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CINEMA 4D 2024.2 Cinema 4D 2024.2 makes a number of updates to the software’s Unified Simulation Framework. Rigid bodies, support for which was added to the framework in Cinema 4D 2024.0, can now be scaled when animated by effectors, making it possible to create more realistic simulations. There are also new deactivation parameters for rigid bodies in idle states, and the option to override global damping settings for rigid bodies, soft bodies, cloth and ropes. Pyro, the gaseous fluid simulation software toolset added in Cinema 4D 2023.1, gets a new Dynamic Surface option, making it possible to emit directly from deforming meshes. It is also now possible to set Time Scale for key simulation parameters, and to post process simulation volumes with noise patterns, and simulation upresing has been extended. Animators get a new Key Reducer for reducing the number of keyframes in an animation while preserving the overall shape of the animation curve. The feature is particularly intended for processing raw motion-capture data. For procedural modeling, Cinema 4D’s node graph gets new Symmetry and Thicken nodes, plus a new Resample Spline node for simplifying splines. Workflow improvements include support for Asset Version Pinning, making it possible for artists to continue working on an older version of an asset, even where a newer version exists. Users can also now drag Substance materials into Cinema 4D to create new Redshift materials. The new Substance Material Node makes it possible to import .sbsar files into Cinema 4D, and use them directly within the native materials for Maxon’s Redshift renderer. In addition, animation is now supported when importing files in glTF format. The Project Asset Inspector now displays missing fonts and Node Assets, making it easier to relink external resources when importing a scene. Another change since the release of Cinema 4D 2024.1 in October is that Maxon has stopped listing single-product subscriptions for Cinema 4D on the front page of its online store. Instead, the front page of the store lists Maxon One subscriptions, which include Maxon’s entire product range, and joint subscriptions for Cinema 4D and Redshift. https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Default.htm#html/33010.html?TocPath=_____2 Spectrum 2 The switch to Spectrum 2 will the be first major change to the look of many Adobe applications in a decade, the firm’s current Spectrum design system having been in place for over 10 years. It governs most aspects of the way that Adobe apps look, including how interfaces are laid out, the colors and fonts they use, and the way that their icons are designed. Compared to the fanciful justifications that big companies sometimes make for design changes, Adobe’s rationale is pretty pragmatic. Although the blog post announcing Spectrum 2 includes a few choice phrases about making Adobe tools “even more intuitive, inclusive, and joyful”, its key aim is simply to improve usability. When Spectrum was designed, its products were mainly desktop applications, but now they’re increaasingly mobile or web apps, and the way they look needs to suit those platforms too. In particular, there are formal standards for making web content accessible to users with visual impairments, and Adobe describes these Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as the “definitive starting point” for Spectrum 2. Key parts of the work include giving users more control over the tonal contrast of interfaces, and ensuring that the palettes they use are accessible to people with color vision deficiences. The Spectrum 2 website goes into detail on this, but the take-home messages seem to be that compared to Adobe’s current professional-looking but rather minimal UI designs, the new interfaces will be more colorful, with heavier icons, and feature more rounded corners. According to Adobe, Spectrum 2 will begin to appear in updates to its products “later this year”, beginning with its web applications, with a “larger rollout” in 2024. https://adobe.design/stories/design-for-scale/introducing-spectrum-2 Chaos, Epic Games, Foundry, Otoy, SideFX join Alliance for OpenUSD Formed earlier this year, the AOUSD aims to make OpenUSD an ISO ratified standard, and to expand it from an entertainment-industry technology to “embrace the needs of new industries”. As well as Pixar itself, the founder members were Adobe, Apple, Autodesk and NVIDIA, with Cesium, Epic Games, Foundry, SideFX and Unity all announced as future general members. All five have now officially joined the AOUSD, as have renderer developers Chaos and Otoy, CAD modeling technology firm Spatial, retailers IKEA and Lowe’s and tech giants Hexagon and Meta. The AOUSD has now published its first two-year roadmap, which is early-stages stuff, focusing on defining a formal specification for the OpenUSD core. The Alliance has also announced a “liaison relationship” with standards body The Khronos Group over glTF, the 3D data format for web and real-time apps that Khronos oversees. It’s partly just an agreement not to tread on one another’s toes, by coordinating the roadmaps of the two standards to “avoid needless incompatibilities”. However, it fits with the AOUSD’s goal of broadening OpenUSD out to new markets, with the two organizations aiming to create pipelines for generating “sophisticated 3D content that can be pervasively experienced on a wide range of platforms”. https://aousd.org/news/alliance-for-openusd-unveils-roadmap-for-core-usd-specification-and-ecosystem-collaboration Substance 3D Designer 13.1 Substance 3D Designer 13.1 streamlines workflow in the software’s node graph, particularly when using Frames to organize the graph visually, or to add comments to it. Frames now automatically expand when moving the nodes in them around, as shown above, and there is a separate option to refit the frame inwards to fit its contents. It is also now possible to use HTML markup to format the text in a frame’s description. General workflow improvements include support for fuzzy search in the node menu, better node placement when pasting nodes from another graph, and auto-saving of 2D View options. In addition, Substance 3D Designer can now export files in AxF format, the vendor-neutral standard for transferring materials between CAD and DCC tools, supported in visualization apps. Designer itself has been able to import AxF files since 2017, but the update makes it possible to export changes as a new layer in the AxF file, rather than as a Substance .sbsar file. However, AxF is now disabled in the Linux edition of the software. Substance 3D Designer 13.1 is available for Windows 10+, CentOS 7.0/Ubuntu 20.04+ Linux and macOS 11.0+, Perpetual licences are available via Steam and cost $149.99. Substance 3D Designer is also available via Adobe’s Substance 3D subscriptions. Substance 3D Texturing subscriptions cost $19.99/month or $219.88/year; Substance 3D Collection subscriptions cost $49.99/month or $549.88/year. Subscriptions to the Linux edition require a Creative Cloud Plan for Teams priced at $1,198.88/year. https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-designer/release-notes/version-13-1.html V-Ray 6 for Cinema 4D Update 2 V-Ray 6 for Cinema 4D Update 2 adds initial support for rendering scenes created in real-time renderer Enscape: a feature previously introduced in the V-Ray for 3ds Max and SketchUp. Users also get beta support for the .vrscene format, making it possible to import scenes from other editions of V-Ray, and a new live link to Vantage, Chaos’s real-time renderer. Support for Open Shading Language has been reinstated, with the OSL Material making it possible to load OSL shader code files. In addition, it is possible to import and render MaterialX .mtlx materials via the VRMat material. The material conversion system introduced in V-Ray 6 for Cinema 4D has been extended, with new options to convert Cinema 4D materials to V-Ray Classic materials, and Redshift materials to V-Ray Node materials. V-Ray GPU, the software’s GPU/CPU render engine, can now render assets generated by Enmesh, V-Ray’s new surface geometry replication system. For manipulating render passes, there is a new Shadow Select option in the Light Select render element, and support for chromatic aberration in the V-Ray Frame Buffer. In addition, IES lights have been added to online asset library Chaos Cosmos, now included with all V-Ray subscriptions. V-Ray 6 for Cinema 4D Update 2 is compatible with Cinema 4D R21+, running on 64-bit Windows 8.1+ and macOS 10.14+. You can find more detailed system requirements here. The software is rental-only, with node-locked V-Ray Solo subscriptions priced at $466.80/year, and floating V-Ray Premium subscriptions priced at $694.80/year https://docs.chaos.com/display/VC4D/What's+New+in+V-Ray+6%2C+update+2 Redshift 3.5.22 As with the previous release, the update improves performance in Redshift RT, the software’s experimental near-real-time render engine. Key changes include asynchronous shader compilation, reducing the time to first pixel by using temporary flat shaders for initial previews, then replacing them with compiled shaders. Redshift RT also now supports texture compression to reduce GPU memory usage, with five compression presets making it possible to trade performance against visual quality. To improve interactivity when navigating scenes, users can now choose Russian Roulette sampling, which randomly skips rays that have less impact on the final image, or adjust undersampling settings. In addition, on NVIDIA GPUs, Redshift RT now supports DLSS, making it possible to boost performance by rendering frames at lower resolution than the viewport, then upscaling them. In addition, Cinema 4D users get improved support for Substance materials in .sbsar format via the new Substance 3D Material Node in Cinema 4D 2024.2. 3ds Max users get support for the Redshift Color Correct shader Redshift 3.5.22 is available for Windows 10, glibc 2.17+ Linux and macOS 12.6/13.3. The renderer’s integration plugins are compatible with 3ds Max 2018+, Blender 2.83+, Cinema 4D R21+, Houdini 17.5+ (18.0+ on macOS), Katana 4.0v1+ and Maya 2018+. The software is rental-only, with subscriptions costing $45/month or $264/year. https://redshift.maxon.net/topic/49701/version-3-5-22-is-now-available-2023-12 D5 Render 2.6 First released in 2021, D5 Render is an increasingly powerful architectural renderer with linking plugins for a range of DCC and CAD tools, including 3ds Max, Blender and Cinema 4D. As well as rendering scenes directly from a linked DCC app, users can import models in FBX, Alembic or SketchUp’s SKP format, apply PBR materials, and assign HDRIs, lights and LUTs. Other features include object scattering and shot dressing tools, support for volumetric and particle-based effects, and path-based animation tools for crowd characters or vehicles. The software supports DXR-based hardware-accelerated ray tracing on current NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs, and is capable of rendering 16K still images and panoramas, and 4K videos. The community edition of the software is free for commercial use, and is fully functional, with commercial Pro subscriptions adding access to advanced features and an online asset library. To that, D5 Render 2.6 adds new AI-based tools, including a new feature for matching the atmosphere of a render automatically to a source image, and AI-generated texture maps. At the time of writing, Dimension 5 Techs hasn’t posted the full release notes for D5 Render 2.6, but this is the summary of the remaining new features from its email newsletter: Optimized Video Editor Multimedia Material Transparency UV Randomizer Procedurally-generated Vines Human Point-of-View Walk Mode Local Exposure New HDRI Library New Futuristic Particles New Low-poly Trees File Compression D5 Render is due for release on 14 December 2024. The software is available for Windows 10+. It requires compatible GPU: Dimension 5 recommends a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060+, an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT+ or an Intel Arc A3+. Integration plugins are available for 3ds Max 2014-2016 and 2018+, ArchiCAD 21+, Blender 2.93+, Cinema 4D R20+, Revit 2018.3+, Rhino 6.1+ and SketchUp 2017+. The Community edition is free; subscriptions to the Pro edition, which includes advanced features, access to the full asset library and sequence rendering, cost $38/month or $360/year. https://forum.d5render.com/t/release-notes-of-d5-render/ V-Ray 6 for SketchUp Update 2 V-Ray 6 for SketchUp Update 2 features a major update to Scatter, the software’s object scattering toolset, adding new modes for scattering objects along curves, on UV grids, and within bounding boxes. It is also now possible to scatter lights as well as geometry. The V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB) gets support for chromatic aberration, and the option to use solid colors in the background layer. V-Ray GPU, the software’s GPU/CPU render engine, can now render assets generated by Enmesh, V-Ray’s new surface geometry replication system. There are also updates to handling of IES lights, curve editing, and workflow with cloud-rendering system Chaos Cloud. V-Ray 6 for SketchUp Update 2 is compatible with SketchUp 2019+, running on 64-bit Windows 10+ and macOS 10.15+. The software is rental-only, with node-locked V-Ray Solo subscriptions priced at $466.80/year, and floating V-Ray Premium subscriptions priced at $694.80/year. https://docs.chaos.com/display/VSKETCHUP/V-Ray+6 Silo 2024.0 and Milo 2024.0 First released in 2003, Silo built up a reputation as an efficient, focused modelling package. It has a streamlined set of polygonal and subdivision surface modelling tools, a topology brush for drawing new topology over a reference object, and interactive real-time UV unwrapping. As well as creating low-poly assets for games or real-time applications, it can be used to rough out base models for sculpting in ZBrush, and supports Pixologic’s GoZ bridge system. Although development stalled during the 2010s, the pace picked up again with the release of Silo 2021, with Nevercenter also launching Milo, a new standalone Unreal-Engine-based real-time renderer and VR viewer. Since then, Nevercenter has been putting out relatively small, but regular, updates to the software, with Silo 2024.0 adding one new feature, File Instance. It’s a file-referencing system, making it possible to use external files – either separate Silo files, or 3D models in standard file formats – as instances within a Silo project. When the external file is updated, the Silo model will update automatically. The update adds a new gradient background that can be used to create a sky backdrop or create more stylized effects. It’s locked to screen space, so it remains fixed as a model is rotated. Silo and Milo are available for Windows 10 and macOS 10.15+. Perpetual licences of Silo have an MSRP of $159, which includes Milo. The updates are free to anyone who has bought the software in the past year. https://nevercenter.com/silo/features/#release_notes Corona 11 for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D The intervals between major updates to Corona have been getting shorter recently, so Corona 11 comes only five months after Corona 10. Perhaps as a result, despite a new Tile Map for generating procedural tiles, and an Edge Map for weathering the edges of thin objects, the changes are primarily updates to existing features. Chaos Scatter, the current object scattering system, gets new options for scattering objects based on altitude, or oriented towards a Look At target. In addition the integrated version of Open Image Denoise, Intel’s open-source render denoiser, has been updated to OIDN 2, and now supports GPU denoising: currently, on NVIDIA GPUs only. The 3ds Max edition also gets the Corona Power Tools, a set of scripts for automating repetitive tasks, like replacing objects, randomizing their transforms, or cleaning up a scene. The Cinema 4D edition gets support for Pyro, Cinema’s new smoke and fire simulation toolset. Corona 11 is compatible with 3ds Max 2016+ and Cinema 4D R17+. The software is sold subscription-only online. Corona Solo subscriptions cost $53.90/month or $358.80/year. Corona Premium subscriptions cost $67.90/month or $478.80/year. https://blog.corona-renderer.com/chaos-corona-11-released/#more-10526 Autograph 2023.11 Released earlier this year, Autograph is pitched as a next-gen tool for motion design and VFX. Like After Effects, it uses a layer-based compositing model, with its timeline featuring a standard layer stack and dope sheet, but combines it with a 3D mode for manipulating 3D assets. 3D workflow is based around Universal Scene Description, and the software has its own integrated real-time physically based renderer, Filament. Autograph sells itself on ease of use, with its system of Generators pitched as a simpler alternative to a node graph, and Modifiers described as a simpler alternative to expressions. However, its major claim is to be the “first responsive design video software”, with a workflow geared towards artists who need to deliver a project at multiple resolutions and aspect ratios. Autograph 2023.11 “completely refactors” the software’s vector graphics and text engines. New functionality in the vector graphics engine include a new system of Shape Layers, the option to organize 2D shapes into Shape Groups, and a Shape Instancer for instatiating shapes. A new Table to Path Generator draws vector paths based on CSV files, for data-driven animation. There are also a number of new Modifiers, including options to modify shapes with procedural noise, or according to the frequencies of an audio mix. The new text engine comes with a new Text panel for editing text, with support for adjusting text styling or alignment on a per-character or per-paragraph basis. All of the text formatting parameters can be animated, and a new Text path Generator converts text to deformable, animatable paths for more complex effects. The update also extends Autograph’s audio toolset, with imported audio files now visible in a separate, dedicated section of the timeline, synced with the image section. A new Audio Mix container makes it possible to mix audio tracks, with the option to nest mixes by using one Audio Mix as a sub-track within another. There are also new Channel Pan and Curve Equalizer modifiers for filtering audio. And for generating animation procedurally from audio, a new Audio Analyzer Generator uses a track’s frequency spectrum to drive any parameter that can be animated in real time. Autograph 2023.11 also comes with a sizeable list of workflow improvements, particularly to the animation controls. A new system of Timeline Work Areas makes it possible to define playback ranges of interest; and the keyframe editing panel is now available in the Dope Sheet as well as the Curve Editor. The software also now has a CPU renderer that can be used as a fallback when rendering projects on machines that have no GPU, such as CPU-only render nodes. It currently only supports Autograph’s 2D features, but 3D support is planned for a “next release”. In addition, Autograph is compliant with the current CY2023 specification for VFX Reference Platform, and now supports Rocky Linux, widely being adopted as a successor to CentOS. Autograph is compatible with Windows 10+, Ubuntu 20.04+ and RHEL/Rocky Linux 8+, and macOS 10.15+. The software supports Apple Silicon processors natively on macOS 11.0+. Perpetual licences of Autograph Creator, for users with annual revenue under $1 million/year, cost $945; rental costs $35/month or $315/year. Perpetual licences of Autograph Studio cost $1,795; rental costs $59/month or $599/year. https://www.left-angle.com/public/doc-autograph/dev-master/chapters/whats_new/2023.11.1.html#general iClone 8.4 and Character Creator 4.4 iClone 8.4 is by far the bigger update, adding a complete new crowd simulation toolset. Users can distribute crowd characters throughout a 3D scene using a set of new Scatter tools, with options to spawn actors in a specific area, on top of objects, or in preset formations. The movement of characters around the scene can be controlled by a game-style navmesh, or by creating linear paths for them to follow, using simple point-and-click controls. Built-in flocking and avoidance behaviours control how close crowd actors get to one another. To very the appearance of crowd characters, users can arrange them into Actor Groups with custom material settings. The groups can then be paired with specific motions. To improve performance, characters can be switched to Lite mode, which locks certain animation functions; and the toolset supports DDS image compression to reduce load times. iClone’s Motion Director toolset, which lets users animate characters semi-automatically using game-style controls, also gets a sizeable update. Key changes include the option to mix custom upper body motions with Motion Director-generated leg movements. Characters driven by Motion Director also now have customisable avoidance settings. In addition, the update introduces a new run-time solution to reduce foot slippage, although it’s currently limited to the embedded Motion Director packs (iMDs). Character Creator 4.4 is a smaller update, with the software now including a HumanIK (HIK) profile when exporting a character in FBX format, for use in apps that support HIK, like Maya. Search workflow in the Content Manager has also been improved, with a search history, support for multi-word searches, and greater support for custom tags. Both iClone 8.4 and Character Creator 4.4 are available for Windows 7+. New perpetual licences cost $299 for Character Creator, and $599 for iClone. Both updates are free to existing users. https://forum.reallusion.com/544738/iClone-84-Now-Available Substance 3D Modeler 1.5 Released last year, Substance 3D Modeler lets users sculpt both organic and hard-surface models in virtual reality, or in desktop mode using a mouse and keyboard. Like its precursor, Medium, which Adobe acquired in 2019, it uses Signed Distance Fields to represent 3D space, rather than treating 3D geometry as a polygonal mesh. As a result, workflow combines elements of digital sculpting and Boolean modelling, with users able to build up forms with virtual clay, then join them or cut into them with Boolean operations. You can find more details in this story on Substance 3D Modeler 1.0. Substance 3D Modeler 1.5 updates the software’s surfacing toolset, adding a new Flatten tool and updating the existing Buildup and Smooth tools. The Flatten tool, as the name implies, creates a flat surface on the virtual clay, and is intended for both hard-surface and organic modeling. The Smooth tool now supports movement- or rate-based smoothing for more precise control. The Buildup tool, for building up or carving away clay from a surface, now supports custom alphas, and the option to set the size and rotation of the brush when in single stamping mode. You can see the new stamping workflow in action in the video above. In addition, Crease is now a tool in its own right, not an option within the Buildup tool. The update also makes it possible to get a more accurate preview of the way that a model will appear in other software, with initial support image-based lighting (IBL) and PBR materials. Users can now set environment images to generate highlights and reflections on a model’s surface, as shown above, although it isn’t currently possible to import custom HDRs. The PBR material system is currently described as “basic”, with users able to set roughness and metallic values for a material layer, and export the material IDs to Substance 3D Painter. The update also establishes the basis of an export preset system, with users able to pick from readymade presets for common use cases like 3D printing and real-time rendering. The option to create and share custom presets is planned for a future release. Other changes include the option to open files while working in VR mode, and a new Fill button in the Color Picker for filling the current material layer with a solid color. Substance 3D Modeler 1.5 is compatible with Windows 10+, and these VR headsets. It is available via Substance 3D Collection subscriptions, which cost $49.99/month or $549.88/year. Perpetual licences are available via Steam, and cost $149.99. https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-modeler/release-notes/v1-5-release-notes.html https://helpx.adobe.com/content/dam/substance-3d-modeler/release-1-5/highlightclips/ExportPresets.mp4 After Effects 24.1 Adobe has been overhauling 3D compositing workflows in After Effects for some time now, beginning by introducing new 3D gizmos and camera controls in 2020. Workflow remains layer-based, but it is possible to manipulate layers in 3D space. The latest update is the probably the most significant addition to the toolset since that release, moving a number of new 3D features that had previously only been available in separate beta builds of the software into the main stable release. Of those, the one that has been in beta the longest is native 3D model import. Users can now import 3D models in glTF and GLB format directly into After Effects, rather than having to use a third-party plugin like Element 3D. OBJ import remains in beta. As well as geometry, 3D lights and cameras can be imported in glTF and GLB format. Imported models can be rendered in the same 3D space as native After Effects cameras, lights and other 3D layers using the new Advanced 3D renderer. First announced in September, it’s a hardware-agnostic GPU-based render engine, and is intended for final-quality rendering, unlike the existing 3D Draft preview mode. According to Adobe, it should let motion graphics and visualization artists render less demanding shots directly inside After Effects without having to round-trip shots to DCC applications like Cinema 4D, a version of which is included with After Effects. The Advanced 3D renderer also supports image-based lighting for photorealistic work, and 2D/3D workflows for creating more stylized images like the one shown above. The former makes it possible to light objects in the workspace with a HDRI environment map. It only supports the .hdr format, but you can convert images in other formats inside After Effects. The latter makes it possible to use a rendered frame from a 3D model layer as a source, in order to apply 2D effects to portions of 3D scenes. According to Adobe, users can create “highly stylized renders using effects that reference another layer, such as Displacement Map, Vector Blur [and] Calculations”. In addition, After Effects 24.1 introduces new 3D snapping options. It is now possible to snap layers in 3D space while dragging the constrained X, Y, and Z handles and dual-axis combo handles of the 3D Gizmo, in order to position them more precisely. Finally, outside the 3D toolset, After Effects’ animation presets have been updated. The release notes don’t go into a lot of detail, but as well as adding new presets, existing presets have been updated to “incorporate more modern design elements”. After Effects 24.1 is available for Windows 10+ and macOS 12.0+ on a rental-only basis. In the online documentation, the update is also referred to as the December 2023 release. Single-app After Effects subscriptions now cost $34.49/month or $263.88/year, Adobe having raised the prices of many Creative Cloud subscriptions last month. https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/whats-new/2024-1.html Plasticity 1.4 For anyone creating models for fabrication, the key changes in Plasticity 1.4 will be the new Dimension and Measure commands. The former sets absolute dimensions for parts of a model, including the distance between faces, the dimensions of primitives, and the radii of circles, cones, cylinders and fillets. The latter lets users create 3D annotations showing the distance between two points on a model, simply by clicking on those points in the viewport. The annotations are aligned to axes, and update automatically as the model is edited. The update also adds new options for creating 2D curves, including Tangent Circle and Tangent Arc, and Offset Vertex, for adding new vertices to curves. Workflow improvements include support for Blender-style scene navigation, including [Alt]-MMB to center the view, and the option to hold [Alt] while orbiting to snap to an orthogonal view. For users with Studio licenses, other changes include support for importing files in FBX, DWG and DXF format. The latter two are only available on Windows and Linux. In addition, Plasticity now supports 3DConnexion’s SpaceMouse input devices. Plasticity 1.4 is available for Windows 10+, Ubuntu 22.04+ Linux and macOS 12.0+. It runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. The update is free to existing users. Perpetual node-locked Indie licences cost $149, and import and export files in OBJ, STEP and Parasolid XT format. Studio licences support a wider range of file formats and cost $299. https://www.plasticity.xyz/ Magic Nodes 2 Released earlier this year, Magic Nodes lets artists build up a composite by wiring together nodes in a graph which the extension then translates into standard After Effects layers. As well as providing the flexibility of native node-based compositing tools when it comes to modifying composites, the extension removes the need to create precomps, improving performance on complex shots. Whereas the initial release was focused on compositing rendered elements into video, Magic Nodes 2 adds support for 3D layers and cameras, opening up a wider range of use cases. The update also adds the option to create multiple node graphs within a single After Effects project, and to keep more complex graphs organized by grouping nodes. In addition, the plugin is now GPU-accelerated – via OpenGL, so it should be hardware-agnostic – and supports After Effects’ Multi-Frame Rendering system. Magic Nodes 2 is compatible with After Effects 2017+ on Windows and macOS. A Basic perpetual licence costs $89, and is limited to five graphs per project file; a Premium plan costs $149, and includes access to sample projects and one year’s maintenance. https://hollywoodillusion.com/magic-nodes Ornatrix 8 for 3ds Max Ornatrix 8 for 3ds Max introduces several new features originally released in Ornatrix 4 for Maya, the Maya edition of the plugin, earlier this year. They include Graft Grooms: a new type of preset designed to make it possible to create entire grooms through a simple point-and-click workflow. Users drag across the surface of a character to draw a graft surface, from which Ornatrix generates the hair automatically. There are presets for different hairstyles, but users can also create their own custom grafts, which can then be reused between projects or shared with other artists. Other changes include a new system for ‘boxing’ Ornatrix operators, which combines set of operators in a single Groom operator. Unlike the existing Bake command, operators combined in this way remain procedurally editable, and can be unboxed again to make it possible to edit them individually. There release also features update to many of the key modifiers, including Surface Comb, Edit Guides, Clump, Curling, and to the hair baking system. Under the hood, Ornatrix has been moved to Embree 3, a newer version of Intel’s CPU ray tracing library, “significantly” improving performance. Support for the Alembic file format has been extended, including the option to export propagated strands like feathers, and a MXS flag when exporting grooms to Unreal Engine. Ornatrix 8 is compatible with 3ds Max 2014+. New perpetual licenses now cost $599; rental costs $50/month or $420/year. https://ephere.com/plugins/autodesk/max/ornatrix/docs/8/Whats_New_in_Version_8.html