You think you are working with large files, wait until you see what Thinkbox, along with Fusion IO and Supermicro accomplished with the new version of Krakatoa MX 2. 7 Billion Pixels per frame. Yes, I said 7 Billion with a B. That is pretty amazing.
I actually had the pleasure of seeing this firsthand at the Thinkbox suite in Vancouver and I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. Of course, they weren't using your run-of-the-mill desktop machine to make this happen, they used a 4 CPUs x 10 Cores (40 cores, 80 threads) machine with 256 GB RAM was used to test the latest Beta of Krakatoa MX 2 and explore how core configurations and available memory affect the rendering performance.
If you want to read their findings and more about the test results, click here to read the full story on the Thinkbox Blog.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Improve Efficiency with Nuke Mari Bridge
Join us for this Free webcast on September 8 at 1pm PST and learn how you can integrate Mari into your Nuke workflow to save time and frustration with 3D Projections and painting. Learn how the Nuke <> Mari Bridge uses a quick and simple method for exchanging files between Nuke and Mari and how you can increase your productivity by using it.
The NUKE <> MARI Bridge delivers a focused workflow to provide NUKE artists with MARI's dedicated 3D paint tools, making digital environment and projection work more efficient and final composited scenes more believable. The workflow allows compositing artists to address common challenges faced when using 3D projection techniques to build digital environments.
This class is ideal for any compositor looking at how to use MARI for projection and matte painting in combination with NUKE. We'll get you up and running in no time!
Deke Kincaid is a Creative Specialist at the Foundry. He has worked in feature film and commercial production for 12 years. Originating from the east coast of the US, he lives in Los Angeles California and has worked at a wide variety of visual effects and creative studios including Motion Theory, Weta Digital, Rhythm & Hues, Method, Technicolor and Asylum VFX
Date & Time: September 8th, 1pm PST
Where: Online
What Is It?
The NUKE <> MARI Bridge delivers a focused workflow to provide NUKE artists with MARI's dedicated 3D paint tools, making digital environment and projection work more efficient and final composited scenes more believable. The workflow allows compositing artists to address common challenges faced when using 3D projection techniques to build digital environments.
Concepts we will be covering in this sesssion:
- Setting up the bridge between Nuke & Mari
- Basic paint features of Mari for compositors that are not familiar with the product
- Setting up a camera projection environment in Nuke for matte painters
- Sending projection setups to Mari for paint fix work
- Round trip back to Nuke for the final composite
Who Should Attend?
This class is ideal for any compositor looking at how to use MARI for projection and matte painting in combination with NUKE. We'll get you up and running in no time!
Presented By Deke Kincaid, Creative Specialist
Deke Kincaid is a Creative Specialist at the Foundry. He has worked in feature film and commercial production for 12 years. Originating from the east coast of the US, he lives in Los Angeles California and has worked at a wide variety of visual effects and creative studios including Motion Theory, Weta Digital, Rhythm & Hues, Method, Technicolor and Asylum VFX
The Details
Date & Time: September 8th, 1pm PST
Where: Online
Nuke & NukeX Summer Deal Extended
Good news! The Foundry has extended their Nuke Summer Deals until the end of September, so you still have time to get an amazing deal on a NUKEX upgrade. There are two summer deals, The Works and The Projection Package.
For more info on the Nuke/Nukex Summer deals, click here.
The Works from The Foundry
- Nuke to NukeX upgrade
- Mari
- Furnace
- Two (2) Renders
- 1 year maintenance
The Foundry Projection Package
- Nuke to NukeX upgrade
- Mari
- 1 year maintenance
For more info on the Nuke/Nukex Summer deals, click here.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
XoliulShader 2 for 3ds Max Now Available!
Laurens Corijn and Robbert-Jan Brems have released their updated XoliulShader 2.0 for 3ds Max.
Check out the shaders real-time viewport capabilities below.
Download XoliulShader 2.0 at the official XoliulShader 2 website and also check out the gallery section of the Highres viewport captures showcasing XoliulShader.
Check out the shaders real-time viewport capabilities below.
Download XoliulShader 2.0 at the official XoliulShader 2 website and also check out the gallery section of the Highres viewport captures showcasing XoliulShader.
Wacom Inkling Preview
Coming Soon from Wacom!
Inkling bridges the gap between traditional, freehand sketching and digital development by capturing a digital likeness of a pen-on-paper sketch.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Pixologic Zbrush Z4R2 DynaMesh Video
Check out the video over at The Zbrush community Forums of Z4R2 beta, which is coming this September.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=157573
DynaMesh enables you to explore multiple concepts in a very short period of time. You do not need to create a base mesh to fit your target-concept, or even have a specific concept in mind. You may simply select a sphere, activate DynaMesh, and let your creative juices flow! It is exhilarating to freely reshape the mesh and quickly explore many ideas until you arrive at a concept worthy of progressing into finer detail.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=157573
DynaMesh enables you to explore multiple concepts in a very short period of time. You do not need to create a base mesh to fit your target-concept, or even have a specific concept in mind. You may simply select a sphere, activate DynaMesh, and let your creative juices flow! It is exhilarating to freely reshape the mesh and quickly explore many ideas until you arrive at a concept worthy of progressing into finer detail.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
VFX Eye Candy: Portal: No Escape
Not just another Fan Flick on YouTube! Check out the short below, in HD preferably!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Wacom Cintiq 24HD Approved by FCC
In a bit of long awaited news regarding the Cintiq series of displays from Wacom, the FCC has put it's stamp of approval on the Cintiq 24HD, according to the tech blog Engadget. The new model, as the name implies, is apparently a 24" model with at least a 1920x1280 resolution, which would be a step up from the Cintiq 21UX, which is only 1600x1200 resolution. The Wacom Cintiq 21UX has been very hard to come by for the last year, with Wacom struggling to keep up with demand, however Motion Media currently has 10 in stock and ready to ship (as of 8/24/11, call for current availability)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
New Mari 1.3 Ptex Tutorial Videos Posted
The Foundry's team has just released a couple new videos showing you how to use the Ptex in mari 1.3. If you use Mari, these are a must see, if you don't have Mari, this could be the reason to get it. Click on read more to see more videos.
Part 1
Thursday, August 11, 2011
CalDigit and Mac OS X Lion
CalDigit has announced support for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion throughout their line of storage solutions and interface cards.
Because of CalDigit’s close relationship with Apple, support for the HDPro2, HDOne, CalDigit RAID Card/HDElement, CalDigit VR and CalDigit VR mini is built right into Lion, and does not need any additional drivers installed. However, new versions of companion software such as RAID Tool and RAID Shield can be downloaded from CalDigit’s support page at http://www.caldigit.com/support.asp.
CalDigit’s line of USB 3.0 and 6G SATA products also support Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Drivers for these products can be downloaded from CalDigit’s support page at http://www.caldigit.com/support.asp.
Because of CalDigit’s close relationship with Apple, support for the HDPro2, HDOne, CalDigit RAID Card/HDElement, CalDigit VR and CalDigit VR mini is built right into Lion, and does not need any additional drivers installed. However, new versions of companion software such as RAID Tool and RAID Shield can be downloaded from CalDigit’s support page at http://www.caldigit.com/support.asp.
CalDigit’s line of USB 3.0 and 6G SATA products also support Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Drivers for these products can be downloaded from CalDigit’s support page at http://www.caldigit.com/support.asp.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Autodesk Maya 2012 Subscription Advantage Pack
Fresh from Siggraph 2011 -There's more to come shortly with blogs and news full of videos, but I have the following thus far courtesy an update on Autodesk's site. You only get the following if you are on CURRENT subscription! Contact us to add or renew your subscription!
The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Maya® 2012 software provides new tools to help manage increasing scene complexity required by today’s games, film, and television productions.
Features:
Alembic point caching—Efficiently manage complex simulated and animated data, with the ability to read and write Alembic open computer graphics interchange format.
Bullet Physics—Create highly realistic soft body, rigid body, and ragdoll simulations with high-performance open source AMD Bullet Physics engine.
New Node Editor—Manage and debug complex node networks with a new Node Editor that features drag-and-drop connections, color coding, and three levels of detail.
The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Maya® 2012 software provides new tools to help manage increasing scene complexity required by today’s games, film, and television productions.
Features:
Alembic point caching—Efficiently manage complex simulated and animated data, with the ability to read and write Alembic open computer graphics interchange format.
Bullet Physics—Create highly realistic soft body, rigid body, and ragdoll simulations with high-performance open source AMD Bullet Physics engine.
New Node Editor—Manage and debug complex node networks with a new Node Editor that features drag-and-drop connections, color coding, and three levels of detail.
Autodesk Mudbox 2012 Advantage Pack for Subscription
The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Mudbox™ 2012 software delivers powerful new tools that help solidify its position as an industry-leading 3D paint and sculpting solution.
This update is only for those on current subscription, contact us to learn more!
Features:
Gigatexel engine—Create massive amounts of detail—in the range of billions of texels—to help produce highly detailed assets.
Edge hardness, creasing & smoothing support—Import and work with models created in Autodesk® 3ds Max®, Autodesk® Maya® or Autodesk® Softimage® software that contain edges with hardness, creasing, and smoothing data.
Combine Bump and Normal maps—Combine painted bump map detail with extracted normal map detail to produce a single normal map—even in tangent space.
Enhanced tiling—More easily paint and sculpt tiled detail to create seamlessly repeating textures and maps. Duplicate and Flip—More easily duplicate objects, and optionally flip them to create mirrored versions.
This update is only for those on current subscription, contact us to learn more!
Features:
Gigatexel engine—Create massive amounts of detail—in the range of billions of texels—to help produce highly detailed assets.
Edge hardness, creasing & smoothing support—Import and work with models created in Autodesk® 3ds Max®, Autodesk® Maya® or Autodesk® Softimage® software that contain edges with hardness, creasing, and smoothing data.
Combine Bump and Normal maps—Combine painted bump map detail with extracted normal map detail to produce a single normal map—even in tangent space.
Enhanced tiling—More easily paint and sculpt tiled detail to create seamlessly repeating textures and maps. Duplicate and Flip—More easily duplicate objects, and optionally flip them to create mirrored versions.
3ds max Subscription Advantage Pack 2012: Adobe AE interop, render passes, Activeshade Iray
Courtesy of Ken Pimentel's awesome "Maxed Out' blog! Ken gives us the update on the new advantage pack for 3ds Max 2012! The advatage packs are available to subscription customers only - so contact us to make sure you are current if you aren't already!
Here's the brief overview.
Render Passes/State Sets
We're introducing something called "State Sets" to perform the work of render passes
State Sets in 3ds Max 2012
Render Pass System
Segment your scene for downstream compositing more easily with an entirely new render pass system.
Adobe After Effects Interoperability (Yay!)
3ds Max artists whose creative toolsets include Adobe® After Effects® software can now enjoy a level of interoperability that sets a new standard for 2D/3D data exchange.
ActiveShade Interactive iray Rendering
Experience a truly iterative creative process for finalizing renderings, with new ActiveShade support for the iray® renderer from mental images®.
Enhanced Interoperability with Adobe Photoshop
.NET Exposure of the 3ds Max SDK
Effectively leverage .NET enabled languages (such as C#, F#, IronPython, IronRuby, and Visual Basic .NET)
Here's the brief overview.
Render Passes/State Sets
We're introducing something called "State Sets" to perform the work of render passes
State Sets in 3ds Max 2012
Render Pass System
Segment your scene for downstream compositing more easily with an entirely new render pass system.
Adobe After Effects Interoperability (Yay!)
3ds Max artists whose creative toolsets include Adobe® After Effects® software can now enjoy a level of interoperability that sets a new standard for 2D/3D data exchange.
ActiveShade Interactive iray Rendering
Experience a truly iterative creative process for finalizing renderings, with new ActiveShade support for the iray® renderer from mental images®.
Enhanced Interoperability with Adobe Photoshop
.NET Exposure of the 3ds Max SDK
Effectively leverage .NET enabled languages (such as C#, F#, IronPython, IronRuby, and Visual Basic .NET)
Autodesk Softimage 2012 Advantage Packs for Subscription
The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Softimage® 2012 software delivers practical new production tools for Softimage artists and Technical Directors.
This is only for licenses on subscription! Contact us to learn more. Enjoy!
Features:
Modeling tools—Enjoy new options for thickness, hole capping, edge cutting, and extrusion, together with a new Add Smooth Edge Loop tool.
Selection tools—Create different component selections faster and more easily.
Bullet Physics—Take advantage of enhanced collision detection in ICE (Interactive Creative Environment) and rigid body simulations with newly integrated Bullet Physics.
Animation & scene management—Enjoy improved overall productivity with a number of enhancements that increase efficiency throughout the pipeline.
ICE enhancements—Now customize production and pipelines more easily with the ability to attach and run script code inside ICE Compound Property Pages.
This is only for licenses on subscription! Contact us to learn more. Enjoy!
Features:
Modeling tools—Enjoy new options for thickness, hole capping, edge cutting, and extrusion, together with a new Add Smooth Edge Loop tool.
Selection tools—Create different component selections faster and more easily.
Bullet Physics—Take advantage of enhanced collision detection in ICE (Interactive Creative Environment) and rigid body simulations with newly integrated Bullet Physics.
Animation & scene management—Enjoy improved overall productivity with a number of enhancements that increase efficiency throughout the pipeline.
ICE enhancements—Now customize production and pipelines more easily with the ability to attach and run script code inside ICE Compound Property Pages.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Autodesk Maya 2012 Hotfix 4
Autodesk Maya 2012 Hotfix 4 includes several important fixes, refer to the readme for more information.
Readme: English
Important notes:
- Hotfix #4 includes an update to Maya Composite. You must uninstall your existing Maya Composite before installing this update. Mac and Linux users: the update is included in the Hotfix 4 installer. Windows users: use the separate download below.
- For installation on Mac OS X, if you have newer components on your machine (such as QuickTime or DMM), a warning message may appear at the end of installation indicating a failure. This message indicates a component failure, not a failure of the Maya installation.
- Every hotfix is cumulative; it contains the fixes from the hotfix(es) that preceded it. For example, Hotfix #2 includes the fixes released in Hotfix #1, therefore you do not need to download and install both hotfixes.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Maxon Cinema 4D Release 13 Announced
Next Generation Simplifies Character Animation, Adds Stereographic Capabilities and Physical Rendering.
Today, MAXON announced CINEMA 4D Release 13, the next generation of its industry- leading 3D motion graphics, visual effects, painting, and rendering software application. With all new character tools, integrated stereographic capabilities, stream-lined multi-artist collaboration and physical rendering, CINEMA 4D Release 13 builds on the company’s 25-year legacy of enabling digital content creators around the world to produce highly engaging content quickly and easily for a variety of industries.
As MAXON commemorates its 25-year anniversary and its most successful year to date in 2010, Harald Egel, MAXON founder and CEO, observes that today’s work environments are marked increasingly by designers creating content in remote locations, working on various platforms and production pipelines, as well as producing more 3D stereoscopic material.
Today, MAXON announced CINEMA 4D Release 13, the next generation of its industry- leading 3D motion graphics, visual effects, painting, and rendering software application. With all new character tools, integrated stereographic capabilities, stream-lined multi-artist collaboration and physical rendering, CINEMA 4D Release 13 builds on the company’s 25-year legacy of enabling digital content creators around the world to produce highly engaging content quickly and easily for a variety of industries.
As MAXON commemorates its 25-year anniversary and its most successful year to date in 2010, Harald Egel, MAXON founder and CEO, observes that today’s work environments are marked increasingly by designers creating content in remote locations, working on various platforms and production pipelines, as well as producing more 3D stereoscopic material.
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