I was recently asked to ride the Chiltern 100, I’m attempting the 58 miles ride for a children’s charity at the end of May.
Now for those that know me, well, they know I am not particularly ‘active’ – I guess that’s why they ask people like me to do charity events, it’s a challenge!
On yer bike..
How did I get a job with that reel?
We always like to showcase our wonderful ‘Escapees’ work. Adam Dewhirst is no exception. However, what I thought we would do is take a look back to Adam's early work to where he is today... It's an interesting journey…!
Who's That in the Spotlight?
Every month, Develop review the brightest and best courses and colleges in the world of Computer Graphics. And this week, we've found ourselves in the spotlight!
ZBrush giving you more..
Pixologic are at it again! Another release of ZBrush (4R3) and not disappointingly they have added another bunch of cool new features!
What makes this taste even sweeter for ZBrush customers is that again the upgrade is completely FREE! Since day one Pixologic have never charged for an upgrade, which is pretty amazing. Of course it means it now has a huge following and user base. Quite smart really!
Arthur Christmas: A Must See at Xmas
Arthur Christmas is a must for any child wanting to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I know this as both of my children loved it and my test was to see whether or not I actually stay awake!
It's just fun. The CG is not meant to be ground-breaking - it simply is not Tintin - but that really wasn't the point. If you just want to go see a feel good children's movie then there is nothing better. It also has a great cast and some of my personal favourites actors: Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent and Bill Nighy (who continually makes me smile whatever he appears in or talks over).
Aardman have done a great job and they should be very happy with it, it has their stamp all over it.
Enjoy!
There's Mo Escape Gallery
Yesterday was the last day of Movember, and we took this opportunity to take one last set of photos of team 'There's Mo Escape'. I am sure you will agree with me that we look like mighty fine with our moustaches!
BallAHolic: How to Make an Innovative 3D iPhone Game
I stumbled across a very cool iPhone game and loved how it felt, played and looked. I did some research and managed to get one of the team to write this blog post! Here is what Christian Buettner, from A Local Chaos Project, had to say about their creation:
Is it really Movember again?
Yes, it is. That time of year when many of us give up our face real-estate to grow some facial hair in the name of prostate cancer. This year is no exception and team "There's Mo Escape" and its 16 members of varying facial hair success, are just 10 days in...
For some of us it's hard to see we are actually partaking in the fund-raising event. But hey, we are having fun trying... If you have a spare 50p and want to see how stupid we all look as we'll post some pics then please feel free to donate!
One to Watch: Naiad Fluid Sim
Scratch-and-Sniff
I suspect that readers of the Escape Studios Blog will not be the type to rush out to the big screens to see Spy Kids 4D. Or at least admit to it...
Pixar Announce RenderMan for Maya 5!
Our friends at Pixar have announced that the release of RenderMan for Maya 5 is being planned for this autumn.
Hayes Davidson Put Our V-Ray for Max Course to The Test
Matt Clinch is an Associate Partner at world renowned architectural visualisation practise Hayes Davidson; we asked Matt to give us some feedback on one of our recent online courses, V-Ray for Max, and here is what he had to say.
A Lost Art?
My walk down memory lane continues...
I went on a simulator ride called 'Slot Car Boogie' at the weekend. it was actually made by some old friends at Rocket Films in Bournemouth quite some years ago. 1996 I believe! Rocket Films are sadly no longer trading but it lead me to wonder who makes these kind of films today? It's hard to find any reference of it in the UK, which is a shame as we were obviously quite good at it.
This work would have been done on a Silicon Graphics machine running PowerAnimator. To put this into perspective, this would have cost around £60-80K for the SGI hardware and the software for just one artist... Oh, how lucky we all are now!
If you know of any companies that do this type of work in the UK, do let me know.
As with most of my memory lane trips, the memories were normally pre Internet revolution. I have however found this on YouTube, Slot Car Boogie by the originator Ian Williams.
Memories of Digital Media World...
I had an email reminder today that Siggraph is less than two weeks away. It got me thinking about travel and how many of us probably miss the good old days when we would all go to Siggraph on our annual trip. These days, we are not only too busy, it's also harder to justify when all the information we could only find in trade shows is now available at our finger tips on the Internet.
For some reason 'Digital Media World' popped into my head. Is anyone old enough to remember DMW? It was THE show to be at in Europe and was held in London every November. It was the trade show part of an awards ceremony called LEAF. I did a quick Google search, but couldn't actually find any links to DMW that I could point you towards - it's obviously that long ago!
Farewell to Potter
It wouldn't be right to let Potter go by and not say a word about it?
Personally I loved it - the early days especially and finally HP7 which was amazing, even in 3D!
And for all our friends in Soho, it's also an end to something which has played a major part in the rise and growth of VFX in the UK. The Industry would have survived and prospered without it but I am not sure it would have had the meteoric rise it did if ILM had not passed the work over to this side of the Atlantic...
A Crowded Market?
For many years now Massive has owned the crowd sim market space, especially at the high end of VFX. Of course some of the larger post-houses have written their own tools, but the availability of any other commercially viable product has been limited.
L.A. Noire in 7 Years!
So how long does it take to make a console game? Of course it varies from project to project but Team Bondi are no strangers to long haul development.
Zappar: A Total Geek Fest!
I thought it was going to be one of those 'office' moments when a colleague pulled some papers out of his bag and said "you must see this"... He is important, so I paid good attention...!
Annecy Animation Film Festival
Every June I look forward to heading off to Annecy, not for the sight seeing (although it is a very beautiful place) but for the Film Festival of course. Sadly however, I didn’t attend this year.
The Core Skills of VFX
30% Discount on RealFlow Upgrades
Starting Monday, May 23 and all the way through to July 1 you can get a 30% discount on all upgrades of RealFlow 4 or earlier (including Standard, Nodes, and RFRK v1).
Visual Effects Society Slams Hollywood
Some of you may have never heard of the Visual Effects Society (VES) - see the previous link or last paragraph if you have not.
Escape Studios Courseware On The iPad?
We had an enquiry from one of our online students asking if she could view our online courseware on an iPad via the Skyfire app to view flash content... As we have not yet worked on mobile releases of our learning system (busy building fab courses), I thought I would take a look at it as I was kind of intrigued.
So I invest my £2.99 and loaded her up! I was amazed I could get in to our system and play the video content! Sadly my joy soon tempered when I could not make out the text in the 3DS Max interface. #disappointed!
The loading was also a little clunky to be honest, you would select a video to view and it would load a little window in the bottom left hand of the screen and find the video. Not elegant.
Not to be beaten I decided to look at some additional apps. Whilst I am sure there are others I came across iSwifter. It was also cheaper at £1.79 ;-)
So I was again a little disappointed, this time with the speed of scrolling in our system... However - once I played a video it was seamless, no drop outs excellent quality and I was really very happy with the results.
Whilst we do not 'officially support' the iPad or mobile devices, I now know at least I can grab iSwifter and load up a video with my iPad. If you do have an iPad and want to try this out iSwifter do allow you to take a peak so why not grab one of our free tutorials and give it a go?
Have a great weekend everyone.
Digital Domain IPO?
We have talked recently about how well the UK is doing in VFX so it's nice to see some noise happening in the US also. Digital Domain saw its revenue from visual effects climb to $101.9 million last year - up 70% from 2009, according to its filing. Whilst DD have already had one attempt at going public in 2007, they seem convinced that now is possibly the right time.
Pixar Release RenderMan Pro Server 16
Our friends at Pixar have announced the release of RenderMan Pro Server 16!
Looking for a Summer Internship?
Are you looking for something to do this summer? Ever heard of StudioAKA? They are a London based multi-BAFTA winning animation production company, known world-wide for their amazing innovative work. And they may want you for the Summer!
They are looking for a bright spark to work in the field of DB & pipeline development (within June to August).
Autodesk 123D?
Carl Bass - CEO of Autodesk - announced at the Wired Business Conference that they were launching a new product... Wait for it, it's called 123D. OK, so forget about the naming convention... What does it actually do and what does it mean for 3D artists?
The Pixar Podcast
I stumbled across 'The Pixar Podcast' recently, I just thought I would share it with you in case you had not seen it.
V-Ray Online Training - Shhhh.... Keep It Secret
Shhhh, don't tell anyone but the images in this blog have been 'lifted' from our brand spanking new self directed course: VRay 2 for 3DS Max... We are very happy with it... But keep it quiet as it may help improve your skills ;-)
Rhythm & Hues: Effects Apprentice Program
Calling all escapee's and graduates... An opportunity to be part of this amazing apprentice program in California!
3ds Max Feedback Forum
I have just attended an Autodesk 'start of financial year kick off meeting' and the guys there mentioned this little jewel.
Autodesk 2012 Line-up Now Available!
UK has been NUKED!
We have been totally amazed over the past couple of months over the number of companies that are looking for NUKE ops at all levels.
25 Years of Pixar Animation
I'm sure many of you will have seen the film medley that represents 25 years of Pixar Animation. Well, it's amazing to be reminded of all their fantastic work - not just the images and characters, but the stories also. They pretty much have it all. I would personally like to thank Pixar for The Incredibles, which for me is unsurpassed. Simply brilliant.
Budget Brings no Relief for the Games Industry
We are always looking for a glimmer of hope with any budget... These days it's hard to find any. And that's certainly the case for the UK Games industry. I appreciate we are a niche sector, but the fact that we are a long established (in CG terms) and vibrant industry that allows us to lead the way just goes seemingly forgotten. The petition paperwork will have been 'filed' and once again we find that there is no support.
Budget day - Tax relief for gamers?
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, submitted a petition to Number 10 Downing Street yesterday, calling on the Government to introduce Games Tax Relief in the Budget on March 23rd. Richard also handed in a copy of TIGA’s publication Budget for Growth: Powering the Video Games Sector to Support the Economic Recovery to officials in Downing Street.
Games BAFTA's Announced Last Night
Last week I mentioned the 'red carpet day' for Games companies at the BAFTA's. Well, The awards ceremony was last night and the results are in!
Tech Industry will be Affected by Mega Japanese Earthquake
After the shocking events that hit Japan there is of course a severe knock on effect to our industry in terms of technology.
Red Carpet Day for Games at the BAFTA Awards
Is it any wonder that the games companies in the UK have a hard time? So many companies going out of business already this year (and it's only March) and seemingly no government support or tax breaks. Whilst computer games feature as heavily in many people's lives as film, I suspect that few know about the games BAFTA awards.
Well, it is red carpet day for the games industry on Wednesday 16th March 2011 and you can view the awards online starting from 8:30 PM. Will the awards ever make it to live TV? OK maybe not, we don't generally know these faces as they are not on the big screen. But give a thought for the awards, the games and the technology these guys produce - they need everyone's support... It's not like we don't play games right?
Has your favourite game been nominated? Check out the nominees here. For me in the family section it has to be Kinect Sports but good luck to everyone who has been nominated!
London VFX Houses Create Wizardry
It was great to see a write up in Variety about the big four post houses in the UK for more than one reason.
Autodesk Announces Intent to Acquire Scaleform Corporation
"Another Autodesk purchase" I hear you cry as the news gets out that a cool $36 million CASH is to be spent on Scaleform.
VFX wins at the BAFTAs
I don’t think anyone was too surprised by last night’s BAFTAs. Personally, I was really pleased to see Inception win the Special Visual Effects award. With the hardware becoming more powerful, the software more sophisticated and the work ever more creative, as an industry the bar is set incredibly high, and it’s always great to see how people are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. It’s even more impressive when you consider who else was nominated.
Enter the Draw to Win a BOXX Workstation
If you’ve read the BOXX reviews and seen the results, you’ll be pretty excited to learn that we are giving away a BOXX super-fast high performance machine, in a brand new competition.
3DBOXX8550 Sets the Benchmark in Architectural Visualisation
BOXX has impressed the reviewers again at UK's Develop3D magazine, this time proving it’s a serious contender in the Architectural Visualisation space.
New versions of MARI 1.2, NUKE 6.1v4 & NUKE 6.2v2 Out Now!
The Foundry team have been hard at work, announcing three new releases in as many days. There are some new cool features added to MARI to improve its 3D texture painting capability, and NUKE has loads of feature enhancements and fixes worth checking out. Here is a summary of what you can expect from the new releases:
The 5 Miserable VFX Jobs That Make Movies Possible
I came across this blog on the 5 miserable VFX Jobs that make movies possible and found it quite amusing... ;-)
BOXX: An Inside Perspective
There has been a lot of talk and reviews of BOXX machines lately. To find out a little more about what makes them perform so well, I caught up with BOXX’s Director of Marketing and Business Development, Shoaib Mohammad to get the inside scoop…
TACTIC Make New Video Tutorials Available
Are any of you into production asset management? Then this could be the ideal resource for you. Southpaw have just launched a new 'video page', where you can gain access to loads of useful resources for how to use their TACTIC software.
3DBOXX 4860 tops the charts
BOXX has again topped benchmarking tests in a new product review by Desktop Engineering released this week.
Autodesk 2011 Upgrade Promotion: Last days
If you want to upgrade to Autodesk’s 2011 products for less, then you may want to check out Autodesk’s Upgrade Promotion, but hurry there’s just over a week left.
TACTIC software's CEO speaks out
Gary Mundell, Southpaw’s CEO sheds some light on how using a production asset management system like TACTIC, can help studios better manage their production pipelines and streamline their workflows. Here's what he had to say...
New release of Fusion 6.14 – Out Now
Eyeon are giving customers a special Christmas treat with the new release of Fusion 6.14, and a new discounted upgrade pricing for anyone upgrading from Fusion 5 or earlier.
Maxwell Render 2.5 – Out Now
The latest version of Maxwell Render has been released this week, with a neat new technology called Maxwell Fire. This is a new interactive rendering tool which gives users instant results when setting up a scene, so you can preview scene lighting and materials within seconds. This is pretty neat and should make a difference to your workflows.
Phoenix FD version 1.20 Released
The latest version of Phoenix FD, Chaos’s newest product is now available for download.
And the winners are...
As part of the new release of RenderMan Studio 3 and RenderMan for Maya 4, we ran a competition to give three lucky people the chance to win a limited edition Pixar’s RenderMan Walking Teapot.
TACTIC 3v1 - Now Available
The new release of TACTIC 3.0.0.v01 is now available for download. It's the latest update to TACTIC 3. Not sure how many of you have had a chance to look at version 3, but here is a quick low down.
Luxology’s modo 501 – Out Today
This is hot of the press: the brand new version of Luxology’s modo 501 has just landed and it’s packed with loads of new features.
V-Ray 2.0 for 3ds Max – Out Now
The long-awaited V-Ray 2.0 has been released, with some great new features and additions that will really give you better and faster results.
New Hot Fix4 for 3ds Max 2011 & 3ds Max Design 2011 - Out Now
The latest Hot Fix for 3ds Max 2011 & 3ds Max Design 2011 has just been released.
3 Reasons BOXX 8550 is The Fastest Workstation in the World
There has been a lot of talk about the BOXX 8550 XTREME lately, and why it’s the fastest workstation in the world. Many of us are naturally suspicious of all the marketing hype, but on proper investigation, these claims are actually based in pretty solid facts... Here’s the low down.
Xbox Kinect Versus Playstation Move
Thank you technology customers!
Last night we had some of the finest brains and talent in Soho out for our Technology Christmas drinks.
We just want to really thank all those who came along and hope you enjoyed the evening.. We certainly did and it was great to see so many new and familiar faces!
Yo Mo' Bro - Movember Results
With Movember now over, I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone for being so sporting and not taking themselves too seriously with their Mo'. We have raised £2,076 (currently) which leaves us ranked 468 Nationally, which we think is pretty good form. I thought I’d share our leaderboard with you:
MediaCity UK - Salford Quays, Manchester
I was invited up to take a look around MediaCityUK UK last week. I didn't really know what to expect, I had heard quite a bit about the developments over the past few years but it had always been 'up North' and at the back of my mind.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
I went to see HP7 at the weekend. We are all different but I really miss the magical events of the early Potter, I guess I just didn't want him to grow up!
The VFX work was amazing, as always, well done to everyone involved. Would the film have been enhanced if it was in 3D? I think possibly so, but as we all now know, 3D as an afterthought is not the way to go.
I do worry about having a 'two parter' personally, you are going to the cinema knowing that there will not be a resolution. But that said, the cinema was full and that has to be a good thing for the industry. Count down to the final film... or will it be?
Pixar's RenderMan amazing 40% price reduction!
Yesterday, Pixar announced an unprecedented price drop in their flagship product RenderMan® Pro Server. The 40% reduction will allow studios and freelancers that were previously unable to buy into the technology, to get a slice of the Film / VFX industry standard renderer. With the global CG expansion, Pixar appreciate that the growth of renderfarms is real and happening now, this move allows existing customers to ramp up their rendering capabilities in a more cost effective manner whilst allowing smaller shops and freelancers access to the toolset.
IKinema: New Animation Plug-in for Maya
If you use Autodesk Maya for animating characters and models, then you may want to check out this cool new animation plug-in called IKinema.
Escape Studios' Mo progress
The team here at Escape are on day 12 of the Mo' growing, for some of us it's more like no growing... But it's all for The Prostate Cancer Charity so we don't care!
We have some updated pictures, please laugh, we are every day!
Please sponsor us, any amount really appreciated!
Win A Pixar’s RenderMan Walking Teapot!
To celebrate the new release of RenderMan Studio 3 and RenderMan for Maya 4, we’re giving three lucky people the chance to win a limited edition Pixar RenderMan Walking Teapot.
Escape Studios Hosts VFX Workflows Event at Aardman
Escape Studios will be taking the Foundry’s products on the road with an event at Aardman Animation studios in Bristol on the 25th of November.
V-Ray 2.0 Pre-orders Now Available!
The new version of V-Ray for 3ds Max is now available for pre-order. This new 2.0 has undergone a significant revamp and now includes the V-Ray 3ds Max rendering engine along with V-Ray RT CPU and V-Ray RT GPU - that’s a whole lot more than you used to get!
BOXX to ship with new Quadro Fermi 2000
BOXX machines will now be even faster following nVidia’s recent announcement that they will be releasing a brand new graphics card, the Quadro Fermi 2000. This is the lastest addition to the nVidia Quadro Fermi Series, which are the industry’s only GPU-accelerated cards made for coping with HD-SDI video and 3D stereoscopics.
iPad in education?
We all love gadgets, and anything from Apple generally creates interest for good or bad. Enter the iPad. Well, it has been around for a while now, but other than playing Angry Birds, does it really have other uses?
Movember = facial hair for Escape Studios' Men!
Dear friends of Escape Studios... We have decided to take part in Movember this year.... OK, let me explain...
AutoCAD for the Mac
Autodesk have released AutoCAD for the Mac after its announcement back in August.
Pixar's RenderMan Studio 3 is out!
RenderMan Studio 3 has arrived and it packs some punch! Speed and lots of features and enhancements, including support for Maya 2011.
RenderMan Studio is Pixar's advanced suite of tools for shading and lighting TD's.
CVMP 2010 Amazing speaker line-up
CVMP is a unique opportunity to network with production and post-production specialists from the worlds of film, broadcast, games and imaging and graphics researchers. If you register on or before 17th October 2010 you can save yourself £100 on full registration!
CityEngine 2010.2 Available Now
There seems to be some momentum growing behind CityEngine and out of all of the new products in the market it certainly seems one to keep an eye on!
Escape Studios Awarded Pixar's RenderMan International Reseller of the Year 2010!
Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs arrive
Autodesk have started something new for those on support: it's called Subscription Advantage Packs. This is a way for those that pay the price of subscription to get new features dropped in, fast... One of the most awaited 'drops' is Mudbox on Linux!
The Most Exciting RenderMan Toolset in Years!
The upcoming RenderMan for Maya 4 and RenderMan Studio 3 offers mouth watering upgrades & new features; we are busy working away on the RenderMan Certified courseware and will cover these cool new workflows in depth.
Nuke, Mari, Ocula now available at Escape Studios!
Escape Studios hosts TIGA’s Self-Publishing Seminar
As part of this year’s London Games Festival, we are going to be hosting a free TIGA event in our studios. If you want to get an insight into self-publishing your games, come along and chat with the pros.
GoBOXX 1640 Really Goes!
The GoBOXX 1640 was recently reviewed by Cadalyst, and underwent a benchmark assessment designed to test and compare the performance of all sorts of systems running AutoCAD.
Neil Thompson of Bizarre Creations to present at Autodesk’s Manchester Event
Autodesk have announced that Neil Thompson, the Studio Art Director at Bizarre Creations will be taking the guest speaker spot at this year’s Manchester event.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
"Dad, can we go to the cinema?" Yes it was that time of the summer holidays when the children will do anything to get out of the house. I exclaimed "But we have already seen everything that's any good!"
Online courses updated to reflect the Maya new 2011 UI
If you are a user of any software package you'll know that at least once a year software developers deliver an update. Autodesk's Maya 2011 was no exception. 3D users had become accustomed to Maya's UI over the last 10 years but Autodesk thought it was time for a change, enter Maya 2011. So this release brings all sorts of challenges for the diehard Maya user, it has a new interface... I hear the screams of "where did you put that" and "what on earth does this icon represent"!
The latest in Artificial Intelligence
We now offer a cool new artificial intelligence (AI) piece of software for game developers called xaitment.
V-Ray for 3ds Max Version 2.0 Announced
I am sure most of you will have heard this week that Chaos have announced they will be releasing the long-awaited version 2 of V-Ray for 3ds Max.
Escape opens the BOXX with Boston
We’re pleased to announce that we are now going to be selling BOXX Technologies’ machines exclusively in the UK. This means that people buying workstations like the 3DBOXX 8550 Xtreme will now have access to next day shipping, reduced build times and local customer support.
Houdini 11 Ready for the Masses?
Growing up with Maya
I had a picture sent to me from an old colleague this week (above). It was taken in the "fake" Getaway pub on the 4th floor of SCEE’s (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) offices in Soho.
Free Evaluations of modo Production Now Available
Luxology are now giving away modo Production Evaluations for free. The Production Evaluation gives you access to more much more content than you would normally get with the free Basic modo Trial – so it actually gives you can a chance to properly test drive modo.
Autodesk Entertainment Live Tour goes to Manchester
We're excited to announce that we'll be heading to Manchester with Autodesk next month for their Entertainment Live Tour event.
CVMP - Call for Short Papers
Those of you who see themselves as techno geeks and like to keep up with the latest research and developments in media production will want to check out this year’s CVMP conference.
Brand New Fluid Simulator Phoenix FD - Out Now
Our friends at Chaos have just released a brand new fluid simulator plug-in for 3ds Max called Phoenix FD. The new plug-in is designed to make it easier for artists to simulate fire, smoke and haze more realistically and accurately than in 3ds Max alone.
New Hot Fix for 3ds Max & 3ds Max Design 2011 Released
Autodesk have just releasd a brand new Hot Fix for Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2011 and Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2011.
Fusion 6.1 Out Now
For those of you that have been eagerly waiting for the next release of Fusion, you’ll be pleased to know that Version 6.1 is out now and available for shipping.
ZBrush - major announcements!
Our friends at Pixologic have done it again... There seems to be no stopping the development team and now Windows and Mac users will unite!
On Monday August 9 ,2010 existing users will be able to upgrade FREE OF CHARGE! Updated versions of all major plugins, and GoZBrush support for Modo, Cinema 4D, 3DSMax and Maya for Windows and Mac systems.
More information about ZBrush 4.0 and its features will be presented closer to launch date.
Chaos UK Tour
The Chaos team held their very first UK event in London last week demonstrating V-Ray pipelines and some cool new technologies that are yet to be released. It was a fun afternoon with plenty of tips and demos from both Peter Mitev and Vlado Koylazov showing us just how the experts do it in V-Ray.
More Autodesk Hotfixes
Autodesk have just released a new set of hotfixes for their 3ds Max series of products for you to get stuck into.
Heard the hype about CityEngine? Free trial now available!
There has been lots of talk about CityEngine recently... and until now you couldn't easily try it out.
Exclusive 'Go Pro' Offer for Graduates
Every budding professional needs professional software, so we have devised a brand new promotion to help CG graduates who want to pursue commercial work, get the professional set-up they need. This means you can now upgrade student licences to full commercial versions for half the price, and be on your way to becoming a professional CG artist.
V-Ray for Maya 1.50 SP1 release
Chaos Group have just announced the availability of the new V-Ray for Maya 1.50 SP1, fully compatible with Maya 2011 a free of charge release for all existing customers.
Maxwell Render World Cup Promo
Next Limit have just announced a World Cup inspired promotion which will see Maxwell Render’s price drop, the further Spain progress in the tournament. This is quite an interesting promotion and there is no mistaking Next Limit is supporting their home country, Spain.
Maya Entertainment Creation Suite 2011 Review
If you have not had time to check out the fresh looking Maya 2011, maybe you would like to read a quick review from our friends at AWN.
MAXON Summer Special
MAXON have announced a Summer Special pricing promotion on their CINEMA 4D software. The promo includes three of their top selling software editions: the Broadcast Edition for motion graphics, the Architecture Edition for visualisation, and the Studio Bundle for 3D professionals, all discounted at 50%. There are discounts for upgrades as well, and the MAXON Service Agreement is also available.
Delapost Paris Gives RenderMan Thumbs Up
We love getting a behind the scenes look at productions and we're quite excited to chat to Delapost Paris about their recent ‘Penguins in Heaven’ project. Here we catch up with Emmanuel Koltès who gives us an insight into the making of the commercial, and specifically how Pixar’s RenderMan was used.
3DEqualizer4 Summer Pricing Promo – Save 50%
Good news: Science.D.Visions have just announced a great Summer promotion. You can now buy a licence of 3DEqualiser4 along with 12 months support for 50% less.
Autodesk Educational Creative Suite 2011 - Now Shipping
If you’ve been patiently waiting for the new Autodesk Educational Creative Suite 2011 to become available, we’ve got good news for you. The new 2011 Suite has now been released for shipping, meaning we can now ship all orders as soon as they are placed.
Autodesk Maya 2011 Hotfix 1 Released
V-Ray for 3ds Max Advanced Training
Chaos will be in London this July, and we have decided to team up with them to deliver a one-day V-Ray for 3ds Max Advanced Training Course.
Autodesk Finance Deal: 0% Interest Finance or Pay Nothing for 5 months
Did you know that Autodesk are offering some pretty interesting finance deal at the minute?
Realflow 5 Out Now!
RealFlow’s Version 5 has just been released, and we are quite excited about some of the new features and improvements our friends at NextLimit have made.
Next Gen Intel CPUs: More power in a smaller box
If you’re like us and have been struggling with the limits of 4-core machines for your CG applications, then you’d be just as excited about Intel's Next Generation CPU 6-core 32nm processors. They are probably the biggest advancement in CPU cores for over two years.
Pixar RenderMan User Group Meeting tonight!
We are all looking forward to the UGM tonight with our very technical friends at Pixar! Over 200 people in attendance... should be a great night and plenty of Escape $ behind the bar!
V-Ray for 3ds Max SP5 Released
Our friends at Chaos Group have just announced the release of the new Service Pack 5 for V-Ray for 3ds Max.
Autodesk Subscription Payment Plans
If you’re like most of us, and love to get your hands on the latest Autodesk 2011 products but cringe at the thought of paying the total sum up front, then you may want to check this out. We’re now offering prospective Autodesk 2011 users the option of funding their set-up with subscription payment plans from Autodesk Finance.
Storage Explored Part 1: Bandwidth Efficiency
Hello world!
We nerds are back to get deeper into storage and the various options and solutions out there. We're starting a multi-part blog series to try and help people get a better technical grasp over storage for media and entertainment. There's a vast majority out there that see storage as a mystic and cryptic situation; and we aim to help change that and aid normal people in their battles on the subject. We get a large number of enquiries about this at Escape Studios - and for too long, too many people have been purchasing the wrong hardware and software for the right purpose.
Pixar release Tractor!
Pixar have just announced the release of it's much anticipated Distributed Processing Solution for RenderMan and Other Applications!
Expert training for modo enthusiasts
We have some exciting news for aspiring modo artists wanting to learn modo straight from the experts. Luxology's very own expert trainer, Andy Brown will be delivering an introductory two-day course at Escape Studios in June. This course is ideal for artists who are new to modo and want to learn more about the interface and efficient modelling and shading workflows. You will also discover how to accelerate the production process by utilising time-saving modo features like presets, assemblies and kits.
The Official Architectural V-Ray Demo Reel Released
Chaos have released their official Ach Vis 2009 Demo reel today. It showcases some really cool imagery from very talented Arch Vis artists. This is definitely worth a peek if you are interested in Arch Vis and want to see some amazing work from the industry’s top Arch Vis Studios.
Fusion Master Class – Dates Announced!
We have good news for all Fusion users out there. We are going to be hosting an exclusive three-day Fusion master class, which will be delivered by eyeon’s expert trainer, Eric Westphal.
Escape Studios Helps Havendale Deck out a start-up Arch Vis Studio
A while back we helped kit out a start-up arch vis studio set-up up by an arch vis artist Jon Yates. Jon came to us wanting to set up his very own studio, and needed to recreate the performance and scalability he was used to, but this time on a tighter budget and within a more restricted space.
Become a Phoenix Fluid Dynamics Beta Tester
Our friends at Chaos have developed a new product called Phoenix Fluid Dynamics which is designed to simulate fluids in a quicker and more realistic way. Apparently, it simplifies and speeds up the process of simulating things like fire, smoke and haze.
Weta's making of Avatar – Inside Scoop
Our friends at Science D Visions have released an insightful interview with Weta Digital, the Studio credited with delivering over 300 stereoscopic matchmoves for Avatar.
Autodesk and Epic Games Team Up to Streamline Autodesk-to-Unreal Workflow with FBX
This is hot off the press from Autodesk at the Games Developers Conference in San Fran... Rather than paraphrase their release, I thought you'd like to see it in its entirety. So here it is:
Autodesk Unveils 2011 Versions of Digital Entertainment Creation Software
We have some exciting news from Autodesk today. They have just unveiled the 2011 versions of its Digital Entertainment Creation software with the promise of increased production efficiency, especially in terms of interaction, workflow, interface design and interoperability. The release dates are yet to be announced, but from what we've seen the new versions promise great value and some avant-garde technology developed with the likes of Sony Pictures Imageworks.
CG Workflows with Avatar
On Wednesday we were at the Apollo cinema in Picadilly, for our CG Workflows event with Framestore, looking at some of the extremely difficult shots they were asked to tackle on Avatar.
ZNews! Pixologic release new plug-in...
There seems to be no stopping for the development team at Pixologic with the announcement of the release of UV Master, a plugin for ZBrush 3.2 Mac and ZBrush 3.5R3 WIN.
What would have Pompeii looked like in 80 AD? Part II
To answer comments posted by Zeropuff1234, we asked the CityEngine’s creator, Pascal Mueller, CEO of Procedural Inc to shed some more light on what CityEngine can do and how to get a more realistic look by populating cities with people.
What would have Pompeii looked like in 80 AD?
This 3D reconstruction of ancient Pompeii is quite neat. Generated with Procedural’s CityEngine, it shows how quickly a 3D city can be created using a plug-in, and eliminate the time-consuming tasks of manual modeling and design often required in games, post-production and architectural visualisation. It is also up to 10 times more efficient at creating urban environments than existing packages. It is completely brand new to Escape Studios – no need to say we are quite excited about it.
Service Pack 3 for modo 401 Released!
We have lots of exciting new developments from our friends at Luxology.
Turtle now supports Autodesk Maya 2010!
The new Turtle™ 5.1 version for Autodesk Maya 2010 has been released! Illuminate labs have made improvements to their rendering and baking plug-in for Autodesk Maya, to make it better for lighting and content creation in next-gen game development.
Autodesk Project Cooper...
We have just come by an interesting little tool from our friends at Autodesk - and it's free!
Autodesk Mudbox 2010 Service Pack 1
Our friends at Autodesk have released the first service pack for Mudbox 2010.
Maya and Max 2010 - Free courseware offer!
Hi there,
The Tech Team at Escape thought it may be nice to offer some additional value to the service we provide when anyone buys a new commercial license of Maya or Max.
V-Ray for 3ds Max Service Pack 4a - released.
Hi all, the Chaos Group have released Service Pack 4a for V-Ray for 3ds Max and has been added to the download section of their website.
VFX in the making of 2012
Check out this interview with Marc Weigert, the 2012 Co-producer and VFX Supervisor behind the blockbuster 2012. His team of over a 100 artists worked on this feature and formed the central VFX hub for the movie. To their credit they completed an astonishing number of shots within a very short timeframe using a traditional pipeline, including eyeon's Fusion and Generation. Here he chats to eyeon's CEO Steve Roberts about the Visual Effects in the film.
Softimage 2010 Service Pack 1 officially released!
The first Service Pack for Autodesk® Softimage® 2010 has just been released and is available for download. The SP1 includes nearly 70 fixes for rendering, animation, and comes with a new version of Autodesk® Crosswalk technology, a handy content transfer toolset which should make it easier to move Softimage content in and out of Autodesk® 3dsMax® and Autodesk® Maya® pipelines. The SP1 is great news for those on the Linux® platform who can now access the Autodesk® Face Robot® app. designed make it easier for face rigging and animation for realistic characters. For more information on the new features or to download the SP1, check out here.
Online MasterClass: Developing assets for “Rock Band: The Beatles"
Today marks the beginning of Autodesk’s 3December – an annual event, celebrating 3D computer graphics and the artists who create them.
Hurry - last days to save 59% on Autodesk Upgrades!
There are only a few days left to get huge savings to the latest Autodesk 2010 releases - saving you up to 59% on Softimage 2010, Maya 2010 and 3ds Max 2010 Suites if you order before the 1st December, 2009.
New feature - Nick's Doodles
Here at Escape Studios, we pride ourselves on our close links with the industry. One of the ways we maintain these links is by having tutors who have done the jobs they teach. This means that our tutors are some of the best CGers in the business, and they’re an incredibly creative bunch.
ZBrush 3.5 R3 for Windows now released!
We have good news for all users of Zbrush: the new ZBrush 3.5 update for Windows has just been released. It's called R3, and it has loads of new features and enhancements as well as a better toolset. If you are a registered user of Zbrush, you can download it for free here.
Hollywood producer, Charlotte Huggins to discuss 3D breakthroughs in film and TV.
For those in the film industry, this may be an interesting event for your December diary. The Institution of Engineering and Technology is holding the inaugural John Logie Baird event on the 8th December entitled ‘3D – Back to the future’.
Upgrade to Maya, 3ds Max and SoftImage 2010 apps and save up to 59%!
Online Maya courseware at The Arts University College at Bournemouth
Hi all,
I recently caught up with Paul Hilton, Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Animation at The Arts University College at Bournemouth. AUCB recently purchased our online Maya coursware for themselves and their students, so I asked Paul how they were finding the experience:
V-Ray® for Autodesk® 3dsMax® Service Packs Officially Released!
The newest build of V-Ray has officially been released! You can now upgrade your version with new Service Packs and get brand new and modified features for free.
Amazing Student Software Offer
If you have seen our website you should know that Autodesk have a pretty fab student offer on at the moment. If not, check it out here.
Autodesk Maya, now truly unlimited? – Maya 2010
Our friends at Autodesk have made some pretty spectacular changes to their Maya package by consolidating their packages in to one. Gone are the days of Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited, we’re now left with one standard solution. So it might come at a higher cost but is it worth it?
Colleges and Universities: the great resource debate.
I have been travelling around the UK countryside visiting academic institutions over the past six months. I have made many observations during that time, and feel it is time to share some of them.
RSS Feed
Sign up to our RSS feed and get the latest news from Escape Studios
Latest Blog Activity
-
Me too Arnaud! Thanks :).
Posted by
Emanuela Ferrante on Isn't It Marvel-lous? -
Simply amazing! After watching the Avengers Assemble I've grown an obsession to super heroes...again. Great post Emanuela..
Posted by
Arnaud Baernhoft on Isn't It Marvel-lous?
Free Webinars
-
Free Webinar: Autodesk’s 2012 Creative Suite with Maya Master Lee Danskin
Maya Master Lee Danskin will be showing how Autodesk’s one click solution...
-
Key Compositing Concepts for Entry-Level Artists and Juniors
As an entry-level or junior compositor who's just starting out in the...
-
Acting for Animators
Being a successful animator means understanding the principle of acting in...
-
Entry Level and Junior Roles for Compositors
If you want to know more about what the compositing industry is going to...