Computer Graphics World articles from October 2008

Computer Graphics World archives from October 2008

A new way to learn.(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... The world is getting smaller. How many times have we heard that phrase iterated? Without question, we have become a global society, thanks to the latest technological developments that connect people and nations, and keep us connected in...

LightWave 9.5 improves hair, animation, rendering.(PRODUCT: MODELING-ANIMATION)(NewTek)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... NewTek released LightWave 9.5 for Windows, which, with major improvements to the hair and fur, animation, lighting, rendering, and workflow, representa major update to the 3D modeling and animation software. Among the new capabilities is...

Luxology shows off nexus rendering technology.(PRODUCT: ANIMATION)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In recent years Luxology's Modo, a unique modeling program, has garnered a lot of attention. But at SIGGRAPH 2008, the focus was on the company's Nexus rendering technology, as the company demonstrated Nexus 4, the newest version of the...

SIGGRAPH 2008.(SPOTLIGHT: your resource for products, user applications, news, and market research)
October 1, 2008... Vendors released interesting product information at SIGGRAPH 2008. In the next few issues, we will be highlighting this news in both our Product Spotlight and Back Products sections. You can also obtain information from our Web site at...

Procedural ships urban modeling tool.(PRODUCT: MODELING)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Procedural, a newly formed software company, debuted its unique procedural modeling solution, CityEngine, which is now shipping. The urban-modeling tool enables users to model entire cities as much as 10 times faster than with previous...

AutoDesSys grows BonZai 3D.(PRODUCT: MODELING)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... AutoDesSys, makers of FormZ, a general-purpose solid and surface modeling software, has unveiled an addition to its 3D software line: BonZai. A new 3D modeler, BonZai was developed to fill the demand for a quick, easy, geometrically robust...

Autodesk updates product lines.(PRODUCT: MODELING-ANIMATION)
October 1, 2008... Autodesk celebrated the 10th anniversary of Maya by introducing Maya 2009, which includes a number of advancements in modeling, animation, rendering, and effects that maximize productivity and optimize workflow. The company also unveiled new...

Maxon raises bar with Cinema 4D R11.(PRODUCT: MODELING-ANIMATION)(Maxon Computer Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maxon Computer unveiled Cinema 4D Release 11 (R11), the next generation of its 3D animation software suite, which offers non-linear animation, a boost in rendering speed and quality, reengineered global illumination...

Preserving the past.(USER FOCUS: PANORAMAS)
October 1, 2008... Around the world, there are certain places or structures--natural or manmade--of overwhelming cultural or aesthetic value to the common heritage of humanity. The Great Wall of China. The Statue of Liberty. The Taj Mahal. The Historic Centre of...

Formal modeling grammars.(Viewpoint MODELING)(Viewpoint essay)
October 1, 2008... The sheer complexity of trees, plants, or cities makes it impossible to model those structures manually for computer graphics applications. To reproduce the rich structure of such formations, procedural techniques are used, most of which are...

Home is where the art is: PDI/Dreamworks uses smart techniques to create a wacky feature animation.(CGI)(Cover story)
October 1, 2008... The last time we saw the wacky zoosters in DreamWorks' feature animation Madagascar, they were still looking for a way back to their cushy life in the Central Park Zoo after an accidental trip to the island of Madagascar. In the sequel,...

Evolutionary chain: spore makes a primordial splash with groundbreaking modeling and animation techniques.(Gaming)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For Chris Hecker. a technology fellow in Electronic Arts' Maxis Studio (Emeryville, California), developing the game Spore was like being chosen to construct the Sistine Chapel alongside the industry's best and...

Invaluable input: industry professionals offer advice on selecting the optimal input device.(Hardware)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Input devices, although often overlooked, are integral to the digital content creation process and vital tools for today's professional. A great deal of careful consideration is put into selecting the optimal...

Rogue actors: Tippett Studio creates two con men in the form of a rat and an iguana for Beverly Hills Chihuahua.(Animal Modeling)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you were to dismiss Disney's family comedy Beverly Hills Chihuahua as just another film starring real animals with digital lip-synching, you would fall for the con. Although it's true that most of the dogs in the...

Portfolio.
October 1, 2008... Each year the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival takes on a certain tone, or spirit, and this year's event was no different. Joyful. Funny. Sweet. Silly. Those are but a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe the 2008 juried...

Taking the initiative: a nonprofit group with university roots is working to get students everywhere immersed in learning.(Knowledge & Career)
October 1, 2008... To the thousands of K-12 and higher-ed institutions already using immersive education applications, it might sound like old news to hear that the technology's time has come. But it has, for thousands upon thousands more schools that have yet to...

Motion graphics: glowing introduction.(SOFTWARE)(Red Giant Software L.L.C.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Red Giant Software, publisher of Knoll Light Factory and Trapcode, has expanded its line of professional digital video products with Radium Glow. A set of three software plug-ins, Radium Glow provides advanced edge controls, built-in masking,...

Morphs and textures: Daz 3D's Victoria 4 Elite.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Daz 3D has unveiled the Elite series of add-on morphs and textures for its fourth-generation Millennium Figure, Victoria. The Elite series is comprised of skin textures, body shapes, and poses, and is available via the company's Human Data...

Motion capture: Xsens Moven update.(SOFTWARE)(Xsens Technologies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Xsens Technologies, maker of the Moven motion-capture system, has upgraded its Moven Studio motion-capture software. Moven Studio enables users to record, play back, and edit motion-captured data, as well as to export it to industry-standard...

Color calibration: JVC display device.(SOFTWARE)(Victor Company of Japan Ltd.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... JVC has introduced new Monitor Calibration Software, enabling professionals to customize the color temperature, gamma curves, and luminance levels of their DT-V monitors. Free to owners of JVC's 17-, 20-, and 24-inch DT-V professional monitors,...

Animation: 2D/3D dimension.(SOFTWARE)(Toon Boom Technologies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Toon Boom Animation has developed a 2D/3D integration module for its Toon Boom Harmony and Digital Pro software. The optional module expands the feature sets of Toon Boom Harmony and Digital Pro to deliver a single, integrated production...

Multimedia: PolyTrans for Adobe Director.(SOFTWARE)(Okino Computer Graphics Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Okino Computer Graphics' updated PolyTrans for Adobe Director plug-in system is compatible with the latest edition of Adobe Director multimedia-authoring software, Version 11. The native Xtra plug-in for Director Versions 8.5 through 11 enables...

Storage: Fusion F2 with 1TB.(HARDWARE)(Sonnet Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Sonnet Technologies, maker of storage solutions for film, video, and broadcast, has unveiled a 1TB version of its Fusion F2 portable, two-drive RAID SATA storage system. The 1T8 Fusion F2 features two 2.5-inch drives mounted side by side in a...

Workstation: HP Quad-Core.(HARDWARE)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Hewlett-Packard has introduced the HP xw4550 workstation equipped with AMD's Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. Well suited to digital content creation, engineering, government, and education professionals, the HP xw4550 boasts an integrated ATI...