Continue reading »]]>

Unwrella is the new automatic and optimal unwrapping plug-in for Autodesk™ 3D Studio Max™. It was developed for the high demands of graphics designers in real world production environments and provides a fast, simple and reliable unwrapping solution.

It is the first tool of this kind on the market, allowing the unwrapping of 3d models to be done with a single mouse click while simultaneously providing optimal results that combine the minimized texture stretching of automated unwrapping techniques with the efficient space utilization and chunk distribution of UV space that is achieved with manual pelt wrapping methods. This allows users to quickly solve complex tasks like the creation of seamless 3d models, more accurate lightmaps and productive subsequent processing of the UV maps in other 3d applications like ZBrush™ or Mudbox™

Key features

Automatic one-click solution

The manual labor necessary to properly unwrap multiple 3d models during a production takes significant amounts of time. Unwrella replaces this process with the simple application of a modifier to the objects modifier stack. Unwrapping of dozens or even hundreds of objects can be done on the fly and delivers results of optimal quality.
Space efficient

The size of chunks is maximized as much as possible and they are arranged to utilize maximal space on the available UV map. This optimal distribution prevents a significant part of texture memory from being wasted due to padding between chunks.

One-to-one surface to texture ratio

Texture stretching and scaling on surfaces is removed almost completely. Every pixel translates to the same size and aspect ratio on the model surface and creates a uniform visual appearance without reductions in texture sharpness on some areas. Additionally this feature makes texture seams invisible, even under careful inspection.
Versatility

Unwrella consistently delivers quality results with all kinds of 3d models from 3d game objects to industrial designs to complex, irregular organic shapes.

Igor Posavec Graphics Design » Unwrella Plugin: Open Beta Release!

Official Website: http://www.unwrella.com

Incoming search terms:

• 3d unwrap tutorials
• Unwrella MAYA
• unwrapping in 3ds max
• revit 3d models free download
• alembic 3dsmax plugin
• alembic for 3dsmax plugin
• Kinetix 3D Studio Max
• umbrella 3dsmax plugin megaupload
• 3ds max plugins
• unwrella gpl

Continue reading »]]> 3ds Max (formerly 3D Studio MAX) is a full-featured 3D graphics application developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It runs on the Win32 and Win64 platforms. 3ds Max is currently in its eleventh version (as of April 2008) entitled 3ds Max 2009, which adds enhanced support for complex pipelines and workflows.

Early history & Releases

The original 3D Studio product was created for the DOS platform by the Yost Group and published by Autodesk. After 3D Studio Release 4, the product was rewritten for the Windows NT platform, and originally named “3D Studio MAX.” This version was also originally created by the Yost Group. It was released by Kinetix, which was at that time Autodesk’s division of media and entertainment. Autodesk purchased the product at the second release mark of the 3D Studio MAX version and internalized development entirely over the next two releases. Later, the product name was changed to “3ds max” (all lower case) to better comply with the naming conventions of Discreet, a Montreal-based software company which Autodesk had purchased. At release 8, the product was again branded with the Autodesk logo, and the name was again changed to “3ds Max” (upper and lower case). At release 2009, product name changed to “Autodesk 3ds Max”.

Overview

3ds Max is the second most widely-used off the shelf 3D animation program by content creation professionals according to the Roncarelli report. It has strong modeling capabilities, a flexible plugin architecture and a long heritage on the Microsoft Windows platform. It is mostly used by video game developers, TV commercial studios and architectural visualization studios. It is also used for movie effects and movie pre-visualization.

In addition to its modeling and animation tools, the latest version of 3ds Max also features advanced shaders (such as ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering), dynamic simulation, particle systems, radiosity, normal map creation and rendering, global illumination, an intuitive and fully-customizable user interface, and its own scripting language. There is also a plethora of specialized renderer plugins that can be bought separately, such as V-Ray, Brazil r/s , Maxwell Render, and finalRender.

Rendering

• Scanline rendering – The default rendering method in 3DS Max is scanline rendering. Several advanced features have been added to the scanliner over the years, such as global illumination, radiosity, and ray tracing.mental ray
• mental ray is a production quality renderer integrated into the later versions of MAX, and is a powerful rendering tool, with bucket rendering, a technique that distributes the rendering burden between several computers efficiently. The 3ds Max version of mental ray also comes with a set of tools that allow a myriad of effects to be created with relative ease.
• RenderMan – A third party connection tool to RenderMan pipelines is also available for those that need to integrate Max into Renderman render farms.
• V-Ray – A third-party render engine plug-in for 3D Studio MAX. It is widely used, frequently substituting the standard and mental ray renderers which are included bundled with 3ds Max. V-Ray continues to be compatible with older versions of 3ds Max.
• Brazil R/S – A third-party high-quality photorealistic rendering system created by SplutterFish, LLC capable of fast ray tracing and global illumination.
• FinalRender – Another third-party raytracing render engine created by Cebas. Capable of simulating a wide range of real-world physical phenomena.
• Maxwell Render – A third-party photorealistic rendering system created by Next Limit Technologies providing robust materials and highly accurate unbiased rendering.

Features

• MAXScript – MAXScript is a built-in scripting language, and can be used to automate repetitive tasks, combine existing functionality in new ways, develop new tools and user interfaces and much more. Plugin modules can be created entirely in MAXscript.
• Character Studio – Character Studio was a plugin which since version 4 of Max is now integrated in 3D Studio Max helping user to animate virtual characters. The system works using a character rig or “Biped” which is pre-made and allows the user to adjust the rig to fit the character they will be animating. Dedicated curve editors and motion capture data import tools make Character Studio ideal for character animation. “Biped” objects have other useful features that automated the production of walk cycles and movement paths, as well as secondary motion.
• Scene Explorer – Scene Explorer, a tool that provides a hierarchical view of scene data and analysis, facilitates working with more complex scenes. Scene Explorer has the ability to sort, filter, and search a scene by any object type or property (including metadata). Added in 3ds Max 2008, it was the first component to facilitate DotNet managed code in 3ds Max outside of MAXScript.
• DWG Import – 3ds Max supports both import and linking of DWG files. Improved memory management in 3ds Max 2008 enables larger scenes to be imported with multiple objects.
• Texture Assignment/Editing – 3ds Max offers operations for creative texture and planar mapping, including tiling, mirroring, decals, angle, rotate, blur, UV stretching, and relaxation; Remove Distortion; Preserve UV; and UV template image export. The texture workflow includes the ability to combine an unlimited number of textures, a material/map browser with support for drag-and-drop assignment, and hierarchies with thumbnails. UV workflow features include Pelt mapping, which defines custom seams and enables users to unfold UVs according to those seams; copy/paste materials, maps and colors; and access to quick mapping types (box, cylindrical, spherical).General Keyframing
• Two keying modes—set key and auto key—offer support for different keyframing workflows. Fast and intuitive controls for keyframing—including cut, copy, and paste—let the user create animations with ease. Animation trajectories may be viewed and edited directly in the viewport.
• Constrained Animation – Objects can be animated along curves with controls for alignment, banking, velocity, smoothness, and looping, and along surfaces with controls for alignment. Weight path-controlled animation between multiple curves, and animate the weight. Objects can be constrained to animate with other objects in many ways—including look at, orientation in different coordinate spaces, and linking at different points in time. These constraints also support animated weighting between more than one target.
  • All resulting constrained animation can be collapsed into standard keyframes for further editing.
• Skinning – Either the Skin or Physique modifier may be used to achieve precise control of skeletal deformation, so the character deforms smoothly as joints are moved, even in the most challenging areas, such as shoulders. Skin deformation can be controlled using direct vertex weights, volumes of vertices defined by envelopes, or both.
  • Capabilities such as weight tables, paintable weights, and saving and loading of weights offer easy editing and proximity-based transfer between models, providing the accuracy and flexibility needed for complicated characters.
  • The rigid bind skinning option is useful for animating low-polygon models or as a diagnostic tool for regular skeleton animation.
  • Additional modifiers, such as Skin Wrap and Skin Morph, can be used to drive meshes with other meshes and make targeted weighting adjustments in tricky areas.
• Skeletons and Inverse Kinematics (IK) – Characters can be rigged with custom skeletons using 3ds Max bones, IK solvers, and rigging tools.
  • All animation tools—including expressions, scripts, list controllers, and wiring—can be used along with a set of utilities specific to bones to build rigs of any structure and with custom controls, so animators see only the UI necessary to get their characters animated.
  • Four plug-in IK solvers ship with 3ds Max: history-independent solver, history-dependent solver, limb solver, and spline IK solver. These powerful solvers reduce the time it takes to create high-quality character animation. The history-independent solver delivers smooth blending between IK and FK animation and uses preferred angles to give animators more control over the positioning of affected bones.
  • The history-dependent solver can solve within joint limits and is used for machine-like animation. IK limb is a lightweight two-bone solver, optimized for real-time interactivity, ideal for working with a character arm or leg. Spline IK solver provides a flexible animation system with nodes that can be moved anywhere in 3D space. It allows for efficient animation of skeletal chains, such as a character’s spine or tail, and includes easy-to-use twist and roll controls.
• Integrated Cloth Solver – In addition to reactor’s cloth modifier, 3ds Max software has an integrated cloth-simulation engine that enables the user to turn almost any 3D object into clothing, or build garments from scratch. Collision solving is fast and accurate even in complex simulations.
  • Local simulation lets artists drape cloth in real time to set up an initial clothing state before setting animation keys.
  • Cloth simulations can be used in conjunction with other 3ds Max dynamic forces, such as Space Warps. Multiple independent cloth systems can be animated with their own objects and forces. Cloth deformation data can be cached to the hard drive to allow for nondestructive iterations and to improve playback performance.
• Integration with Autodesk Vault – Autodesk Vault plug-in, which ships with 3ds Max, consolidates users’ 3ds Max assets in a single location, enabling them to automatically track files and manage work in progress. Users can easily and safely share, find, and reuse 3ds Max (and design) assets in a large-scale production or visualization environment.

More Information

• Developed by Autodesk Inc.
• Latest release 2009 (11.0) / April 2008
• OS Windows (2000, XP or Vista)
• Type 3D computer graphics
• License Proprietary
• Website www.autodesk.com/3dsmax
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3ds_Max

Continue reading »]]> Commercial 3D Software

3DS Max – Autodesk

• Originally called 3D Studio MAX. 3ds Max is used in many industries that utilize 3D graphics. It is used in the video game industry for developing models and creating cinema cut-scenes. It is used in architectural visualizations because it is highly compatible with AutoCAD–also developed by Autodesk. Additionally 3ds Max is used in film production, one contemporary film being Kaena: The Prophecy. With its price of around $3500 USD, it is one of the more expensive products in the market for this type of work. 3ds Max is available for Windows.

AC3D – Inivis

• AC3Dis another 3D modeling application that began in the 90′s on the Amiga platform. While it is used in a number of industries, MathWorks actively recommends it in many of their aerospace related articles due to price and compatibility. Additionally it is the first commercial 3D modeler to integrate full support for exporting models to the metaverse platform Second Life. AC3D is priced in the range of $79 USD and is available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. While AC3D does not feature its own renderer, it can generate output files for both RenderMan and POV-Ray among others.

Cinema 4D – MAXON

• Cinema 4D (MAXON) is a slightly lighter package than the others in its basic configuration. The software is claimed to be artist-friendly, and is designed with the less-technical user in mind. It has a lower initial entry cost due to a modular a-la-carte design for purchasing additional functions as users need them. For example, a module called BodyPaint allows artists to draw textures directly onto the surface of models. Originally developed for the Commodore Amiga, it is also available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.

EIAS - EI Technology Group

• Electric Image Animation System (EI Technology Group) is a 3D animation and rendering package available on both Mac OS X and Windows. Mostly known for its rendering quality and rendering speed it does not include a built-in modeler. EIAS features the ability to handle very large polygon counts. Recently, the blockbuster film “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and the Television hit “Lost” utilized the software. Priced about $795.00 USD.

Form-Z – autodessys, Inc.

• form-Z (autodessys, Inc.) is a general purpose solid/surface 3D modeler. Its primary usage is modeling, and it also features rendering and animation support. form-Z claims users involved in architecture, interior design, illustration, product design, and set design. Its default renderer uses the LightWorks rendering engine for raytracing and radiosity. form-Z also supports Plugins and Scripts and has rendering support via Next Limit’s Maxwell Renderer. It has Import/Export capabilities and was first released in 1991. It is currently available for both Mac OS X and Windows. The price for this software ranges from $1495-$2390USD based on output quality.
• Houdini (Side Effects Software) is used for visual effects, and character animation as well as used in Disney’s The Wild[5]. Houdini uses a nonstandard interface that it refers to as a “NODE system”. Commercial licenses of Houdini include unlimited copies of Side Effects Software’s hybrid micropolygon-raytracer renderer, Mantra, but Houdini also has built-in support for commercial renderers like Pixar’s RenderMan and mental ray. There are two versions of Houdini, Houdini Escape ($1,995 USD) and Houdini Master ($7,995 USD). For non-commercial users, Side Effects Software offers the free Houdini Apprentice personal learning edition, which places a small watermark on images, and Houdini Apprentice HD, a $99 USD package that does not watermark renders.
• LightWave 3D (NewTek), first developed for the Amiga, was originally bundled as part of the Video Toaster package and entered the market as a low cost way for TV production companies to create quality CG for their programming. It first gained public attention with its use in the TV series “Babylon 5″. Contemporary use in TV and movie production can be seen with the 2004 recreated Battlestar Galactica series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the film 300 (film). It is priced at $795 USD and is available for both Windows and Mac OS X.
• LightWorks (LightWorkDesign) develops the LightWorks and LightWorks SE high quality 3D rendering toolkit predominantly used in Mechanical, Configuration and Architectural CAD applications. LightWorks has traditionally used ray tracing and radiosity algorithms, but more recently has incorporated Final gather and Global illumination algorithms. LightWorks is currently available for both Mac OS X and Windows on 32 and 64bit.
• Massive is a 3D animation system for generating crowd-related visual effects, targeted for use in film and television. Originally developed for controlling the large-scale CGI battles in the Lord of the Rings[10], Massive Software has become an industry standard for digital crowd control in high end animation. Recently, the software has been utilized for blockbuster feature films including Happy Feet, King Kong, and I, Robot. It is available for various Unix and Linux platforms as well as Windows.
• Maya (Autodesk) is currently used in the film and television industry. Maya has a high learning curve but has developed over the years into an application platform in and of itself through extendability via its MEL programming language. A common alternative to using the default built in rendering system named mental ray is Pixar’s Renderman. In 2005, Autodesk (makers of AutoCAD), acquired Alias–the original creator of Maya[11]. Maya comes in two versions: Maya Complete ($1999 USD) and Maya Unlimited ($6999 USD). There is also Maya Personal Learning Edition, which is for non-commercial use and puts watermarks on any rendered images.
• Modo (Luxology) is a subdivision modeling, texturing and rendering tool with support for camera motion and morphs / blendshapes. It is priced in the area of 895$ USD and is available for both Windows and Mac OS X.
• Relux Professional (Relux Informatik AG) is a basic modeling and rendering tool mostly used in the light planning industry. The physically correct renderings are based on photometric data and performed by an in-house radiosity engine. This tool is free of charge and allows access to photometric data of around 70 lighting manufacturers. A raytracer plug-in called “Vision” is also available and is priced at 405 Euro.
• Silo (Nevercenter) is a subdivision-surface modeler available for Mac OS X and Windows, with a Linux version in development. Silo does not include a renderer and is priced in the area of $109 USD. Silo is the bundled in modeler for the Electric Image Animation System suite.
• SketchUp Pro (Google) is a 3D modeling package that features a sketch-based modeling approach. It has a pro version which supports 2-D and 3-D model export functions among other features, which is currently priced at $495 USD. It also has a free version that is integrated with Google Earth and limits export to Google’s “3D Warehouse”, where users can share their content.
• Softimage|XSI (Avid) is feature-similar to Maya and is sold as a completive alternative. Prior to its acquisition by Avid, Softimage originally promoted the program (under the name Softimage 3D) for use in the video game industry and secured its promotion as part of the Nintendo N64 SDK. The newer Softimage XSI has additional features and integrates with mental ray rendering.
• solidThinking (solidThinking Ltd) is a 3D solid/surface modeling and rendering software which features a Construction Tree method of development. This is explained as the history of the model construction process allowes real-time updates when modifications are made to points, curves, parameters or entire objects. solidThinking is available in four versions: MODELER, MODELER XL, DESIGN, and VANTAGE.
• SolidWorks (SolidWorks Corporation) is a series of packages used mainly for virtual testing of a product. It includes modeling, assembly, drawing, sheetmetal, weldments, and freeform surfacing. It also has support for custom programming/scripting in Visual Basic and C. The licenses/packages are SolidWorks, SolidWorks Office, SolidWorks Office Professional, SolidWorks Office Premium, SolidWorks Student Design Kit, SolidWorks Education Edition, and SolidWorks Student Edition.
• trueSpace (Caligari Corporation) is another 3D program available for Windows, although the company Caligari first found its start on the Amiga platform. trueSpace features modeling, animation, 3D-painting, and rendering capabilities. It is priced in the range of $199 USD for Version 5.2 through $595 USD for Version 7 TrueSpace is now available for free download.
• ViewBuildUSA (VEC3D) is a 3D software package built on a gaming platform used primarily for modeling architecture.
• Vue 6 (E-on Software) Vue 6 is a tool for creating, animating and rendering natural 3D environments. It was most recently used to create the background jungle environments in the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean films.
• ZBrush (Pixologic) is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting tool available for Mac OS X and Windows. It is priced at $489 USD.

Free Open Source

Blender (Blender Foundation)

• 

  Blender is a free, open-source, 3D studio for animation, modeling, rendering, and texturing offering a feature set comparable to high end and mid range 3D animation suites such as Maya, 3ds Max, or Cinema 4D. It includes features such as multi-resolution sculpting; retopology painting. Additionally it supports 3D view texture painting; stack based modifier system; flexible particle system with particle based hair; cloth/soft body dynamics, rigid body dynamics and fluid simulation; node based texturing and node based compositing; an integrated non linear video editor; and integrated game engine. Blender is developed under the GPL and is available on all major platforms including Windows, OS X, Linux, BSD, Sun and Irix. It is currently the only 3D animation suite that is supported both on super computers as well as handheld computers such as the Pocket PC (Pocket Blender).

Incoming search terms:

• print inurl:/joyful cgi
• inurl:/post asp alembics
• 3d studio logo
• colonised inurl:/guest cgi?handle=
• abstaining inurl:/read cgi?board=
• gepetto 3ds max
• intitle:computer support inurl:blog leave comment
• maya11 bonus tools