V-Ray for Softimage Beta Announced

Chaos Group has announced the Public Beta for V-Ray for Softimage.  V-Ray for Softimage is the newest addition to the Chaos Group portfolio of rendering solutions and is planned to be launched the end of this year.

Currently, they are running a Beta Program, aimed at animators, CG design practitioners, game developers and others who will get the chance to be the first to test the software and provide valuable feedback and suggestions for new features to the Chaos Group Development Team.

If you're interested in signing up, click on the link below and get started.

V-Ray for Softimage Public Beta

Reprogramming your New or Existing V-Ray Dongle

The V-Ray licensing system is not an automated setup.

There are some steps required to obtain your license,  before V-Ray can render out those beautiful images.

You should have already received your Chaos Group account login information and hardware lock (Dongle) from your Motion Media account representative.
Download your V-Ray version for either 3ds Max, or  Maya.
Install the software and also the WibuKey drivers.
Right then lets head over to the V-Ray licensing video for the complete steps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiMDvsKutP0

Once complete you will receive a file with the extension *.RTU within 24 hours.
Unzip the *.RTU file to your desktop.

Close the V-Ray licensing service,  if it is running. You can do this either by right-clicking
the V-Ray license service icon in the Task Bar and selecting Exit,  or if it is running as a
service - from the Control panel > Administrative tools > Services applet.
Double click the *.RTU file to reprogram the V-Ray dongle, and restart the V-Ray service.

Ready set Render!

Chaos Group May 2011 Newsletter!

The May Newsletter from Chaos Group is out.

Have a read and also don't miss the V-Ray 2.0 for Maya training videos.
Starting with the overview below and many more at the Chaos Group YouTube channel.

Chaos Group Phoenix FD in Action! New Videos by Michael McCarthy

A series of short videos show simulation of water, smoke and more using the Phoenix FD plug-in.

Phoenix Fluid Dynamics combines a grid based simulator with outstanding rendering capabilities that accurately reproduce fluid behavior. It’s the solution to rendering waves breaking along a shore, a lit candle, or an explosive cloud of smoke – just to name a few. The plug-in’s many features, which can imitate processes like pressure decay, thermal radiation cooling and mass-temperature dependence, have been captured in a series of videos created by VFX Technical Director and Autodesk Certified Instructor Michael McCarthy.

 

McCarthy, whose background includes work in the broadcast, feature film and gaming industry, introduces Phoenix FD with a set of tutorials that walk you through the basics of flames, fluid maps and liquids. He then demonstrates examples of possible simulations in sixteen short video clips. Such simulations include the liquid simulation of a fountain, liquid fuel to flames, and particle flow from an explosion.

To watch all McCarthy’s videos and receive updates on Phoenix FD, please register here

Get Phoenix FD for 3ds Max at the Motion Media online shop!

Chaos Group Customer Success Story :: Method - Halo: Reach "Deliver Hope"

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Chaos Group gives us another customer spotlight. This time its Method Studios and their work on Halo:Reach"Deliver Hope" .

click the link above to read the full interview.

"Here at Method we have been using V-Ray for Maya since the beginning of its development. It has had huge success in house for feature and commercial work large and small. Having multiple renderer support inhouse it's a head to head vs match to final only the best images."

Scott Metzger, VFX Artist at Method Studios

Based in Los Angeles, with locations in New York and London, Method Studios is a leading post production facility providing a full range of visual effects services including conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, compositing and finishing.

Get V-Ray for 3ds Max or Maya at the Motion Media online shop!

V-Ray 2.0 for Maya Beta now available!

Chaos Group Releases V-Ray 2.0 for Maya Beta Version.

V-Ray, hailed by many as the most robust and versatile rendering engine on the market, is about to see a significant upgrade for all Maya users. The 2.0 upgrade for V-Ray began its much-anticipated Beta test on March 30th, 2011.

V-Ray 2.0 for Maya is a complete rendering solution developed by Chaos Group, now with interactive rendering on GPU and CPU. This robust and highly trusted engine is the perfect tool for the 3D professionals, working in the film and VFX industry. With this new version users can expect many new improvements and updates to the existing one.

Exciting new features are now available in V-Ray 2.0 for Maya like: V-Ray RT and V-Ray RT GPU, Faster rendering of dynamic geometry (displacement, fur, proxies, hair etc), Faster rendering of render-time subdivision surfaces, VRayFur and Maya hair, VRayCarPaint material, VRayToon shader and a lot more. Detailed information and a full feature list for V-Ray 2.0 for Maya can be found here >>



The beta program will be open to all customers who already own a license of V-Ray for Maya (purchased V-Ray 1.5 for Maya) or pre-ordered V-Ray 2.0 for Maya.



Join the V-Ray 2.0 for Maya Beta Program and be among the first to test this advanced rendering technology for all Maya users. It's your help and feedback that will make this product much better.

Release plans have been set for the end of April. Get ready for the official start and share the V-Ray experience with us!

 

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Order your V-Ray Maya 2.0 pre-release, or Upgrade at our online shop!

Chaos Group Customer Success Story :: Blur Studio

Chaos Group gave us a spotlight on BLUR STUDIO and their use of V-Ray.

If you missed it click the link above.

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With the coming of the E3 Expo in June, we  went back in awe of the visually stunning work from BLUR and interview with Kevin Margo CG Supervisor at Blur Studio.

"V-Ray is a supremely brilliant rendering engine with mind bending approaches to visualizing 3 dimensional form that encourages philosophic ontological discussions about the nature and observation of reality itself."

We at Motion Media can't wait to see what  BLUR is working on for this year's E3 Expo!

BLUR STUDIO has been creating award-winning visual effects, animation and design, applying its creative skills across various mediums. We produce 3D character animation, motion design and visual effects for feature films and television, game cinematics & trailers, large format films, location-based entertainment, commercials and integrated media. Located in Venice, California, we combine the passion and excitement from our directors, animators, designers, concept artists, and writers with our clients into a collaborative creative approach that results in compelling visuals and storytelling.

Order your V-Ray for 3ds Max or Maya at our online shop!

V-Ray 2.0 for Maya Features!

The long anticipated V-Ray 2.0 for Maya is on its way to be officially released on 25th of April.

V-Ray for Maya ADV 1.5 is still in Beta. V-Ray 2.0 for Maya will be available after 25th of April.

Starting March 25th 2011 customers can purchase V-Ray Maya 2.0 pre-release and get started right away with V-Ray Maya 1.5. Customers who purchased the pre-release or upgrade will receive V-Ray for Maya 2.0 on its release April 25th.

 

Order your V-Ray Maya 2.0 pre-release, or Upgrade at our online shop!

 

Below is the list of new features of V-Ray 2.0 for Maya.

• Python callback for access to and modification of the translated V-Ray scene before rendering – this powerful feature allows you to directly modify the V-Ray scene before rendering to fit V-Ray seamlessly into your production pipeline; to access the full features of the V-Ray rendering engine and its plugins, even if they are not exposed in the user interface; to add your own custom V-Ray plugins without the need to code Maya plugins and much more.


• Support for the Substance textures in Maya 2011.5 and Maya 2012 - use the new V-Ray 2.0 with the Substance textures in Maya 2011.5 and Maya 2012 to create a wide range of procedural shaders for your projects.


• V-Ray RT and V-Ray RT GPU - the new interactive technology running both on CPUs and GPUs speeds up the shading and lighting stages of your production. With the new V-Ray 2.0 you can take full advantage of our state of the art interactive renderer. It can also be used for fast off-line rendering with support for motion blur on both CPU and GPU, and displacement, subdivision surfaces, hair and fur on the CPU.


• Faster rendering of dynamic geometry (displacement, fur, proxies, hair etc) - new internal optimizations have led to even faster rendering of dynamic geometry like displacement, proxies, fur and hair etc.


• Faster rendering of render-time subdivision surfaces, VRayFur and Maya hair - the new improved core of V-Ray 2.0 can render VRayFur, Maya hair and render-time subdivision surfaces much faster.


• VRayCarPaint material - create realistic car paint shaders complete with "Base",  "Flakes" and "Coat" layers. Full mapping support allows for amazing flexibility and a wide range of effects.


• VRayToon shader - add amazing cartoon-like feeling to your renderings.


• Support for dispersion in refractions for VRayMtl  - this option uses the new capabilities for wavelength-dependent raytracing of the V-Ray core and allows you to create stunning close ups of refractive objects with caustics that dazzle the eye.


• Automatic support for both Mari- and Mudbox-style tiled textures - V-Ray 2.0 can automatically load the correct texture bitmaps depending on the UV tiles of the rendered object.


• PTex textures - with V-Ray 2.0 you can stop worrying about UV coordinates and use PTex textures instead. This state of the art technology allows the artist to be absolutely free in his or her creative process and skip the boring UV unwrapping.


• Lens distortion through Nuke displacement maps - the VRayPhysicalCamera can use displacement maps from Nuke to completely mach the distortion of your real cameras.


• Option to turn off camera motion blur - V-Ray 2.0 gives you a separate control to enable or disable the motion blur coming from the movement of the camera.


• Support for rendering of Maya fluids - the new V-Ray 2.0 recognizes and renders Maya fluids directly, with full support for GI and light scattering inside the volume.


• Support for the Maya stereo camera in batch render mode - render your stereoscopic animations with V-Ray 2.0 and Maya batch render mode.


• The ply2vrmesh tool can convert RealFlow .bin files to .vrmesh files - with the new version of the ply2mesh tool V-Ray 2.0 users can render very large RealFlow simulations as VRayProxy objects with significantly improved memory efficiency


• Extended irradiance map viewer tool – allows the incremental merge of irradiance map files to avoid redundant information; preview of light cache files; manual deletion of unwanted samples, and usage of OpenGL display lists for more interactivity.


• Img2tiledexr tool - for mass conversion of many common image formats to tiled OpenEXR files


• Output of multi-channel scanline OpenEXR files with data-window - removes the need to manually convert the multichannel OpenEXR files produced by V-Ray to scanline-based OpenEXR files for efficient processing by compositing applications.


• Shutter efficiency for motion blur – render more realistic motion blur with manual control over the camera shutter efficiency.


• and many other fixes and improvements...

Order your V-Ray Maya 2.0 pre-release, or Upgrade at our online shop!