modules are listed like other modules for C4D and are automatically discovered and downloaded by the application (see image 01 above)

Cinema 4D AE v11 – General Summary

C4D version 11 has two major applicable editions: Architectural Edition (AE) and Engineering Edition (EE). These are not to be confused with the “modules” of which there are presently eight different modules (available separately or in particular bundles). Modules vary from advanced and network rendering to hair and dynamics.

The Architectural Edition comes with several key modules useful to AEC visualization. These include the Advanced Render and Sketch & Toon modules, as well as the Architectural Extension Kit. The kit includes numerous tools and utilities useful to the Architectural Edition.

The Interface

Cinema 4D 11 features an impressive interface system. This UI system is the same one introduced in version 10 and as we mentioned in a previous review (see Architosh Review: Cinema 4D R10.5) the “program really is a GUI inside a GUI.” While some may find this awkward the beauty in this solution is it enables the Maxon developer team to focus development resources on features rather than code time on managing two operating system (OS) GUI environments. This is “only” beautiful when you consider the end result of this simplification on Maxon’s part and ask: “is this unified UI (user-interface) attractive and easy to work in?” This author’s opinion is a definitive yes.

02 - Mouse Move Activation and the very important Menu Popup Delays can be customized by speed differences in C4D R11, making this application unique in ability to control so much of the user interface.

For starters the flatter, multi-gray user interface is wicked fast! In fact you can customize the interface speed too! (see image 02) It also has that serious sexy look common to video applications and 3D tools like Luxology’s modo! The value of the gray interface is that color is special and stands out. A gray interface is also less intense on your eyes. (see images 3-4)

03 - The default light-gray user-interface option.

04 - The default dark-gray user interface option.

We want to spend a little bit of time on this interface before we plow straight ahead into this review’s real focus. While perhaps daunting at first sight and perhaps different than what you are used to, the Cinema 4D user interface system is powerful and easy to learn. Moreover, it is highly customizable, enabling the user to control palettes, menu items, icons and keyboard shortcut settings and even the colors of the interface features.

Houdini 10

Houdini 10 is the first commercially available software to slice up and distribute fluid simulations over a network of computers. 3D artists will benefit from faster simulation times and the ability to create super-sized and scaled simulations. 

“The ability to slice up and distribute fluid sims lets studios assign a smaller memory load to each computer in the simulation farm” says Cristin Barghiel, Director of Product Development, Side Effects. “At the same time, they can take advantage of multi-threading on each node to make things run even faster.”

Such simulations can be integrated into existing pipelines or distributed to work with HQueue, a new python-based job manager which can also distribute Mantra renderings. HQueue is initially being released by Side Effects Software for just Linux as a free public beta, but planned releases for for July 2009 will see it come to both Mac OS X and Windows systems. The new HQueue will be a free add-on to Houdini Escape and Houdini Master licensees. 

Also new in Houdini 10 include the new Pyro FX tools that enable smoke and fire effects. A new res-up technology enables users to plan out shots with fire and smoke effects at lower resolutions and then scale up at final render times. A listing of some of the best new features follows:

• Motion FX gives artist-friendly access to procedural channel operators (CHOPS) to enable advanced motion capabilities
• Improved Network Usability
• Physically Based Rendering (PBR) in Houdini’s multi-threaded shading language
• Deep Camera Maps, which makes it possible to render volumes and objects into separate passes then combine them perfectly later
• Rigid Body Solver
• Houdini’s cloth solver – can be used to simulate crumpling and tearing of dentable and elastic surfaces
• Wire solver now supports Parting
• New Knife and Edge Loop modeling tools
• And more…

A couple of quick emails led to a telephone interview and conversation with longtime SketchUp product manager, John Bacus. John does an excellent job of describing the latest addition to what has become a staple in the architectural world for conceptual modeling.

Discussing SketchUp 7 Pro

AFR: John, first I want to congratulate you guys on quite an amazing update. There are some real impressive features in SU 7.

John Bacus (JB): Thanks, we went dark for quite awhile.

AFR: Yeah, I was really beginning to wonder…but now I see what Google has been working on. The Dynamic Components feature is really quite extensive. Where can users go to learn more about Dynamic Components and how to make sophisticated things like stairs?

JB: There are a couple of places…

The best place we would recommend to learn more about Dynamic Components is to look at other Dynamic Components. We have shipped some with SketchUp 7 Pro and there are others you can find on 3D Warehouse. You can also learn more by watching the YouTube videos on the SketchUp Channel.

SketchUp 7 Pro - Dynamic Component: Google Provided Stair

AFR: Are those on 3D Warehouse produced by Google?

JB: Some are Google-produced and some are by others. Some are by manufacturers, like Marvin Windows. With their windows you can size them to the limits in which they can manufacturer them.

AFR: What about learning more as to the mathematical and logical functions that you see under the Functions tab? Where does one learn how to apply those?