N-Sided announces the launch of its offer for avatars creation
December 22nd 2008  N-Sided® announces the launch of a new offer based on QUIDAM tools and content, dedicated to the needs for avatars of virtual universes and massively multiplayer online games. Known for its high productivity, the 3D character creation software QUIDAM is unique in combining and merging various anatomical elements and clothes into one seamless model. One sole QUIDAM base is capable of creating thousands of unique 3D characters! QUIDAM's features are totally dedicated to personal creation, offering very natural and intuitive methods to sculpt and paint models. One of the most differentiating and recognized advantage of QUIDAM is its use in professional work environments. QUIDAM is the only character generator able to perfectly export multiresolution models with meshes, textures, UV maps, bones and skinning to Maya, 3DS MAX, LightWave, Cinema 4D, Carrara, COLLADA, etc. The perfect bridge to fill Virtual Worlds with great avatars!

DAZ 3D Boosts Performance with Carrara 7.0
Draper, Utah - Dec. 19, 2008 - As the demand for an efficient, feature-rich and cost-effective 3D toolset expands, DAZ 3D™ responds with the release of Carrara 7.0™ , the latest version of its popular all-in-one 3D modeling, animation and rendering solution. Carrara 7.0 boasts a broad set of new, easy-to-use features such as 3D paint, multi-pass rendering and assembly room vertex modeling for professionals, students and hobbyists within multiple industries including digital photography, illustration, creative design and videography.

NewTek Announces Fourth Major Update to LightWave 3D® v9
San Antonio, TX -- February 20, 2008 -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products, today announced LightWave® v9.5, a major update to its award-winning 3D application, LightWave 3D®. LightWave® v9.5 new capabilities include a complete hair and fur solution, new lighting system and many improvements to animation, global illumination, rendering and workflow. The update will be available to registered owners of the LightWave v9 series at no charge. The Light Wave v9.5 Open Beta program is scheduled to begin early March.

Introducing Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction
Havok™, the premier provider of interactive software and services to digital creators in the games and movie industries, today unveiled Havok Cloth™ and Havok Destruction™ at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (ES162, West Hall). Available for the first time in mid-2008, these two products provide artists with dramatically increased control over interactive cloth and destructible objects within games. Built on Havok’s award-winning modular suite of run-time technology and artists tools, Havok Cloth™ and Havok Destruction™ will feature out-of-the-box integration with Havok Physics™ and Havok Animation™, dramatically accelerating the development of cross platform, cutting edge electronic entertainment across all leading game platforms.

DX Studio 2.3 released
Tuesday, February 19,2008 We're pleased to announce a brand new version of DX Studio is now available. There are a lot of new features and improvements, so if you have any compatibility problems with older documents, please send them through to support and we'll make sure they work in a service update this week.You can download the latest version 2.3 now from the following link
http://www.dxstudio.com/download.aspx

messiahStudio 3.0 released
messiah:studio is a powerful animation & rendering software package specifically designed to handle the most demanding character animation & rendering needs.  It has been used in feature films, commercials, games, music videos and print ads since 1999.  messiah can be used as a stand-alone animation package or as a powerful addition to Maya, 3D Studio MAX, LightWave, Cinema 4D or an in-house proprietary application through the Host Connection plugins and Host API .  One of messiah's many unique capabilities includes the ability to set up an animation and, through messiah's host connections, run that animation and use it in any of the host programs messiah can connect to.  The same animation can be used and moved between each software. Maya users love our powerful and easy rigging capabilities, such as the ability to setup custom control rigs with Armature, without having to write MEL scripts.  Another favorite is messiah's "smart bones", that work the way you want immediately, without requiring weight maps (though weighting systems can be used too).

DAZ 3D and Mogware Collaborate to Bring DAZ 3D Content Seamlessly into Game Development Pipelines
SAN FRANCISCO (from GDC 2008)  Feb. 19, 2008  DAZ Productions Inc., a leading developer of professional-quality 3D software and models, today announced collaboration with game content pipeline provider, Mogware, to utilize their automation toolset technology used by leading game developers for moving DAZ 3D content directly into their 3D software or games. MOGBox, which is being shown for the first time at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC), is designed as a time-saving and cost-effective solution for the large tasks of 3D content creation and reformatting. For more information please visit DAZ 3D and Mogware during GDC 2008 in the North Hall, booth 6439.

Adobe Launches Director 11
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Feb. 19, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Director® 11 software, a major upgrade to the company’s powerful multimedia authoring tool for building interactive applications and rich content. The latest release contains a flexible and easy-to-use authoring environment enabling multimedia authors, animators and developers to create powerful interactive applications, games, e-learning and simulation products.

Autodesk Reduces Pricing for Maya Unlimited and Announces Maya 2008 Extension 2
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced reduced pricing for Autodesk Maya Unlimited 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software -- the tool of choice for designers and artists working in film, television and games. Autodesk also announced Maya 2008 Extension 2 software, which provides enhanced creative control over polygon modeling and UV texturing, as well as significant improvements to the Maya Muscle toolset. Maya was recently inducted into the Game Developer Front Line Award Hall of Fame for its outstanding contribution to the game development industry. "The reduced price of Autodesk Maya Unlimited makes its extensive toolset more accessible to new users and existing facilities that want to expand their Maya-based pipelines," said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "More artists can now take advantage of the software's professional tools and advanced workflows to meet demands for captivating content created on shorter deadlines and tighter budgets." Maya Unlimited contains everything offered in Maya Complete software, plus innovations such as Maya Fluid Effects, Maya nCloth, Maya Hair, Maya Fur, and Maya Live. Pricing for Autodesk Maya Complete remains unchanged. The Autodesk suggested retail price of a new license of Maya Unlimited, Standalone has been reduced from US$6,995* to US$4,995*. The Autodesk suggested retail price of a new license of Maya Unlimited, Network has been reduced from US$8,345* to US$6,245*. Maya Complete 2008 customers can now cross-grade to Maya Unlimited 2008 at the reduced Autodesk suggested retail price of US $2,995*. All price changes are effective as of Feb. 18, 2008.

Zevrix Solutions Releases ArtOptimizer 2 for Adobe Illustrator
Monday, February 18, 2008 Zevrix Solutions announces the release of version 2 of ArtOptimizer, its comprehensive solution for reducing the size of images linked to Adobe Illustrator document automatically.ArtOptimizer allows users to save valuable storage space, increase document output speed and reduce production costs by eliminating excessive image data. It's achieved by automatically reducing the size of linked images with an effective resolution higher than the user-defined target resolution. ArtOptimizer opens the images in Photoshop, automatically reduces their resolution, and scales them according to their dimensions in the Illustrator document. ArtOptimizer then reimports the images into the document at 100% in precise position.

Softimage Announces 3Delight Rendering Plug-in for SOFTIMAGE|XSI Software
MONTREAL, February 14, 2008 - Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID), today announced availability of the fully integrated production renderer, 3Delight (DNA Research), for SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® professional 3D modeling, animation, character creation and rendering software. The 3Delight plug-in brings the quality and speed of the 3Delight render engine, as well as the power and flexibility of RenderMan® rendering standards and practices as established by Pixar® to the SOFTIMAGE|XSI user base.

Torque Exporter Now Available For Houdini Apprentice HD
February 14, 2008 – Side Effects Software, an industry leader in 3D Animation software is pleased to announce the Torque exporter for Houdini. Developed by programmers at GarageGames, this exporter will put Houdini’s renowned node-based approach to 3D modeling and animation into the hands of both professional and independent game artists. “Houdini Apprentice HD and the Torque Game Engine make a perfect match.” says Kim Davidson, President, Side Effects Software. “GarageGames recognizes the value in providing low-cost solutions to indie game developers, in the same way Side Effects supports artists and animators with Houdini Apprentice HD.”

Autodesk Launches 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment Software and Introduces 3ds Max Design 2009 for Design Professionals
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At its annual World Press Days event, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced two new versions of its Autodesk 3ds Max modeling, animation and rendering software -- the leading asset creation tool for game development. The company launched Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 software for entertainment professionals, and debuted 3ds Max Design 2009 software, a tailored 3D application for architects, designers and visualization specialists. Both versions of the software offer new rendering capabilities, improved interoperability with industry-standard products including Revit software, as well as additional time-saving animation and mapping workflow tools. 3ds Max Design 2009 further provides lighting simulation and analysis technology.

Apple releases Aperture 2
Tuesday 12 Feb 2008 Apple today introduced Aperture 2, the next major release of its groundbreaking photo editing and management software. Featuring an improved interface, faster browsing, and enhanced image processing, Aperture 2 delivers more than 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use, and more powerful than ever. Thanks to its new low price of $199, anyone can easily organize, edit, and publish photos like a pro. Owners of previous versions of the software can upgrade to Aperture 2 for just $99.

ARTLANTIS offers full radiosity and powerful control of 3D models
Paris, FRANCE, February 12, 2008 The ABVENT Group today announced the release of the latest version of Artlantis Render and Studio, rendering software dedicated to architects, designers and most 3D CAD users. The key new features enhance Artlantis' lighting, photo-realism, rendering quality, user-friendly interface, and creative possibilities.

VRMesh v4.1 released
Seattle WA, February 11th, 2008, VirtualGrid Company announces the availability of VRMesh v4.1, a free-form 3d mesh modeler for point cloud and triangle mesh processing. This release adds some new features to increase the performance of VRMesh for use in civil engineering, and enhances some key features to streamline the process of complete reverse modeling, rapid prototyping, and conceptual design from sketch. First, for civil engineering workflow, the new features in v4.1 include directly importing scan data from different scanner brands, e.g., Riegl, Leica, and Trimble, fully supporting vertex color during the point cloud/mesh processing, accurately decimating/smoothing points in selectable areas to make data files as compact as possible, and generating cross-section curves directly on point clouds.

Microsoft buys 3D company for Virtual Earth
Microsoft has bought Caligari, a developer of 3D modeling software, in a move that could help enrich the graphics experience in Microsoft's Virtual Earth mapping system. Caligari started making 3D modeling and animation software for the Amiga computer in the mid-1980s. Its signature tool, called trueSpace, has a user interface that makes it easy to build complex 3D animations, according to an entry on the Virtual Earth blog on Wednesday announcing the acquisition. Caligari has offices in Mountain View, California, and Slovakia. Its development team will work with the Virtual Earth group, and Caligari's "tightly knit community of beta testers" will stay the same, said Roman Ormandy, founder and CEO of Caligari, in a blog posting. He said the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft.

LightWork Design image competition for LightWorks Users
SHEFFIELD, UK (6 February 2008) - LightWork Design, the world's leading supplier of rendering solutions for developers of advanced 3D computer graphics software, are pleased to announce the launch of their new quarterly LightWorks Image Competition. The Image Competition is open to users of any LightWorks-based application and images may be focused on any market sector or theme. The only criterion is that the image must be created using one of the 80+ software applications which integrates the LightWorks rendering engine. The winner will receive an 8GB Apple iPod touch and the best entries will be featured on the LightWork Design website www.lightworkdesign.com Entries for the first competition must be received by Wednesday 30th April 2008. Further details can be found on the LightWork Design website at www.lightworkdesign.com/image_competition/competition.html

Fume FX: Essentials - Training DVD released!!
After much anticipation the ultimate fume FX training DVD has been released. This DVD covers plenty of material on under
standing and mastering fluid simulations for production. All of this material introduces you to how fluids work and understanding fire, explosions, smoke, heat and fuel and every other bit of Fume FX and fluids in general. A lot of this information can be carried across to Maya fluids as well. Click on the image below to see more information about the product!

MAXON ANNOUNCES "POWER INTEGRATION TOUR" 2008
MAXON, February 5, 2008 - MAXON Computer, the developers of CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D, today announced the 2008 schedule of its highly anticipated Power Integration Tour. The tour is a joint road show with Adobe Systems Incorporated that highlights the ease of integrating MAXON CINEMA 4D 3D software with Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 Production Premium for a powerful 2D/3D cross platform solution. Representatives from both companies will present a range of dynamic visual effects and compelling motion graphics presentations geared to creative professionals seeking to integrate these two industry-leading software applications into film, video, DVD, Web, and mobile devices pipelines. The Power Integration Tour kicked off in seven markets in 2007, drew over 1,500 participants and was deemed an overwhelming success by attendees and industry notables.

MAXWELL RENDER 1.5 OUT NOW
Madrid, Spain, 25 May 2007 - Next Limit Technologies is proud to announce the general release of version 1.5 of Maxwell Render™, The Light Simulator. This wonderful new version of our revolutionary rendering engine comes with new features, many enhance- ments, and a new licensing policy. Many parts of Maxwell Render™ have been improved and re-written. The core Render Engine has seen key enhancements in some of the most important parts. Maxwell Studio and the Maxwell Material Editor have been re-written from scratch. The feature list has been extended and improved, including more innova- tive features for realism and render quality, and new plug-ins. Huge optimizations have been made in memory handling, and the performance, stability and usability have all been enhanced.

New Software

Triple Squid Software Design MoI
MoI (Moment of Inspiration) is a new 3D modeling/CAD program for designers and artists. Offering a blend of precision and freeform drawing tools, it sports a unique user interface that operates seamlessly with a pen tablet (a mouse is also supported).

3D-Coat
3D-Coat offers wide set of retopology tools. It combines many approaches of retopologisation to make it quick and effective. Layers contain depth, color and specular. You can disable or enable any of these channels, put effects on them - extrusion, transparency, contrast, multiplication of depth, additional specular. Paint over UV as easy as paint over 3D-modes. Almost all tools work in uv-plane and in 3D. Paint seamlessly over uv-plane. It is easy to use 3D-Coat to create seampless textures and paint bump. Just go to File->Import image plane.

Geometric 3DPaintBrush
3DPaintBrush is an exciting 3D software that provides near photo-realistic rendering quality for your 3D assets, in real time. With an intuitive user interface and a rich toolset, you can start producing creative images and animations within seconds, with no learning curve and zero programming skills. Import your 3D models from SketchUp, AutoCAD, 3DS, STEP, IGES & OBJ file formats Access millions of models from Google 3D Warehouse, through an inbuilt integration Use 3D content from any OpenGL/DirectX based application Drag and drop material finishes on your models Manipulate material properties Adjust light settings Add backgrounds and environments Combine 3D models of various file formats to create your own custom scene Scale/ Copy/ Paste/ Move/ Show/ Hide/ Delete parts of the 3D model Export as standard image formats (JPG, BMP, PNG, TIFF) Export as 3DS format Create animations for presentations and video tutorials Export as Shockwave Flash for your web based applications Export as SVG format Export as XAML for Microsoft Expressions Blend.

Future Graphics Future Paint 3d Pro
SUMO Paint offers professional and easy to use tools for creating and editing images within a browser. SUMO Paint is a free image editing software that gives you the opportunity to create, edit and comment images online with powerful tools and layer support.SUMO Paint 1.0 will be published in December 2008. There will be also a local version of it. SUMO Paint website and online version will remain free in the future. There are already over 300 000 unique users and the community is growing super fast at the moment. Thank you so much for joining SUMO Paint.

Future Graphics Future Paint 3d Pro
An advanced 3d painting program which utilises the power of modern 3d graphics cards, so that the lighting etc is applied as you paint. There is no waiting for rendering, it is all done in real time. This includes 2 advanced features to make painting easier and simpler : The seamless edge brush, which allows you to painting seamlessly over the inner boundaries of submeshes Stenciling, which helps stop the paint overspilling and painting bits of the model you didnt mean to.

SUMO Paint
FreeDimension is a remarkably intuitive and powerful 3D modeling system for concept design and creative art. The product, based on FreeDesign's patent-pending N-Sided-Surface (NSS) technology, is a radical departure from traditional 3D modeling products. NSS frees designers from the stranglehold that quadrilateral surfacing technologies like NURBS and Bezier surfaces have held on the design world (Read why). In contrast, NSS enables design freedom by allowing users to focus on the curve network of a model - similar to how one would sketch a design on paper. Numerous innovative tools are available to help shape curves and surfaces and to control surface tangency across curves. FreeDesign models are a fraction of the size of CAD counterparts and are ideal for communication and collaboration.

CB Model Pro
CB Model Pro was built around the idea that surfaces should be manipulated directly. The result is a very intuitive and highly productive tool for 3D content creation that seamlessly fits into the production pipeline. CB Model Pro was developed by the creators of Cosmic Blobs, the award-winning entry-level 3D graphics software.

Wildform WildPresenter
Easily create outstanding Flash presentations, product demos, training videos, and sales & marketing materials. WildPresenter combines 8 essential presentation programs into 1 product at an unbeatable price!

Feversoft fryrender
fryrender is a new unbiased renderer that simulates the real behavior of light to produce true-to-life renders with a minimal set of light and material parameters. What makes fryrender different? Beyond its photographic quality, fryrender is able to transform a scene into a Virtual Reality environment that can be experienced in real-time.

paralumino Scrim
Scrim is a lofting plug-in for Electric Image Animation System: With it you can create
a surface between two or more cross-sections that have either the same or a different number of points

Nikon Capture NX
Nikon Capture NX is a full-scale digital-image processing and editing software applica- tion for digital photographers, descended from Nikon Capture.

acdsee Photo Editor
Want to start being creative with your digital photos, but don’t know where to begin? Photo Editor makes photo creativity easy. It teaches you how to get the best results in the shortest number of steps, and gives you the tools and clear instruction you need to turn your digital photos into something special.

paralumino Trestle
Trestle is a simple tool that creates cross-sections inside the Electirc Image Animation System. Its graph editor has numerous sets of options to create and manipulate 2D lines/shapes.