Autodesk Seek indexes and categorises content from a wide variety of sources including data from content aggregator partners, your product libraries, and existing Revit and AutoCAD building product libraries. Once found, design files can be easily dropped directly into a building model or drawing, reducing the need to recreate individual components in the design. This embedded search functionality is now available in the 2009 U.S versions of Autodesk’s Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP, as well as AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP.

As a manufacturer of building products, you can become a valued participant in the Autodesk Seek community, which strives to provide a forum for designers to communicate with each other, share design files and take advantage of the wealth of product information consolidated from manufacturers in a single online source.

With Autodesk Seek, you can reach your target audience by making your building products visible to the millions of highly motivated Autodesk Revit® and AutoCAD® designers who can specify your products directly into their BIM models or drawings.

Visit  http://seek.autodesk.com.

The company will focus on driving awareness and adoption of conscientious building practices among developers and contractors by delivering solutions that help in making its implementation easier and more efficient. The announcement was made at a press conference held yesterday (September 9, 2008) at ‘The Monarch Hotel’ Dubai, where Ahmad Al Jassim, Country Manager, Autodesk, Middle East; Louis Khoury, Industry Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, Middle East; and Christian Rust, AEC Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, EMEA Emerging, highlighted the industry-leading Autodesk Revit solutions and Autodesk 2009 portfolio.

The UAE is witnessing the rise of many innovative and landmark projects, which have adopted sustainable design principles in line with the directive issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. At present, there are over 70 buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi awaiting green building certifications, which is a clear indication of the industry’s steady movement towards the total adoption of green building guidelines. A part of Autodesk’s strategy in further driving the awareness for sustainable design is highlighting the outstanding benefits of its solutions, which enable architects and developers to minimise water and electricity usage thereby leading to significant savings for property developers over the long term and the lessened production of harmful pollutants.

Speaking at the press conference, Christian Rust, AEC Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, EMEA Emerging, said, “As the largest construction market in the region, we have identified the UAE as a strategic location to launch our region-wide campaign to encourage the adoption of sustainable design principles in the construction sector. Amidst the growing popularity of sustainability principles, regional and international property developers are seeking advice on green building compliance, which presents us with a perfect opportunity to disseminate vital information. Additionally, our collaboration with the world’s leading architects, engineers, and product designers to develop our Revit solutions and the Autodesk 2009 portfolio attests to our commitment to ethical construction strategies for a cleaner and healthier environment.”

Recent industry statistics show that a building in the UAE uses up to an average of 30,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, 70 per cent of which is allocated for air conditioning. According to Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), a structure constructed in accordance to sustainable principles can achieve energy savings of up to 50 per cent, bringing significant cost cutbacks for property developers. By utilising Autodesk’s building design software, which has been purpose-built for building information modeling (BIM), developers can further benefit from a multitude of technologies that will ensure a significant reduction in time, resources and costs necessary to create truly sustainable buildings.

“The fact that green buildings increase the property asset value for developers and its many advantages in the environmental front are the two main focuses of our efforts to bring our Revit solutions to a larger number of developers across the region. Our goal is to help customers incorporate sustainable design principles into their practice, thereby increasing their energy efficiency while facilitating a more accurate evaluation of their project’s lifecycles,” concluded Louis Khoury, Industry Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, Middle East.

Autodesk is committed to driving awareness and adoption of sustainable design through public and private partnerships with organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council and Integrated Energy Solutions.  Autodesk also provides technology, education and support for initiatives that inform and promote innovations that address current and future sustainable design challenges. This involves an active role in spearheading programs such as the ‘Autodesk – Enterprise Gold Program’ for corporate businesses, which offer Autodesk experts’ personalized attention, higher ROI and productivity of software investments, and access to an elevated level of technical support, which can aid organizations attain their business needs as well as their sustainability goals.

albawaba.com middle east news information::Autodesk launches sustainable design campaign within AED 812 billion UAE construction industry

The Happening

The Third Floor, a Los Angeles-based digital studio, used Autodesk Maya 3D modeling software and Autodesk MotionBuilder character animation software to craft several of The Happening’s signature moments. The film’s car crash and lion attack scenes were pre-visualized in Maya. This enabled director M. Night Shyamalan to approve the intent of performances and camerawork in advance of filming.

“Autodesk Maya is our directors’ sandbox,” said The Third Floor CEO Chris Edwards. “It allows us to create anything our clients can imagine.”

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Using Maya and MotionBuilder, The Third Floor also designed and pre-visualized three major sequences for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: the River God, Lucy’s Dream and the End Battle. This process allowed The Third Floor to stage the action and propose alternative shot ideas to director Andrew Adamson, adding further depth and detail to the story.

Hancock

Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI) completed over 500 shots in Hancock using Maya and the Autodesk Flame visual effects system. “Major sequences such as the Hollywood Fight, the Hospital Battle and the SUV Chase couldn’t have been created without Maya and Flame,” said SPI senior visual effects artist Todd Mesher. “Their creative tools and interactivity make them key to our digital pipeline.”

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Visual effects studio Frantic Films VFX served as a visual effects provider for the stereoscopic feature film Journey to the Center of the Earth. In addition to designing a custom character pipeline for the film, Frantic Films VFX also built a stereoscopic pipeline. These pipelines included Autodesk software, used to produce more than 180 shots. All animation and lighting was created with Autodesk 3ds Max 3D animation software, which was also used extensively in the ocean sequences. In addition, Autodesk Mudbox software was used to sculpt creatures.

“Once again, 3ds Max software’s power and flexibility were indispensable,” said Frantic Films VFX visual effects supervisor Chris Harvey. “The software’s scriptability made it the backbone of our digital pipeline. As well, we forged new ground in creature animation and were extremely happy with the software’s performance.”

Digital Color Grading at EFILM

Numerous films were completed by EFILM, using its EWORKS system for the digital intermediate. The EWORKS system consists of a proprietary configuration of Autodesk Lustre and Autodesk Incinerator technology. Films included Horton Hears a Who, The Ruins, Nim’s Island, Sex and the City, Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, What Happens in Vegas, Red Belt, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted and Get Smart.

Leading visual effects and animation facilities continued the tradition of relying on Autodesk technology to deliver the majority of Hollywood blockbusters released this summer, including:

• Get Smart: DIGIT did the majority of compositing work with Flame and Autodesk Combustion desktop compositing software. In addition, DIGIT built all the 3D parachutes in Maya.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Industrial Light & Magic completed 540 shots (48 minutes of screen time) with Maya and the Autodesk Inferno system as part of its proprietary Sabre system. Maya was used for modeling, creature development and particle work.

• Iron Man: Industrial Light & Magic completed 410 shots with Maya and Inferno as part of its Sabre system.
• Kung Fu Panda: DreamWorks used Maya and Lustre.
• Meet Dave: CIS Hollywood completed 163 shots for the film, with approximately one-third of the film composited with Inferno. Using Maya and MotionBuilder, The Third Floor pre-visualized five sequences that involved elaborate interaction between the aliens and the real world.
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Digital Domain used Maya extensively to animate the emperor in his changing liquid-solid state. The company also incorporated Maya nCloth when creating the Foundation Army’s flags and desiccated clothing. Rhythm & Hues used Mudbox to model dragons, Nion and Yeti.
• The Incredible Hulk: Rhythm and Hues completed 234 shots, using Maya and Mudbox extensively for modeling both the Hulk and the Abomination characters. Maya was also used to model vehicles and objects.
• Tropic Thunder: CIS Vancouver used Maya, Inferno and Flame. CIS Hollywood primarily used Maya, along with 3ds Max, Inferno and Flame.
• X-Files: I Want to Believe: Entity FX supervised almost 400 visual effects shots, which included the use of Inferno and Maya. A large portion of the work involved radically altering shot environments through digital weather effects, such as photorealistic, computer-generated snow.

Original article

The 16,500-square-foot Gallery, located at One Market Street, is the first space in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to the spirit of design innovation, with 20 exhibits including the California Academy of Sciences, Ford Shelby GT500, Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge seismic retrofit. The space is intended as a location where designers can discuss the latest in technology and be inspired by others’ work.

“The Autodesk Gallery showcases the work of our customers from across a number of industries, including architects, engineers, manufacturers, film makers, video game developers and artists,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk president and CEO. “The exhibits encourage rich conversations about the latest design software and provide an ideal environment for industry collaboration.”

The Gallery is also intended to become a meeting space for the design industry. “The Autodesk Gallery is an inspiring space where we can also interact with the community-schools, industry groups and local and visiting designers,” said Bass. The Autodesk Gallery will be open to the public on the first Wednesday of each month from 1 to 5 p.m. beginning October 1st, 2008.

Designed to achieve a LEED-Commercial Interiors Platinum certification rating, the space takes green interior design to the highest level and includes daylight and views, recycled material, certified renewable lumber, local manufacturing and renewable energy.

Design News - Autodesk Gallery at One Market Opens in San Francisco - TAXI Design Network

Just in time for the Back to School season, Autodesk has redesigned its Student Engineering and Design Community website with a new look and feel that is more closely aligned with other popular social networking sites frequented by students. The enhanced Student Community offers several new features and benefits to more than 350,000 students and educators.

“Having access to free software in the Autodesk Student Community is crucial for future professional designers,” said Roland Cernat, winner of the Industrial Design category of the Student Design Challenge and the Sustainable Design Grand Prize. “The broad range of programs available in the community gives me the opportunity to easily try out and choose the programs that best match my needs. As an industrial design student I use Autodesk AliasStudio software, and while learning the curriculum, the community was the primary place I went to get help, stay up-to-date and much more. The community has been vital in giving me the right tools and guidance to be prepared for the requirements of my future job.”

“We developed a large portion of the redesign and new features based on our members’ input. We created the Student Community to provide students with the vital tools and information they need to learn the design process and be successful in their careers. Educators benefit by having access to our software, curriculum and faculty-only forum and discussion groups,” said Paul Mailhot, director of worldwide education programs at Autodesk. “This redesign comes on the heels of many recent milestones for Autodesk Education, including the global “Build Something” student design contest, the launch of the China Student Community, and the release of our new Autodesk VEX Robotics curriculum.”
Since September 2006, the Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community has attracted members from more than 16,600 schools in 137 countries, Over 350,000 members have downloaded approximately 650,000 copies of Autodesk’s award-winning 3D design software solutions.

Partner Offers Student Editions of Software

Recognizing the momentum and impact of the Autodesk Student Community, software partner RISA Technologies is joining the initiative by providing the next generation of design and engineering professionals with student editions of their products free of charge.
When members visit the Learning and Tutorials section of the online community, they can find software and related learning tools. For example, RISA Technologies offers free student versions of RISA-3D and RISAFloor structural engineering software applications for analysis and design.

About Autodesk Education

Autodesk supports students and educators by providing powerful 2D and 3D design software, innovative programs and resources designed to inspire the next generation of professionals to experience their ideas before they’re real. By supporting educators to advance design education and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills, Autodesk is helping prepare students for future academic and career success. Autodesk supports schools and institutions of higher learning worldwide through substantial discounts, subscriptions, grant programs, training, curricula development and community resources. For more information about Autodesk education programs and solutions, visit www.autodesk.com/education.

Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community is Redesigned

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today launched Autodesk Mudbox 2009 software for 3D modelers and texture artists working on entertainment and design projects.  Mudbox combines an intuitive user interface with a powerful toolset for creating highly-detailed 3D models. The software gives artists the freedom to create without worrying about technical details. Mudbox has shaped characters in blockbuster movies and games, including Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Mist and Mass Effect.

“Our goal is to make early stage digital assets resemble their final ‘on-screen’ forms as closely as possible,” said Dave Cardwell, Mudbox product designer at Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “Starting with accurate models makes the production process more efficient and provides a higher-quality end result. For example, you’d want to know early on whether a prominent brow will shadow a character’s eyes. That’s why Autodesk Mudbox 2009 has texture painting tools and on-target display features; these will help artists build and refine better 3D models.”

“The introduction of Autodesk Mudbox 2009 sparks a revolution in computer graphics tools, bringing about a paradigm shift in how designers and artists do their work,” said Habib Zargarpour, senior art director at Electronic Arts.

Dan Platt, modeler at Disney Animation Studios, said, “Time is money. An Autodesk Mudbox session begins with its artist-friendly, intuitive interface. This is sculpting at the speed of thought with the greatest of fidelity. In a business where new ideas with impossible deadlines are commonplace, Mudbox never lets me down.”

New Feature Highlights in Autodesk Mudbox 2009

Texture Painting
A new, production-ready toolset makes it easy for artists to paint multiple diffuse, bump, specular, and reflection textures across multiple high-resolution maps on their models:

• Users can paint directly on 3D models to add detail precisely where it’s required, regardless of UV distortion or surface complexity.
• Reference images can be painted onto a model from screen space using the new Projection brush.
• Users can paint multiple maps on multiple UV tiles simultaneously and assign multiple UV tiles on a single mesh.

Performance Enhancements
Recognized for its ability to handle data-heavy models, the latest version of Mudbox offers greater interactivity while working on high-resolution meshes. In particular, camera manipulation and brush speed have been improved, enabling artists to work interactively with 3D models that are fully subdivided into tens of millions of polygons across the entire mesh.

On-Target Display
Mudbox 2009 includes a host of rendering technologies that leverage the power of the OpenGL application programming interface (API) and today’s powerful graphics cards. The software offers an accurate, on-target environment for real-time evaluation as the digital asset is manipulated, as well as for enhanced interactive presentations to clients and art directors.

Improved Interoperability with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max
Mudbox 2009 provides enhanced interoperability with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max software through improved matching of normal and displacement maps produced by Maya and 3ds Max.

Artist-Friendly User Interface
Mudbox 2009 continues to deliver a highly intuitive user interface that gives artists the freedom to focus on the art of 3D modeling.

For a complete list of new features and enhancements in Autodesk Mudbox 2009, visit www.autodesk.com/pr-mudbox.

Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that Mudbox 2009 will be available in October 2008. Mudbox 2009 will be supported on the Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows Vista operating systems.  Autodesk suggested retail pricing is $745 USD*.

*International pricing may vary.

Sample Gallery:

Autodesk Mudbox

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

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

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)

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  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).