Otoy releases OctaneRender 2027.1 in alpha
Updated for Alpha 2: next major version of the GPU renderer adds neat options for recreating iridescent and ultra-reflective materials.
Tuesday, July 28th, 2026
motion graphics
Abstract adds a new 2D painting system to InstaMAT 2026-07
Material authoring and 3D painting app now lets you paint directly onto a mesh's UVs in a dedicated 2D viewport. See all the new features.
Monday, July 27th, 2026
Tutorial: Creating a Charged Energy Beam in Unreal Engine
Create an energy effect suitable for a games cinematic using UE5's Niagara and Sequencer with The Gnomon Workshop's new tutorial.
Sunday, July 26th, 2026
Maxon releases Red Giant 2026.5
Check out the new features in the plugins for motion design and VFX, including zoom and aspherical lens support in Real Lens Flares.
Saturday, July 25th, 2026
Maxon releases Redshift 2026.8
Check out the new features in the renderer, including a procedural Scratches shader and a high-altitude layer in the Clouds object.
Friday, July 24th, 2026
Autodesk releases Arnold 7.5.3
Production renderer gets new BSDF nodes for toon shading and new Accelerated Viewport mode for Maya users. See all the changes.
Thursday, July 23rd, 2026
Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026.2 with editable Gaussian Splats
Sizeable update makes it possible to import, edit, relight and render 3DGS data inside the 3D software. Check out its other new features.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
Maya 2026.2 lets you train your own AI animation models
New 'Bring Your Own Data' feature lets studios train models for Maya's MotionMaker system using their own keyframe or mocap data.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
Sisir is a promising new free standalone hair grooming tool
Neat tool provides an interactive guide-based workflow for creating grooms for use in apps like Blender, Maya and UE5. For commercial use.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
Foundry releases new AI-powered SmartRoto add-on for Nuke
New AI-based plugin propagates roto splines across a shot, speeding up roto 'up to 4x'. See how it differs from AI matte-generation tools.
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026
Chaos releases V-Ray 7.4 for Blender
New features in the Blender edition of the renderer include a quick caustics system, UDIM support, and conversion of Cycles to V-Ray lights.
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026
ArcBrush 1.5 is an interesting $49 node-based image editor
Inexpensive cross-platform Photoshop alternative gets new 32-bit pipeline, Crytomatte support and new compositing nodes.
Sunday, July 19th, 2026
SideFX just released Houdini 22
Check out the latest features in Houdini, from a complete new 3D Gaussian Splatting toolset to major updates to KineFX and Copernicus.
Thursday, July 16th, 2026