Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015 Posted by Jim Thacker

Isotropix releases Clarisse iFX 2.0


Clarisse iFX 2.0 in action. The new update to the hybrid 2D/3D rendering tool adds support for volume rendering and deep image workflows via OpenEXR 2.0, plus new look dev, colour management and layout features.

Originally posted on 3 August 2014. Scroll down for details of the commercial release.

Isotropix has announced Clarisse iFX 2.0, a sizeable update to its next-gen 2D/3D rendering tool, describing the update as a “true milestone for production pipelines”.

Combining features of conventional renderers, compositors and animation tools, Clarisse iFX is designed to enable artists to develop heavy production scenes while interacting continually with the final image.

Due for release at the end of the year, Clarisse iFX 2.0 will go on show at Siggraph 2014, alongside presentations from early Clarisse adopter Double Negative.

Support for volume rendering, deep image compositing, OpenColorIO
So far, the Clarisse iFX 2.0 online product tour is tantalisingly blank, but to judge from the press material, pipeline integration and support for open-source technologies have both been a focus for the update.

The new release will add support for volume rendering via OpenVDB, deep image output via OpenEXR 2.0, and high-end colour management via OpenColorIO.

There’s also a new AOV engine, for more control over how output is used within other apps; and “powerful file referencing supporting local overrides and incremental updates designed for team work”.

In addition, look dev artists get a new set of texture nodes – presumably the ones listed here and here on the Isotropix forum – and there are new 3D manipulators for faster layout.

Updated 12 August 2014: Isotropix has posted a video of the new features in Clarisse iFX 2.0 and filled in the online feature list – and while the broad strokes are those set out above, it really fills in the details.

The new look development features come out well: there’s a striking proof of the claim that ambient occlusion can be used to drive any geometric property with an AO pass being used to control a crowd animation.

For layout artists, the updated scattering and file referencing functionality also looks good, and there are a bunch of neat smaller features, like a 3D Clone Stamp tool.

Updated 22 April 2015: Clarisse iFX 2.0 is now shipping. The software is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Pricing scales with studio size, starting from $999 per licence for freelance artists.

The free non-commercial Personal Learning Edition of the software has also been updated to version 2.0.

Read more about Clarisse iFX 2.0 in the online product tour