Reallusion ships iClone 7.1
Reallusion has released iClone 7.1, the latest update to its real-time 3D character animation software, overhauling the depth of field system and animation timeline, and adding a new paid-for Curve Editor plugin.
The update actually shipped last month, but we didn’t spot it until Reallusion sent out a press release today.
New options for controlling and animating depth of field
iClone 7.1 revamps the software’s depth of field system, adding new options for choosing the focal point of the viewport display or rendered output, and controlling how focal blur transitions are applied.
DoF – which also now includes Bokeh effects – can also now be animated by setting keys in the timeline.
Updates to the animation timeline
On that note, version 7.1 extensively reworks iClone’s animation timeline, encapsulating individual keyframes within within motion clips, rather than having the two exist as separate data types.
When a motion clip is moved on the timeline, all of the associated keys are now repositioned automatically.
Data from iClone’s hand gesture system is represented separately within a motion clip, and may be partially or totally merged into the layers for the individual body parts.
It is also now possible to retime motion clips by dragging their edges on the timeline; and to merge clips, with new options to control how the transition between the clips is handled.
In addition, users can now choose the default tangent type when adding a key to the timeline, and the number of readymade transition curves that can be added between two keys has been raised from 6 to 16.
New curve editor becomes a separate paid-for add-on
For more precise control over animation, Reallusion has also just released a fully featured curve editor.
As with the recent iClone Faceware Facial Mocap Suite, it was originally announced as part of iClone 7.0, but has now been split out into a paid-for add-on, which costs nearly as much as iClone itself.
The plugin’s toolset looks to be along the lines of those of curve editors in more conventional DCC applications, and it supports all of the new features in the timeline editing system in iClone 7.1.
Pricing and availability
iClone 7.1 is available for 64-bit Windows 7+. The update is free to iClone 7.0 users; new licences cost $199.
To exchange data between iClone and other DCC applications, you also need add-on tool 3DXChange, which costs $199 for the Pro edition and $499 for the Pipeline edition.
The Curve Editor plugin has an MSRP of $149, although at the time of posting, it’s available at a discount.
Read a full list of new features in iClone 7.1 on Reallusion’s forum
Read a full list of features in the new Curve Editor plugin for iClone