Now that the competitive race between Maya and 3ds Max has somewhat run its course (because they are both owned by Autodesk), we look to other developers to see what they are doing to close the gap.
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
If you have been using Autodesk® Maya® 2011 software you may want to check out the new Hotfix 1 update Autodesk have just released. It will help improve the operation of the software and address some of the issues you may have been experiencing with the 2011 version.
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.
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.
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’.
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.