Side Effects Software has just announced the Houdini for Mac beta program.
Houdini for Mac is being released, initially, as a closed beta and Side Effects is looking for a group of dedicated Mac artists to provide rigorous real-world testing. If you are interested in testing Houdini for Mac, there is a short questionnaire to fill out here.
A new beta test of CrazyBump (version 8.6) is available to the public.
CrazyBump makes 3D materials from images, using shape recognition. It generates normal, displacement, occlusion, specularity, and diffuse textures.
A video demo can be seen at www.crazybump.com/video
The new beta can be downloaded from www.crazybump.com
Via: CGTalk
The Pixel Farm Ltd. announced yesterday the immediate availability of PFTrack 4.1 Personal Learning Edition (PLE).
The free learning edition of The Pixel Farm’s industry-leading tracking and match-moving application allows students, digital artists and facilities to evaluate, learn and master PFTrack 4.1
The only limitations in PFTrack 4.1 PLE are the ability to export camera and image data. Projects created in PFTrack 4.1 cannot be opened in the retail version, limiting PFTrack 4.1 PLE to non-commercial use.
Via: CGSociety
fryrender vBeta1.9 is out!!!
This is probably the most awaited version of fryrender up to date. The main reason for that is that vBeta1.9 is fully 64-bit ready, meaning that it’s more production-ready than ever.
The most remarkable implication of the 64-bit port is that all the RAM available to your 64-bit CPU/OS will be available to fryrender.
A critical error has recently been identified that prevents the MOTOR (motion retargeting) feature from working. This affects all versions of xsi 6.x.
A patch is available for immediate download from Softimage’s website
Via: 3DM3.com
According to 3DM3.com, Next Limit Technologies has announced the release of an update for Maxwell Render.
Maxwell Render 1.6 and the updated plug-ins are available for download from the usual customer download area. The public release of Maxwell Render 1.6 will take place some days after the client release.
Version 1.6 brings new features and improvements, including the much-anticipated Maxwell Displacement, Instances, multithreading voxelization, new plug-ins, network improvements and more.
Maxwell Render 1.6 also includes a free pack of Dosch Design HDR images, exclusively for Maxwell Render license holders. This HDRI pack will be made available for download soon after the 1.6 release, and all customers will be notified by email.
Pixologic is now offering a 30 day trial version of its flagship digital sculpting and painting application, ZBrush 3.1. The trial version of ZBrush 3.1 (Windows) is a full-featured offering, and it can be downloaded from the Pixologic web site.
“Learning and trial versions of 3D Animation software have always come with lots of limits such as annoying watermarks that blemish the artist’s work,” says Kim Davidson, President and co-founder Side Effects Software. “With Houdini Apprentice HD we have taken away the watermark and put our focus on giving artists, enthusiasts and students the perfect tool for developing personal art and animation on a shoestring budget.”
Houdini Apprentice HD will render still images at any resolution and animations at a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. The new Houdini Apprentice HD uses the same non-commercial file format as Houdini Apprentice and artists can share files between the two versions.
Version 0.9 of Indigo is available for download. Indigo Renderer is a free physically-based ray tracer, available in both 32 bit and 64 bit builds for Windows.
There is an updated Blendigo (the official Blender to Indigo exporter) version available as well.
Via: BlenderNation
The main focus of 3D-Brush is detailing and texturing objects already roughly shaped in another 3D-package. The use of normal mapping as opposed to geometrical splitting allows to considerably increase the editing and object viewing speed. The program contains tools for sculptural modeling, provides for a considerable change of shape, however detailing remains the key function of 3D-Brush.
You can download a trial version and have a look at the full list of features here.