Pixar makes RenderMan free for non-commercial use
Use for tools development is fine too. Ships with Maya and Katana plugins; Houdini and C4D to come.
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
Free Resources
E-on software releases LumenRT VIZ for free
New non-commercial edition gives SketchUp users free access to e-on's real-time rendering system.
Thursday, March 12th, 2015
Download 18 free HDRIs from BoCo Studio
Download a set of ultra-hi-res panoramic HDRI exteriors, all licensed for commercial use.
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
Get a free region rendering tool for Maya and Arnold
Download Arvid Schneider and Rico Koschmitzky's neat add-on for MtoA, plus two new bonus helper tools.
Tuesday, March 10th, 2015
Gnomon to host free event on the making of Big Hero 6
Discover how Disney created the Oscar-winning animated feature at Gnomon's Hollywood HQ on Thursday 19 March.
Monday, March 9th, 2015
Our new Source 2 engine will be free, says Valve
Successor to the engine used on Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 will be 'free to content developers'.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
Unity launches new free Unity 5 Personal Edition
Artists earning under $100,000/year now get all the features of Unity 5. Pro users get extra cloud tools.
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
Unreal Engine is now free
Epic Games removes $19/month fee for world-conquering engine. Pay only if your game is successful.
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
Download Eisko's free hi-res 3D scan of a female head
Get this ultra-detailed scan in FBX format with 4K texture maps, plus a bonus Marmoset scene file.
Monday, February 23rd, 2015
Get Ten24's free hi-res 3D scan of a human head
Supplied in OBJ format with textures, plus a render-ready Modo scene, including an SSS shader set-up.
Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
Get 26 free HDRIs in EXR, HDR and Marmoset formats
Download Joost Vanhoutte's pack of 26 3K-resolution HDRIs. 23 of them are licensed for commercial use.
Monday, February 16th, 2015
Get A&G Tool Company's free V-Ray clay template
Downloadable 3ds Max template turns any model into an attractive clay-shaded turntable animation.
Thursday, February 12th, 2015
Download 116 free 360° environments from Texturify
They're only LDR images, but the resolution is good, and they're all licensed for commercial use.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2015