Thursday, August 25th, 2016 Posted by Jim Thacker

Redshift devs announce Redshift for Katana

An overview of Redshift from GTC 2015. The developers of the GPU-based production renderer have just announced a new integration plugin for Katana, The Foundry’s high-end lighting and look dev software.


Redshift Rendering Technologies has officially announced a Redshift plugin for Katana, making it possible to access the GPU-based production renderer directly from within The Foundry’s look development software.

The new plugin will join Redshift’s existing Maya, Softimage and 3ds Max integrations when it is released. Houdini and Cinema 4D integrations are currently in development, and a Modo plugin is also mooted.

Making inroads into high-end visual effects
Support for Katana – traditionally the preserve of larger studios, the new Windows edition notwithstanding – is an indication of how much interest there is in Redshift in the high-end VFX market.

Although it has only been commercially available for a little over two years, the renderer is already in use at Glassworks and on Blizzard Entertainment’s cinematics team, thanks to its balance of speed and image quality.

“Redshift has been making waves in the CG industry, so we’re thrilled to explore ways to integrate it with Katana,” said Jordan Thistlewood, senior product manager at The Foundry.

Pricing and availability
Redshift Rendering Technologies hasn’t announced pricing or a release date for Redshift for Katana yet, although it says that the plugin will be “commercially available to purchase”.

The latest release of the renderer, Redshift 2.0, is available for 64-bit Linux and Windows XP and above. New node-locked licences cost $500; floating licences cost $600. Both prices include one year’s maintenance.

The Maya, Softimage and 3ds Max plugins are all included free with new licences.


Read more about Redshift for Katana on the Redshift blog