Exocortex releases Species rigging plugin for Softimage
Exocortex Technologies has released Species, a new character-creation and rigging plugin for Softimage.
Species enables users to create humanoid characters rapidly by blending over 12 stock male and female body types. The result may be further customised by importing details sculpted in packages like ZBrush or Mudbox.
The figures come with a prebuilt rig created by Eric Thivierge, character TD at Animal Logic. It includes all of the basic features you’d expect in a pipeline-ready rig (look-at control, IK/FK and stretching for limbs, mirrored posing, foot roll, and so on), and comes with a multi-page synoptic.
Crucially, the rig has been designed with mixed-software pipelines in mind. Exocortex claims that the mesh and deformers can be exported to Maya or any other package that supports the FBX file format.
Users can also use their own models or create their own control system for the rig.
Species is available for Softimage 2010 and above, for Windows and Linux. An individual licence costs $299.
The plugin forms Exocortex’s fourth major product line, following the gaseous fluid simulator SlipstreamVX, all-round fluid simulator MaelstromFX and multi-physics system Momentum.