Rayfire Beta to Support 64bit PhysX

The new beta of MirVadim’s Rayfire plugin will support the new 64bit PhysX engine!  I’m very excited about the future of PhysX and what will be possible using it within 3DS Max!

Learn more about the beta here.

Learn more about new Nvidia PhysX here.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on January 20, 2010 at 3:11 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Prime Focus Deadline V4.0 Coming Soon…

Prime Focus is nearing a release date for the highly anticipated update to its render management software Deadline. The new release promises improved Mac OS support and an Iphone App.  All of us here at DK will be looking forward to it!

Click here for more info.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on at 2:58 pm, filed under Uncategorized and tagged . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Boomerlabs Updates Max2AE

Boomerlabs has updated the popular Max2AE plugin for 3ds Max to v3.5. It now supports 3ds Max 2010 and After Effects CS4. This is a long awaited update to an outstanding tool.

Read the full press release here.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on January 19, 2010 at 3:28 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks everyone, for supporting cgpov.com throughout 2009! Next year is going to be even better!!! -chad

This entry was written by smashley, posted on December 26, 2009 at 1:53 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Meinbender Amazing 3D Claymation

I just had to post this.  I think this is some of the best character work I’ve seen in a long time.  Swedish animation company Meinbender created a series of ID’s for Cartoon Network.  They are not only beautifully rendered, but the motion will have you wondering how the hell they did that in 3D.   According to their site, they use the Maxwell render engine.  Nice look!  Hopefully we’ll see some behind the scenes stuff from them. (links lifted from motionographer…thanks)

The Duplicators
Evolution
Audition
It´s Magic
Push The Button

This entry was written by smashley, posted on December 19, 2009 at 4:48 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

MR Tutorial - Studio Lighting Prt 2

Here is part two of my studio lighting series.  This one covers how to render you items over a completely white background and the second half shows you how to render out your own fully spherical hdr studio light images for future use.  The next installment will cover how to up the photo-realness by adding imperfections to your sky portals.  Enjoy!

This entry was written by smashley, posted on December 13, 2009 at 2:03 pm, filed under tutorial and tagged , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Autodesk Plans to Re-Structure Max

Ken Pimentel talks a bit about the re-structuring of 3DS Max in his latest blog post.  “We decided that for 3ds Max to remain relevant for the next 20 years, we’d have to restructure a substantial portion of it.”

I’ve heard rumors and whispers about this “re-structuring”.  From what I’ve been told, it sounds very exciting.  I’m hoping that Autodesk releases more info soon…for now, read Ken’s post here.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on December 6, 2009 at 9:40 pm, filed under news. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

dk/cgpov Speaking @ 3December!

3december-530x87

Digital Kitchen Chicago Speaking @ Autodesk 3December Event This Thursday!

Speakers: Chad Ashley (3D Creative Lead and cgpov.com creator)  & Amador Valenzuela (3D Designer / DigitalBlackbook.com)

Behind the Scenes Look at 4 dk projects involving Autodesk 3DS Max followed by Q&A.
Plus dk t-shirt giveaway!

Starts at 5:30 PM at Flashpoint Academy, downtown Chicago.

Flashpoint Academy 28 N Clark St Chicago, IL 60602

Details and RSVP at http://3december.eventbrite.com/

This entry was written by smashley, posted on December 1, 2009 at 3:57 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

MR Tutorial - Studio Lighting Prt 1

Here is a quick tutorial showing a simple way to achieve studio quality lighting in Mental Ray.  It will be the first in a series of installments.  Next up…I’ll show a quick trick on how to create studio light hdr’s from your skyportal lights.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on November 29, 2009 at 12:30 am, filed under tutorial. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

PSoft Pencil Plus - Great Toon Renders

mainimage

Thanks to Shane Griffith at Autodesk for this great tip.  We were looking around for a way to create robust toon shading in 3DS Max.  One that is comparable to the Sketch and Toon function in C4D.  He tipped me off to PSoft’s Pencil and Liquid plugins.  I had never heard of them before, so I thought I’d pass that tip along to all of you.  I’ve only just begun to play with the demo and already I’m sold.  The control you get on the line is insane.  Download the demo (there is no annoying registration, although there is a ridiculous watermark).  Shane said that this plug is used a ton in Japan on Anime films.  It’s easy to to see why.  Check it out here.

This entry was written by smashley, posted on November 21, 2009 at 2:24 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

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