Unreal Engine 5.3: five key features for CG artists
Now out of preview: read our pick of the new features in UE5, from rendering OpenVDB files to the new Skeletal and Panel Cloth Editors.
Wednesday, September 6th, 2023
MaterialX
QuiltiX: a new open-source MaterialX material editor
Free node-based tool lets users author MaterialX materials for use in renderers like Arnold and Karma.
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
ASWF adopts OpenImageIO
Ubiquitous tech for reading and writing images becomes the latest open-source project to be hosted by the visual effects industry body.
Tuesday, August 1st, 2023
Pixar ships RenderMan 25.2
Check out the new features in the heavyweight production renderer, including new compositing modes in the Stylized Looks NPR toolset.
Friday, June 30th, 2023
Autodesk ships Arnold 7.2.2
Update makes CPU renders on Intel, AMD and Apple CPUs perceptually identical, and edits to large scenes 'nearly instantaneous'.
Thursday, June 8th, 2023
MaterialX 1.38.7 adds graph editor, native Metal support
Check out the changes to the open standard for materials and look dev data, widely used in VFX software.
Tuesday, April 25th, 2023
Pixar releases RenderMan 25
Heavyweight VFX and animation renderer now includes Pixar's own AI-trained denoiser. Sizeable update to RenderMan XPU, too.
Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
Autodesk ships Arnold 7.2.1
See the crazy motion graphics effects created by the renderer's distance shader, supported in 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini & Maya.
Thursday, March 30th, 2023
DreamWorks open-sources its MoonRay renderer
Now available: ray tracing renderer used on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has been released under an Apache 2.0 licence.
Wednesday, March 15th, 2023
Autodesk ships Arnold 7.1.4
New version of the renderer adds native Apple Silicon support and improves USD workflow. 3ds Max, C4D and Maya plugins updated.
Monday, November 21st, 2022
Nvidia releases Omniverse Create 2022.3 in beta
Major update to Omniverse's scene layout app adds new physics features and support for MaterialX.
Wednesday, November 9th, 2022
Physically Based lists PBR values for real-world materials
Need to recreate ketchup in your CG software? This free online database has the info you need.
Monday, August 8th, 2022
ASWF adopts OpenAssetIO and OpenFX
VFX industry body to oversee development of open standards for plugins and asset management.
Thursday, August 4th, 2022