A new public beta of CrazyBump is available.
CrazyBump is a tool which uses image recognition to bake normal and displacement maps from 2D source textures. It has been in testing at major studios for over a year, and is now in public beta testing.
More information is available at crazybump.com
This new beta test adds multi-threading and SSE support, along with other performance improvements.
Full release notes are available here
MAXON, October 1, 2007 - MAXON today released a dramatically enhanced version of its CINEMA 4D software. Sporting a wealth of new features added to the core CINEMA 4D program, the update also takes in a number of enhancements that have been made to CINEMA 4D’s optional modules. Chief among these are new tools for MOCCA and MoGraph, plus major enhancements to HAIR.
One highlight is the new DWG import filter. CINEMA 4D users now have access to one of the most widely used CAD exchange formats on the market. AutoCAD versions 13 to 2008 are supported, including layers, blocks and references. A further boost to file exchange for customers in the architectural field is the new connection to Allplan 2008, which guarantees loss-free transfer from CINEMA 4D R10.5.
Read the rest of the enhancements here.
CrazyBump Beta Test version 4.8 is now released to the public.
CrazyBump is a tool for creating bumpmaps using 2D assets. Beta 4.8 introduces a new “Fake Occlusion” tool, for creating fake occlusion maps using 2D assets.
Beta test 4.8 is available for download at www.crazybump.com
Side Effects Software announced the release of Houdini 9. The new version is available for Download and includes a new artist-friendly user interface, python support, fluid dynamics, rendering enhancements and new character tools.
“The reaction to Houdini 9 has been overwhelming and many of our customers have already started to work with it in production”, said Kim Davidson, President and CEO of Side Effects. “The Fluid Dynamics has been particularly popular and we look forward to seeing how our customers use this new feature in their upcoming projects.”
Avid Technology has announced SOFTIMAGE XSI 6.5 with new features and price tag. Also, XSI Essentials now includes features previously available only in XSI Advanced, like Fur, Hair and Syflex Cloth Simulation. Click the image to see the full list of enhancements.
Blender is a great FREE 3D program. Have a look at its features here.
Blender 2.45 is the latest release from the Blender Foundation. To download it, click the image above.
VideoTrace: Rapid interactive scene modelling from video
VideoTrace is a system for interactively generating realistic 3D models of objects from video—models that might be inserted into a video game, a simulation environment, or another video sequence. The user interacts with VideoTrace by tracing the shape of the object to be modelled over one or more frames of the video. By interpreting the sketch drawn by the user in light of 3D information obtained from computer vision techniques, a small number of simple 2D interactions can be used to generate a realistic 3D model.
Luxology® LLC announced the immediate availability of modo® 301, the newest version of its award-winning, artist-friendly 3D content creation software. Available for both Mac OSX and Windows, modo 301 is a milestone release that features new sculpting and item animation, as well as extensive improvements to its modeling, painting and rendering toolsets.