Artixels ships Escher 1.2

Artixels has released Escher 1.2, an update to its suite of 2.5D tools for Nuke that “extends its toolset to the deep compositing era”, making use of deep data to relight renders that would previously have been impossible.

Tools to explore the creative possibilities of depth data
Intended to “explore the creative possibilities between 2D and 3D”, Escher provides tools for compositors with access to 2D images containing depth information, including Z-depth passes and normal maps.

The suite includes tools for generating fast fake animated caustics and fake light probe data, along with sets of 2.5D operators and shaders, the latter including depth-based ambient occlusion and glossy effects.

Tools for a new ‘deep relighting’ workflow
To that, the 1.2 update adds four new nodes designed to make use of deep normal vector information, such as that encoded in RenderMan’s .dtex files or OpenEXR 2.0’s Deep EXR format, supported by Arnold and V-Ray.

The tools – channel shuffle and data processing data nodes, plus spherical harmonics and glossy shaders – enable users to relight even CG images rendered with distributed effects, like depth of field or motion blur.

Pricing and availability
Escher 1.2 is available now for Nuke 7.0 and above on any 64-bit operating system it supports. The plugin suite costs around $499 for a fixed licence or $699 for a floating licence (actual pricing is in Hong Kong dollars).

Read a full list of the new tools in Escher 1.2 on Artixels’ website