NinjaCrayon : Scribbles and Slashes

Hundreds showed up for the MAXON / Adobe integration meeting on Tuesday night.  (Rumored over 800 registrants before Siggraph even began)

The MAXON / Adobe Integration Power Tour was part of the SIGGRAPH 2007 evening events.  Here in Los Angeles, C4D and AE are the obvious winners in the motion graphics / television promo world - and those users aren’t really the demographic for SIGGRAPH - so I was surprised to see so many people in the queue for the event.  (Good on MAXON and Adobe).

Among all of those people, it was great to actually meet Phil McNally and Deepa face to face!

If you don’t know Phil - maybe you’re a new user.  Phil’s work in 3D stereoscopic photography made many of us rethink what we could do with CINEMA4D - or any 3D application for that matter.

It’s been 7 years since PUMP ACTION was shown in the SIGGRAPH ANIMATION THEATER, and although technology has changed exponentially, the animation still holds up - demonstrating that storyline is very important to a short.

http://captain3d.com/pump/index.htm

Phil still plays with 3D photography (although I think he mentioned that this camera (image) setup was something other than stereoscopic: a custom rig no doubt)

Phil takes a picture of Rick Barrett @ MAXON/Adobe Integration Show
SIGGRAPH 2007

Mudbox was hailed as the ZBrush alternative, allowing users to paint quickly and dynamically sculpt 3D geometry.

Autodesk thought so too - and quickly scooped it up to be part of their family of products.

Generic SIGGRAPH news may have masked the press release about the acquisition, but it was big news for the 3D crowd who attended.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Aug. 6, 2007 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Skymatter Limited, the developer of Mudbox 3D modeling software. This acquisition will augment Autodesk’s offering for the film, television and game market segments, while providing additional growth opportunities for other design disciplines. Autodesk anticipates that the transaction will close in the next two months. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Skymatter is a privately held New Zealand-based company. Skymatter’s Mudbox software offers a new paradigm of 3D brush-based modeling, allowing users to sculpt organic shapes in 3D space with brush-like tools. Appealing to both traditional sculptors and digital artists, Mudbox provides a simple and fast toolset for creative modeling, prototyping and detailing.  3D assets created in Mudbox are often imported into Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software for texturing, rigging, animation and final rendering.

“Entertainment and design markets are demanding more integrated technology workflows, as well as increased realism and sophistication,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “In order to create advanced digital characters and models, 3D artists are relying on Skymatter’s Mudbox software, along with Autodesk’s 3D solutions.  By acquiring Skymatter, Autodesk will be able to offer a more complete solution for film, television and game pipelines, as well as new workflows for other design disciplines, such as automotive and industrial design.”

Mudbox is used by leading visual effects and game development companies, including Weta Digital, Blur Studio, Cinesite, Epic Games, Pandemic Studios and The Orphanage. The software has shaped photorealistic creatures for the blockbuster film King Kong, as well as upcoming films The Golden Compass, Fred Claus and Inkheart.

Skymatter founders Andrew Camenisch, Dave Cardwell and Tibor Madjar will join Autodesk’s Media & Entertainment business. These computer graphics veterans have production experience from Weta Digital and Electronic Arts, as well as design experience from Ford, GM and Mercedes Benz.

Skymatter’s Madjar commented: “We’re excited to join forces with Autodesk. Autodesk develops the most popular 3D modeling, animation and rendering software products in the world. Mudbox offers a strong complementary toolset and an innovative way to create 3D models. We look forward to working with Autodesk’s product teams to evolve the Mudbox capabilities to meet the expanding needs of a wide variety of digital artists and designers.”

Make no mistake.  Ken LaRue is a demo artist deity.

I’m sure it helps that he has some rad software to show off, but his lightning fast presentation doesn’t leave us in the dust, nor does it cover things we already know should be obvious features of the software.

While I was in San Diego, I wanted to see toxik2008.  Who better to show it than Ken LaRue?  You may have seen Ken demo’ing Combustion at other trade shows, or you might even have one of his training DVDs.

thestreetproductions.com

While there are some features that I didn’t see in toxik during the short presentation, I’m sure there are too many to feature in a quick overview.  However, that didn’t stop Ken from trying.  He had SIGGRAPH attendees rapt, waiting to see what he’d  show next… and features kept coming.

As he continued the presentation, the small group that gathered at the start of the presentation turned into a large crowd, spilling over into the Maya2008 demo and stretching into neighboring booths.

What’s great about Ken’s delivery and instruction is that he uses the software.  He knows what artists need and how things work in a production environment.  He doesn’t linger on features that are “101″, he gets to the stuff that pros need to know, and let’s us know how we can get it.

He did remind us several times that Toxik without the database is now only $3K.

He didn’t tell us when the TSP DVDs for Toxik were going to be released.

Look for Toxik this fall.

This is a series of blog posts for our buddy Will at HighEnd 3D.
Want to start a blog with Will to help provide some coverage of SIGGRAPH? Just say the word.

Sign up at HIGHEND3D.com for your account, then sign in here with your info:
http://blogs.highend3d.com/wp-signup.php
If you want to see something covered at SIGGRAPH 2007, you only have a few more days to post your comments! Siggraph starts this weekend and the expo hall starts next week!

Many people are familiar with the image processing software created by Allegorithmic’s Sebastién Deguy.

If you haven’t seen it, you’re either new - or it’s slipped under your radar. Either way, now is your chance to become familiar with it for free. MaPZone 2.6 is available for free for a limited time. Find out how to get yours here…

You wont’ see Adobe Systems at Siggraph - at least not on the exhibit hall floor. It’s surprising, because so many of the software that is showcased at this Digital Visual conference can benefit from Adobe’s integration. Perhaps it’s already obvious, and they don’t need to be there to emphasize it. But one piece of software they integrate well with is MAXON’s CINEMA 4D. So it’s not surprising that MAXON and ADOBE will host a party together on Siggraph’s Tuesday night. (August 7)

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED : You can show up to the MAXON booth for details about the event.

An evening of modo goodness at the San Diego Air & Space Museum hosted by Brad Peebler of Luxology in the historic Balboa Park of San Diego.