rendering

Luxion Releases KeyShot 5 Rendering Software

June 2, 2014 By Barb Schmitz Leave a Comment

Rendering software is increasingly being put to use by design engineers to create downstream product collateral used to support, maintain and sell products–often before the product even exists in physical form. Rendered 3D models are also created and used early in the design process to speed the process of obtaining customer or management approval.

Rendering vendors are working hard to make it easier for users to import 3D models and have incorporated features specific to the the way engineers work. After all, the engineering workflow is quite different from those of users in the arts and entertainment markets.

Read more on rendering software in the Design World feature A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: Why Rendering is Increasingly Important to Product Development.

KeyShot 5 for rendering and animation

Luxion has recently released the latest version of its KeyShot rendering software, touted to be the first real-time ray tracing and global illumination software. By providing faster rendering speed and capabilities, users can create images, animations and interactive visuals throughout the product development process quickly and easily.

KeyShot 5 introduces enhanced usability and pro-level features that allow engineers, designers and 3D professionals to make their workflow more efficient and take their visuals to the next level. The software’s new streamlined interface offers new features for a faster rendering and animation workflow, the ability to work with materials faster and more powerful new animation features.

New features in KeyShot rendering software enable engineers to make their workflow more efficient and take their visual assets to the next level.

What’s new?

KeyShot Cloud. Online library where users can download new resources and share their own custom assets. Opening the KeyShot Cloud enables easy drag-and-drop downloading of new resources into their local KeyShot Library, and quick search features and filters to find the perfect resources for a scene. All resources remain on a user’s computer with a copy of the resource uploaded to the KeyShot Cloud and no scene or personal info stored online. The KeyShot Cloud is accessible directly from inside KeyShot and online here.

NURBS Ray-tracing. NURBS ray-tracing delivers more accurate geometry with smoother edges. This new import feature gives users the option to import and render NURBS geometry from their favorite 3D modeling application. The advantage is crisper visuals and smaller file sizes over data imported as triangle that can display edges and gaps on close detail shots. NURBS import is currently available for all geometry formats, including Creo, CATIA, Inventor, NX, Rhino, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, STEP, IGES, Parasolid and ALIAS. Available with KeyShot Pro versions.

Instancing. Instancing allows users to duplicate parts in KeyShot and on import without increasing file size. Instancing of parts is available within KeyShot as a Pattern tool and completely automated in select KeyShot plugins. All instances can be treated separately for quick appearance studies or linked to apply materials quickly, but will all update when LiveLinking or update geometry is used.

Fade Animation. The new Fade animation allows users to quickly apply an animation that fades parts from one opacity level to another. Through KeyShot Animation users add individual transforms that add animations with a click of a button instead of managing keyframes. Just as simple, Fade animations can be applied while adjusting the opacity of parts and groups on-the-fly which allows users to see the update in real-time as animations are created. Available with the KeyShot Animation Add-on.

Sun & Sky System. KeyShot 5 introduces a new Sun & Sky system for automatic creation of physically accurate geographic lighting. Preset resolutions and locations together with day selection, time and turbidity sliders allow the creation of unlimited daylight scenarios. Custom Sun & Sky environments can be created by users as well and combined with other lighting options available in the KeyShot HDRI Editor. Available with KeyShot Pro versions.

KeyShot 5 is available now. Pricing starts at $995. The entire list of features in KeyShot 5 can be seen and downloaded in a What’s New guide that includes information on how each feature works.

Barb Schmitz

Luxology launches modo 501 software

December 21, 2010 By Laura Carrabine Leave a Comment

modo 501 delivers 3D modeling, painting and rendering in a single package for PCs and Macs. The software includes 3D modeling and sculpting tools, animation, and network rendering.

New features:

Pixar Subdivision surfaces have been added for sharper creases and improved transferability.

Sculpting tools now work on multi-resolution meshes, facilitating both coarse and fine adjustments to surfaces as needed.

The advent of RayGL facilitates realism in modo viewports to merge modeling and rendering.

Animation rigging is simplified with a visual connection editor.

You can direct the Preview Renderer to work first on areas under the mouse. The Preview Renderer will also now progressively resolve to near final image quality.

One Click modeling tools and improved Snapping accelerate common modeling operations.

Rendering is both faster and cleaner. modo 501 gains, on average, a 30-40% increase in rendering speed. Depth of field quality is enhanced and bump and displacement mapping is crisper. Fur can now display Kink and Frizz effects, and a new Occlusion texturing option generates worn and weathered effects automatically.

Sculpting stroke performance is enhanced.

Animation playback is approximately 2X faster on some rigged scenes

Plug-ins can create geometry parametrically, which can be also converted to a mesh. A sample gear generator plug-in is provided with numerous options for gear spacing and spoke placement.

Procedural textures can create key-framed, multi-channel textures.

Tool plug-ins extend the modo toolset by providing ways to create and edit geometry.

Command plug-ins enable the development of native C++-based actions.

Product includes an introductory release on 64-bit Mac OS X.

New content includes large libraries of 2D and 3D procedural textures.

For an online visual tour of new modo 501 features plus visit: http://www.luxology.com/modo/tour

Luxology

www.luxology.com

StudioGPU delivers unmatched efficiency and flexibility to 3D production pipelines with MachStudio Pro 2

July 27, 2010 By Laura Carrabine Leave a Comment

StudioGPU is redefining productivity for 3D users working in broadcast, cinema, and design with the announcement of StudioGPU MachStudio™ Pro 2 real-time non-linear 3D workflow and rendering software. Operating as an open hub for advanced 3D workflow, MachStudio Pro 2 offers 3D designers advanced features such as native integration with Pixar RenderMan®; the ability to create and use MetaSL®-based custom procedural shaders, and render out with mental ray®. Additional new features include a solid DirectX® 11 foundation for improved GPU acceleration, tessellation and multi-threading, FBX-out capabilities, improved support for Python programming customization, and more.MachStudio Pro software streamlines the production workflow at many of the most notable production studios in the world, including Weta Workshop, Zoic Studios, and The Third Floor. A virtual real-time studio environment, MachStudio Pro allows designers, engineers, directors, and technical directors (TDs) to work with 3D lighting, camera views, and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion to produce real-time high-fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format. MachStudio Pro 2 software continues to revolutionize 3D production environments with new features that include:

– Pixar RenderMan Integration: Provides the flexibility to switch between or combine fast high-fidelity MachStudio Pro GPU-based rendering and industry-standard Academy Award®-winning Pixar RenderMan CPU-based ray tracing rendering software on-the-fly to create beauty shots and/or specific render passes.

– MetaSL and mental ray Support: Allows 3D artists to quickly and easily build MetaSL-based custom procedural shaders using an intuitive mental mill® node graph user interface for rendering out to both the mental ray and MachStudio Pro renderer.

– Improved Pipeline Rendering Functionality: Offers a new Unified Pass Renderer (UPR), which breaks out all passes for the final render, and an EXR Sandwich Tool that combines all EXR files into one layered file for compositing.

– DirectX 11-Based Workflow: Offers more efficient rendering, tessellation, and multi-threading capabilities for improved performance throughout the pipeline.

– Volumetric and Screen Space Global Illumination (GI): Takes into account the bouncing of light from surfaces, allowing for more realistic renderings.

– Spot and Directional Lights: Allows for greater freedom towards achieving perfect lighting conditions.

– FBX Output: Exports models and baked textures in the FBX file format for compatibility with all leading 3D modeling and animation software programs.

– Increased Python Support: Allows for the creation of custom properties, parenting objects, and spot and directional lights.

– Workflow Improvements: Eases organization and viewing of everything in a scene, including groups, hierarchies, context menus, light sets, influencers and render pass isolation.

Award-winning MachStudio Pro supports Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista operating systems on most professional graphic accelerator cards.

StudioGPU
www.studiogpu.com