CGTalk - CG News http://forums.cgsociety.org CGTalk, the CGSociety's official forum for digital artists 120 en-us <![CDATA[Imagi closing down, owes back pay to 350 laid off employees]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=852454 Posted By: hypercube
Post Time: 02-09-2010 at 10:38 PM
Text:

Didn't see a new thread on this yet. Sad to hear. I didn't know Astro Boy did so poorly.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209...g_imagi_studios

]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:38:07 +0000 <![CDATA["The Zoo" Procedural Assets & Zookeeper 1.2 Released]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=852257 Posted By: Michael McCarthy
Post Time: 02-09-2010 at 12:35 PM
Text:


Hello Everyone,

We have been working hard on bringing you yet another milestone in the Zookeeper project, it is called The Zoo. The Zoo is a web repository of many different procedural templates and assets for use in your scenes through Zookeeper. It is now freely available to all of our current and future customers!



The Zoo is the reason why over the past few weeks we have been concentrating development towards templates and their functionality within Zookeeper. We believe this to be an important feature which could save our customers hours of hard work through readily available parametric highly functional scene asset. Go over them, check out the video, and see for yourself! http://zoo.ephere.com



Zookeeper 1.2 (now available) boasts a myriad of improvements and additions over 1.1. Some of these include GUI improvements while the majority are improvements related to templates. To make sure that all users get to try The Zoo with Zookeeper's template features we have removed restrictions for template scene nodes. Demo version of Zookeeper can now import templates from the web the same way fully commercial version does, however, you still need to have the full version to look inside the generated composite nodes. The node limit has also been increased to 10 nodes.

We are planning on growing The Zoo service with new content constantly so check up often and let us know what you think! This is just one of the ways we would like to show our commitment to the Zookeeper project.

If you are interested in Zookeeper please let us know! You can purchase a commercial license before March 15'th at a discounted rate (20% off).

Zookeeper:
http://www.ephere.com/plugins/autodesk/max/zookeeper
The Zoo:
http://zoo.ephere.com

Thanks a bunch
Michael McCarthy]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:35:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Hair Farm is now availible]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=852222 Posted By: pluMmet
Post Time: 02-09-2010 at 09:30 AM
Text:

I just got this email:

We are happy to inform you that the long awaited hair plugin for 3ds Max is finally available for everyone to enjoy! The full version of Hair Farm has been released today (February 8th, 2009). You can purchase Hair Farm following the links on www.hair-farm.com.

Details of Hair Farm license options and prices can be found on the same web site.

The full version of Hair Farm has numerous improvements over the demo version you had a chance to test drive earlier. Among these improvements you will find various stability updates, usability improvements and even new tools!

We are proud to finally present you Hair Farm, the ultimate hair software! We are looking forward to the amazing work you are sure to create with this powerful tool and hope to welcome you to the Hair Farm online community soon!

So bring on the hair creations




]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:30:42 +0000 <![CDATA['Secret Agent' Animation Award :: Tutorial]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=852122 Posted By: PaulHellard
Post Time: 02-09-2010 at 04:23 AM
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Hey there,

Richard Spriggs presents a tutorial of the creation of 'The Runner', the winner of the Best Animation Award in the CGSociety CGChallenge XXIV 'Secret Agent'. Thanks to Richard for his thorough detailing of the process. Click the image.


]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:23:51 +0000 <![CDATA[mbFeatherTools 2.0]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=852056 Posted By: Squizmek
Post Time: 02-08-2010 at 09:48 PM
Text:




Hi all,
I am proud to announce the release of mbFeatherTools 2.0

mbFeatherTools is a production proven plugin for Autodesk Softimage which features styling, animation and simulation of bird feathers.
Feel free to download the 2.0 demo which includes 3 scenes.


Features :
New Features in 2.0:
  • Plane-to-Plane Intercollision (also referred to as Self-Collision)
  • Realistic wind resistance
  • Uniform Distance Constraint
  • Intercollision options inside setup node to reduce initial intersections
  • Stiff Spring option for faster previews and animation

  • Quick setup with a single button
  • Unlimited amount of styling controls
  • Styling is saved per vertex (CAV map)
  • Works on any polygon mesh
  • Automated creation and attachment of control objects to the animated mesh
  • 3 different distribution methods:Random, Per Poly, Shrinkwrap
  • Shrinkwrap placement allows exact positioning of each single feather
  • Realtime playback of the simulation with direct response to user's actions
  • Customizable and extendible with the ICE tree
  • Color can be controlled with a Texture Map
  • "Goal" controls allow easy animation of folding wing feathers
  • Symmetric styling and animation (new in 1.10)
  • Global feather alignment (new in 1.10)
  • Soft collisions (new in 1.10)



You can watch some videos showing off the tools on the website or on vimeo:
Watch the new 2.0 features video
Watch the feature tour
Bouncing balls example
Applying feathers to a bird
Tutorial - How to export an ICE simulation

]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:48:14 +0000 <![CDATA[RenderPal V2 2.4 released]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=851985 Posted By: brainspoon
Post Time: 02-08-2010 at 06:07 PM
Text:

A new milestone of RenderPal V2 has been released, bringing it to version 2.4.0. It features
a totally new, highly adanved renderer system, as well as plenty of other new features and
improvements:

As already mentioned, the most important new feature is the new renderer system. Every aspect
of a renderer can now be defined, from its supported parameters, to how the passed commandline
should be compiled. All this is done through a handy, easy to use graphical editor built right
into RenderPal V2.

Chunk reporting has also been greatly improved in this release. The history of a net job chunk
is now a true event log, showing all events of a chunk, from errors to other information that is
helpful when managing net jobs.

When editing multiple net jobs, it is now possible to select the setting groups which should be
applied, leaving all other groups untouched. This way, you can edit specific settings of a number
of net jobs in one batch.

This version also introduces the possibility to set a maximum number of render attempts for net job
chunks. If this maximum is reached, the chunk will no longer be picked up for rendering, and the
render farm won't try to render that "bad chunk" again and again.

There are also numerous smaller additions and improvements (and several important bug fixes),
like OS-specific path map entries, flood protection for renderer output, improved automatic net job
cleanup, many Python improvements, new options how the GUI should be minimized and much more.
You will also notice many user interface improvements, especially when using themes under Windows.

For full details about this version, general information about RenderPal V2, screenshots as well as
a free trial version, visit our website at:

http://www.renderpal.com]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:07:54 +0000 <![CDATA[World of Percy Jackson Explored]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=851942 Posted By: vplis
Post Time: 02-08-2010 at 04:25 PM
Text:

STOP SPAMMING OUR SITE WITH YOUR STUFF. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO BAN YOU PEOPLE BEFORE YOU GET THE HINT??!! - admin]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:25:06 +0000 <![CDATA[This years Autodesk Masters announced!]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=851639 Posted By: mattfest
Post Time: 02-07-2010 at 03:48 PM
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I'm a bit surprised that no one has posted this yet (maybe i missed it), but this years Autodesk Maya, 3DSmax and Softimage MASTERS have been announced over at http://area.autodesk.com/masters

Some very inspiring work. Congratulations to all the new masters!]]> Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:48:08 +0000 <![CDATA[Robotech Genesis web series trailer]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=851508 Posted By: AlexMMeyer
Post Time: 02-07-2010 at 03:07 AM
Text:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSTBQlL7LK4]]> Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:07:46 +0000 <![CDATA[CityEngine Demo Suite during GDC 2010]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=851035 Posted By: Procedural
Post Time: 02-05-2010 at 04:42 PM
Text:



If you are going to San Francisco...

We will visit the Game Developer Conference (GDC) March 8th-13th in wonderful San Francisco. On this occasion, we would like to invite you for a meeting in our suite in the Courtyard San Francisco Downtown. There we will serve you with jaw-dropping cocktails and heart-stopping CityEngine demos (both as many as you can take).

Sign up for your free spot: CityEngine Demo Suite]]> Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:42:02 +0000 <![CDATA[Realtime Ray Tracer - Version 0.8 available!]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=850949 Posted By: Numenus
Post Time: 02-05-2010 at 01:23 PM
Text:

In a former Thread (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthr...20&page=1&pp=15) we told you about our Realtime Ray Tracing renderer Augenblick.
Then, it has been a bit quite around us lately. However, that´s not related to laziness. In fact we have been quite diligent. Finally, after working hard and fixing a lot of bugs, Version 0.8 is now available. Most important to mention is, that we implemented a global illumination lighting system. Currently it is not fully functional yet, but we wanted to give you the chance for a sneak preview. The final GI solution will be a lot faster.
Just go on our Website, http://www.numenus.de/index_en.html, and download the new Version of the MMV.
Tell us what you liked and also what you not liked so far. We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts how Augenblick could be improved and extended.

Best regards,
The NUMENUS Team]]> Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:23:47 +0000 <![CDATA[TexTools 3.0 released]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=850785 Posted By: renderhjs
Post Time: 02-05-2010 at 03:12 AM
Text:

What?
A 3dsMax maxScript package shaped into a Photoshop alike toolbar that covers a lot of things for texture artists. One of the key benefits is that you can install it anywhere and almost at any max packages (9+) without the need of administrative rights or script installation knowledge.
Oh and its free!, free to use and free to modify, improve or copy into your own scripting stuff no encrypted stuff.

Homepage:
http://renderhjs.net/textools/

Youtube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_li...D7878B0B79B344E

download link:
TexTools_3.00.mzp



For a quick overview and introduction of what is possible head over to the website:
http://renderhjs.net/textools/
And have a look at the small tool animations. Although the website itself is not yet updated it will get some big updates this weekend explaining and featuring the new tools of 3.0 as well.

Installation:
Just drag the MZP file into your viewport and install it from there. Files will be copied to your userpace folder so you don't need admin rights for this and you also don't need to restart max in order to use it.

Usage
In general its best to always work on editable poly base objects as some of the tools rely on it for certain calculations, but most of it should work as well on other object types such as primitives or mesh objects.
Multi Object unwrapping is supported for many tools but not all of them so sticking with just 1 object selected works better as well. Click on the help button in the toolbar to get an overview of all tools and what they do.]]> Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:12:32 +0000 <![CDATA[Digital-Tutors Highlights January's New Releases and Top Titles]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=850689 Posted By: Digital-Tutors
Post Time: 02-04-2010 at 08:08 PM
Text:

Hello everyone,

We know how busy life can be. That's why we are providing you with an overview of January’s newest releases so you don’t miss out on any of our latest training.

The Digital-Tutors Team


Cinema 4D



Modeling Interiors in Cinema 4D

Modeling for Product Visualization in Cinema 4D


Maya



Introduction to Maya Fur
*Most Popular

Advanced Maya Fur Menus


Design and Art



Fundamentals of Digital Drawing
*Artist Favorite

Fundamentals of Perspective Drawing


Nuke



Rotoscoping Techniques in Nuke

Introduction to 3D in Nuke


Softimage



mental ray Rendering Workflows in Softimage: Final Gather

mental ray Rendering Workflows in Softimage: Global Illumination


After Effects



Introduction to Rotoscoping in After Effects


Fusion



Introduction to Rotoscoping in Fusion

Available for Annual Subscribers Immediately

Available for Monthly and Semi-Annual Subscribers Throughout February

http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/pricing.php]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:08:09 +0000 <![CDATA[FREE Class - Designing and Compositing a HUD]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=850647 Posted By: kurv
Post Time: 02-04-2010 at 04:58 PM
Text:



Free Class: Designing and Compositing a HUD (After Effects)

Dave Scotland has over 11 years production knowledge and experience, working for some of the biggest clients in the entertainment industry. These include Disney, Warner Bros, Plastic Wax and Liquid Animation. He started out as a 3D Animator and Technical Director, then moved into the world of Compositing, Digital Visual Effects and Motion Graphics.

Dave is bringing his 10 years of experience to you through KURV studios here FREE.

The purpose of this class is to familiarize students with the principles and processes involved in designing a Heads-Up-Display (HUD), through the use of graphical elements and motion graphics, composited onto a live background plate.

At the conclusion of the session, and with further practice, students will be able to;

• Perform a shot analysis and breakdown, based on a reference image, to ascertain the requirements of the final composited shot.

• Create a compositing project in After Effects utilizing the correct resolution and frame rates required for the shot.

• Correctly import the various, pre-tracked, plate footage into the project.

• Create the correct layer order within the composition including layer styles and adjustment layers.

• Design and create various graphical elements and motion graphics in the style of a HUD.

• Create nested pre-compositions for the purpose of change-friendly editing and industry best-practice operations.

• Incorporate various layer effects, layer colour adjustments, for the purpose of added realism.

• Add final adjustment layers to the master composition and send the composition to the After Effects renderer for final rendering.

Resources/Equipment:
Screen Capture Software, Pre-tracked plate footage files, Reference image for breakdown, Example After Effects file for students to follow Webinar (both start and finished files) and for practice task.

PRICE - SPACE:
This FREE class is limited to 900 viewers so don't delay, register now!

HOW TO REGISTER:
Click register, and fill out needed information.]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:58:17 +0000 <![CDATA[ILWUG - Interview with Rob Powers on Avatar]]> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=850508 Posted By: kurv
Post Time: 02-04-2010 at 04:55 AM
Text:



Rob Powers has been flexing his CG muscles for years now on feature films or for TV. You may have seen Rob in 2005 as he worked closely with Microsoft, AMD, and NewTek to produce the first all 64-bit Windows animation in history for Bill Gates’ Keynote for the Windows 64-bit OS launch.

In June 2005, Robert was asked by James Cameron to be the first 3D artist hired for the “Avatar” feature film project. Working closely with James Cameron and the core design team Robert provided 3D concept and motion studies of key character, creature, and environmental assets for the film. Later Robert’s role evolved and he created and supervised the first ever “Virtual Art Department” for the film. As Supervisor of the Avatar Virtual Art Department he and his team developed all real-time environmental assets for the production, and developed numerous innovative “Virtual” workflow techniques and tools that defined the process.

Robert continued his efforts as Virtual Art Department Supervisor on the Peter Jackson / Steven Spielberg animated feature film “TinTin” where he organized and built a team in Los Angeles and worked in New Zealand with the Weta Digital Team.

These days, as you can imagine, Rob is a hard guy to get a hold of but we have secured two hours of his time for a interview about his work on Avatar.

This is a interactive interview as we will have time to allow you to ask Rob questions.

PRICE / SPACE:
Space is limited to 900 people and this Interview is presented FREE

REGISTRATION:
Click register, and fill out needed information.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/737831387]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:55:34 +0000