FurryBall is the first unique real-time GPU renderer in production quality implemented directly into Maya. No more time-consuming exports, waiting and tuning in new applications!!
You can see your render in real-time with bumpmaps, textures, soft shadows, reflections and refractions,ambient occlusion and color bleeding, depth of field and many other features directly in Maya viewport. No more waiting for render! FurryBall is about 30-300x TIMES faster than CPU renderers on regular Graphics card.
AAA Studio announced the FurryBall version 1.3 is now available
New features in version 1.3
* Support for Maya 2011
* Texture and alpha mask for hair system - perfect for vegetation
* 1bit Alpha masking in all supported Maya shaders
* Planar mirrors with surface normals and bump maps
* User editable HUD labels via python script
* Support for Displacement Bound attributes directly from Maya
Related links:
furryball.aaa-studio.cz
Nvidia has recently uploaded APEX related presentation called “APEX : Creating scalable immersive game environments” from their SIGGRAPH 2010 sponsored sessions list.
Usual overview of APEX framework and current modules (like Destruction and Clothing), which are already familiar to us from past GDC10 and SIGGRAPH09 sessions, is followed by topic never described in detail previously – Scalability and LOD features inside APEX (starts at 32:55).
In general, it’s devided into two components – scalable parameters for each of the modules (like number of particles or cloth vertices), that can be adjusted during authoring to fit into platform computing capabilities..
..and dynamic LOD system, that manages resources destribution between actors and modules, based on current situation and resources budget (for example, clothing on character closer to the camera will be simulated with higher fidelity).
Now, as we know almost everything about APEX, we just need to wait until it will be released to public (standalone, or integrated into popular engines like UE3).
So Here We GO!
Related links:
fullviewmedia.com
physxinfo.com
project name: Five-star Igalo Hotel
project location: Igalo, Montenegro
project date: 2010
client: Vyonyx Architecture
Vyonyx gets a honorable mention in a competition among 38 teams to design a five-star hotel in Igalo, Montenegro. Below are some of the visuals they created for their submission. More information about the project will be available soon in the Vyonyx Architecture section
CG RECORD will have an exclusive interview with Vyonyx team next week. So make sure you do not miss
Related links:
vyonyx.com
Today E-on announced the winners of the Vue 3D Environment Competition 2010.
Competition Winner
Promenade by Laurent Rodriguez
First Runner Up
Over The Clouds by Oliver Regueiro
Second Runner Up
Rock and Clouds At Sunrise by Barry Malarcher
Complete Document | Competition Finalists
Related links:
e-onsoftware.com
Today, The Gnomon Workshop announces the second DVD title from acclaimed filmmaker Aristomenis (Meni) Tsirbas. This DVD, titled Camera Fundamentals for Layout: Digital Cinematography, provides a unique insight into the world of digital cinematography, cameras and staging, from the unique vantage point of the director. Meni breaks down one of his award-winning short films, dissecting sequences, demonstrating a wide range of concepts, including camera motion, zoom factor, and depth of field. He also addresses what is commonly referred to as the “digital curse” in relation to creating polished and realistic camera animations. This DVD will prove invaluable to any artist looking to give their shots and animations a professional look.
"Meni is a unique film-maker because he knows how to do everything on a project. He’s a true auteur, and that’s what allows him to use everything that’s necessary to creatively push a project and combine all the elements to tell the most concise and clear visual story possible."
Shane Acker
Academy Award Nominated director and animator “9″
| DVD Description: |
| Instructor Bio: Aristomenis (Meni) Tsirbas has been directing for film and TV for over ten years and has fifteen years experience as a visual effects supervisor and digital artist. His professional career started in 1996, working as a digital artist on James Cameron’s Titanic and national advertising spots for Nike, 7UP and Coca-Cola. As a visual effects supervisor Meni worked on Miramax’s A Wrinkle in Time, Disney’s My Favorite Martian and Paramount’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Between 2000 and 2003 Tsirbas wrote and directed a string of highly successful animated short films including SIGGRAPH’s Ray Tracey in Full Tilt, Microsoft’s Mech Warrior: Vengeance, Terra, and the acclaimed The Freak. In 2004 Tsirbas worked on two back-to-back music videos, including Tears For Fears’ Closest Thing To Heaven, before setting off to direct his first feature film, Battle for Terra. |
CHECK IT HERE!
Related links:
thegnomonworkshop.com
Evermotion is on Siggraph 2010 If you'll be on Siggraph - You should invite to visit their booth, to check new products and presentation, and to get some free gadgets and 3D models. By visiting the trinity booth (114) you can also see the two new training dvds teasers which will be available this fall.
Evermotion Archviz Training DVD
Evermotion is prepareing a new training dvd which will include:
MODELING AND TEXTURING - MATERIAL SETUP - ANIMATION - LIGHT SETUP - POST PRODUCTION - RENDERING IN V-RAY
COMING FALL 2010
Evermotion FX training DVD
This dvd will include :
Concept art and Design - Modelig and Texturing - Rayfire use - FumeFX use - Particle Flow - Animating textures - Rendering using V-ray.
COMING FALL 2010
Related links:
evermotion.org
From the show floor at Casual Connect, Autodesk's Mary Beth Haggerty talks with David Helgason, CEO of Unity 3D. Learn how Autodesk software works with the Unity Engine for 3D casual game development
Related links:
usa.autodesk.com
From Michael Bay's Blog we can see some new Videos of the Transformers 3 behind the scenes in Chicago
>>> Michael Bay to Film TF3 at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Related links:
michaelbay.com
This collection consists of more than 30 types of grass and field plants. Including 15 preconfigured scenes which are specially designed to work with MultiScatter to enhance your photorealistic environments and save your time. The models can be also used separately without MultiScatter. Ready scenes support 3DS Max 2009 and higher, required MultiScatter. Models support 3DS Max 9 and higher.
Download PDF:
http://mentalscatter.com/docs/iGrass-2.pdf
http://mentalscatter.com/docs/iPlants-Grass-1.pdf
DOWNLOAD HERE!
Related links:
rendering.ru
http://mentalscatter.com/docs/iPlants-Grass-1.pdf
DOWNLOAD HERE!
Related links:
rendering.ru
With the latest release of Eyeon's Fusion 6.1 Compositing Software, GPU based 3d compositing has never been so important. This new training video takes you through an entire car commercial project shot utilizing the latest GPU accelerated compositing techniques. Real time reflections and shadows help take compositing speeds to their fastest ever when working in a client driven environment.
Fusion 6.1 accelerates from the starting line with astounding GPU optimizations, local file caches and particle solution caching. The creative horizon expands with new tools for managing grain, color correction and handling metadata. Scripters will rejoice at the inclusion of native python support, and everyone benefits from the many enhancements to particles.
Quick overview of what will be covered.
Shading the Car
We will start by importing a 3d car model. This model is split up into different parts so that they can be shaded individually. The hull will be coloured by a bright shiny yellow shader while other parts will be shaded to look like chrome or black rubber.
Mesh Displacement
To give the car an environment we will start building up a terrain. Using fast noise as a base for the topology we will start to carve a landscape into the mesh of a plane.
Speed Control via Expressions
If we were animating the car to drive at great speeds we would need to build a lot of environment. To prevent that we animate the terrain instead. Via some simple expressions we will build a controller to adjust the speed the landscape is moving by.
Green Field Approach
Now that we have setup the terrain we also have to create a shader that corresponds to the environment we want to create. Adjusting the color of the fast noise is only one part, more detail in the ground is created through a bump map and adjustments in the falloff.
Constructing a Road
We also need a road where the car can drive on. Using a simple text tool as a simple trick to create a doted center line we will also merge this shader with our terrain shader.
Particle Vegetation
The landscape still comes across a bit bare - what is missing? Vegetation. Using fusions particle system we will populate the terrain with different trees and brush. It is important that the trees sit on our hilly mesh and that they don't grow on the road.
Shading the Car
We will start by importing a 3d car model. This model is split up into different parts so that they can be shaded individually. The hull will be coloured by a bright shiny yellow shader while other parts will be shaded to look like chrome or black rubber.
Mesh Displacement
To give the car an environment we will start building up a terrain. Using fast noise as a base for the topology we will start to carve a landscape into the mesh of a plane.
Speed Control via Expressions
If we were animating the car to drive at great speeds we would need to build a lot of environment. To prevent that we animate the terrain instead. Via some simple expressions we will build a controller to adjust the speed the landscape is moving by.
Green Field Approach
Now that we have setup the terrain we also have to create a shader that corresponds to the environment we want to create. Adjusting the color of the fast noise is only one part, more detail in the ground is created through a bump map and adjustments in the falloff.
Constructing a Road
We also need a road where the car can drive on. Using a simple text tool as a simple trick to create a doted center line we will also merge this shader with our terrain shader.
Particle Vegetation
The landscape still comes across a bit bare - what is missing? Vegetation. Using fusions particle system we will populate the terrain with different trees and brush. It is important that the trees sit on our hilly mesh and that they don't grow on the road.
Particle Control
Now that we have trees in our environment. It is important that they move along at the same speed as the terrain. Also their particle lifespan can be a lot shorter as the speed of the terrain increases. This is a measure to keep performance up and will be handled through expressions to our main speed controller.
Sky Dome
To complete the environment we have to give our scene a sky. Using the day sky tool we will create a slightly murky sunset that will cover our sky dome and create a great atmosphere enhancing the whole scene.
Reflection Map
Having completed our virtual environment we will go back to adjust our car shaders. Since they are nice and shiny we want them to reflect our environment. This will be achieved by setting up a camera rig capturing 360 degrees of our scene from the position of the car, a complete environment map.
Blurring the Wheels
Often it can be tricky to get the right amount of motion blur on the wheels (very long render times). Here is a little cheat that can create an effective mock up at least for some situations.
Lights & Renderers
Now to complete the setup we are going to add some lights to the scene. We are also going to set up separate lights to light the car. In fact we are going to split up the render into different parts so that we still have an easy option to correct colours and or add effects.
About the Author
Derk started his career as a graphic designer for vintage merchandising products. Not being solely interested in pub signs, he shifted his focus to moving image and visual effects while studying visual communication in Aachen (Germany) and Birmingham. For the past four years he has delivered creative solutions for various corporate and independent projects. His expertise lies in the field of motion graphics and compositing. For more information on Derk, please contacted cmiVFX.
Related links:
cmivfx.com/
Now that we have trees in our environment. It is important that they move along at the same speed as the terrain. Also their particle lifespan can be a lot shorter as the speed of the terrain increases. This is a measure to keep performance up and will be handled through expressions to our main speed controller.
Sky Dome
To complete the environment we have to give our scene a sky. Using the day sky tool we will create a slightly murky sunset that will cover our sky dome and create a great atmosphere enhancing the whole scene.
Reflection Map
Having completed our virtual environment we will go back to adjust our car shaders. Since they are nice and shiny we want them to reflect our environment. This will be achieved by setting up a camera rig capturing 360 degrees of our scene from the position of the car, a complete environment map.
Blurring the Wheels
Often it can be tricky to get the right amount of motion blur on the wheels (very long render times). Here is a little cheat that can create an effective mock up at least for some situations.
Lights & Renderers
Now to complete the setup we are going to add some lights to the scene. We are also going to set up separate lights to light the car. In fact we are going to split up the render into different parts so that we still have an easy option to correct colours and or add effects.
About the Author
Derk started his career as a graphic designer for vintage merchandising products. Not being solely interested in pub signs, he shifted his focus to moving image and visual effects while studying visual communication in Aachen (Germany) and Birmingham. For the past four years he has delivered creative solutions for various corporate and independent projects. His expertise lies in the field of motion graphics and compositing. For more information on Derk, please contacted cmiVFX.
Related links:
cmivfx.com/
Don Seegmiller's Fundamentals of Digital Painting workshop is designed for the beginning digital painter. There seems to be a lack of good basic instruction when it comes to digital painting therefore this workshop hopes to fill that lack of instruction and give the beginning digital painter a good foundation for their own future work.
About Instructors
Don Seegmiller has been painting professionally for over 25 years and has travelled extensively, demonstrating Metacreations Painter 6 for the many of the major trade shows. His work is featured in the Painter 6, 7, 8, and IX Wow Books, Step by Step Electronic Design, Design Graphics, and both Spectrum 7 and 8. e of Painter IX, featured both on the Corel web site and in the Painter IX manual.
Since the spring of 1995, Don has been teaching figure drawing at Brigham Young University for both the Fine Art Department and the Graphics Department where he continues to teach senior level Illustration courses, traditional head painting, figure drawing, and digital painting for the Department of Visual Design. Don also joined the staff of Saffire Corporation were he was the art director for six years.
Don has authored a number of books, including "Digital Character Design and Painting" released in 2003. In 2004 Don wrote a revised edition of the afore mentioned book for the Photoshop user as well as co-authoring the book “Mastering Digital 2D and 3D Art” published by Thompson Course Technology books.
Don has also been a regular speaker at the Game Developers Conference for the past eight years. From 2002 to 2005, Don presented full day tutorials on character design, digital painting, with bits of creativity thrown in for good measure. He was keynote speaker for the Association of American Medical Illustrators at their national convention in the summer of 2003 and he was invited back to do a workshop for the illustrators for the 2004 convention.
While his work has been represented by many major art galleries, the majority of Don’s traditional work is handled by Wadle Galleries Ltd. of Santa Fe.
Here you go!
Related links:
workshops.cgsociety.org
seegmillerart.com
Check out the Siggraph 2010 Animation Festival Awards
The Light of Life
Cours Toujours
Assassin’s Creed 2
IBM Commercial Data Transportation
AMF Catterpillar
Barclaycard Rollercoaster TV Advert
The Kinematograph
Tanqueray “3 Glasses”
Guinness World
UPS Store: Gladiator
Nuit Blanche
The Wonder Hospital
*Best Student Project Prize*
and the awards
BEST IN SHOW AWARD
Loom
(Germany)
Directed by Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letay
The Making of "Loom"
TUESDAY, 27 JULY | 2 - 3:30 pm | Room 406 AB
"Loom" tells the story of a moth being drowned in one of nature's complex cycles. It was the final project of Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letay at the Filmakademie Baden Württemberg, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction. Production time, including story development and preproduction, was one year.
Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Best Animated Short Film" Academy Award®. The film "French Roast" became an Academy nominee in the Best Animated Short category after winning Best in Show at last year's festival.
JURY AWARD
Poppy
(New Zealand)
Directed by James Cunningham
The Making of "Poppy"
TUESDAY, 27 JULY | 2 - 3:30 pm | Room 406 AB
"Poppy" is an independent short set on France's western front in World War One. Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines. They find a baby in a muddy ditch, under its dead parents. One of the men wants to save it, the other does not. Based on true events, "Poppy" was written by the great-grandson of one of these soldiers. An innovative combination of motion capture with exquisite facial animation.
BEST STUDENT PROJECT PRIZE
The Wonder Hospital
(USA)
Directed by Beomsik Shimbe Shim, California Institute of the Arts
The Making of "The Wonder Hospital"
WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY | 2 - 3:30 pm | Room 406 AB
In this student project, a girl enters a mysterious hospital that alters her way of seeing beauty. She is given a choice between two images of her face, "Before" and "After". As she continues on this illusionary journey, she realizes that beauty is something very different from what she expected.
Related links:
cgchannel.com
siggraph.org
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