Modo 4.01 is out!

As the subject say MODO 4.01 is now out:

http://www.luxology.com/modo/product_information/

The Mothership:

http://www.luxology.com/

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -Sneak Peek

www.iceagemovie.com/sneak/

2009 Apprentice Challenge Winners

Side Effects Software, The Pixel Farm and 3D World Magazine are pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Apprentice Challenge. In Issue 114 of 3D World Magazine, artists were asked to add a visual effect or animated character to a pre-tracked live-action shot then post the entries to YouTube. Each video’s popularity and ratings were used to pick the top entries which were then reviewed by a panel of judges at Side Effects Software.

The winners of the 2009 Apprentice Challenge are Pavel Siska for the Most Realistic entry titled World without Us and Igor Kharitonov for the Most Entertaining entry titled Dancing in the Rain. Both Pavel and Igor will be receiving a copy of Houdini Master and PFTrack.

Congratulations to both of them and to everyone who met this year's challenge.

Click here to check out the winning entries:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?opt...=1532&Itemid=66

3D World's 7 CGI pioneers

For such a relatively new medium, CG has already thrown up an astounding number of pioneers and visionaries whose work has literally defined the sort of imagery we see on screen. So, in no particular order, here are seven of the most important pioneers in the history of CGI - and happily, all but one are still alive and still innovating today. Many are researchers, academics and developers rather than animators or directors, and while we hate to give further weight to the tiresome “CG isn’t art!” argument, it’s important to remember that without these folks, there probably wouldn’t BE any CG.

Edwin Catmull
John Lasseter may be the one afforded most of the limelight, but fellow Pixar guru Catmull is responsible for creating and developing a dizzying array of CG techniques. Texture mapping, Z-buffering, various anti-aliasing algorithms and subdivision surfaces can all be be traced back to him, in whole or in part, and he was one of the key developers of RenderMan to boot.

John Whitney Sr.
Born before modern computers had even been invented, Whitney – the founder of the pioneering Motion Graphics Inc. – was always fascinated by the idea of creating art with machines. He began with analogue computers, and by 1966 was IBM’s first artist in residence, producing beautiful abstract pieces and later moving to purely digital devices. He died in 1995.

Paul Debevec
Although primarily a researcher and developer of thoroughly hardcore algorithms, Debevec has the rare gift of also being able to translate this work into beautiful imagery – such as the short film Fiat Lux. He developed many of the techniques behind HDRI and image based lighting, and continues to throw out research papers on everything from face scanning to 3D teleconferencing at an alarming rate.

Jim Blinn
Blinn first gained prominence at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with his work on the Voyager space probe animations, and later went on to develop crucial algorithms which deal with the way light interacts with surfaces – such as bump mapping, environment mapping, and the Blinn-Phong shading model. Like many of the people featured here, he is a researcher rather than an artist, but without him CG would be in a much more primitive state.

Chris Landreth
Landreth is a “mere” animator, but his work using standard, off-the-shelf software pushes the boundaries of imagination and technique in CG. With films such as Bingo, The End and the much-lauded Ryan, he has developed his so-called style of Psychorealism to examine how graphics can be used for more than just pretty-pretty or ultra-photorealistic effects.

George Lucas
Like it or not, ol’ George has been influential – if sometimes only indirectly – in many of the fundamental leaps in CGI technology. Pixar evolved from the Computer Division of Industrial Light and Magic, as did Photoshop; Star Wars featured a very early use of 3D animation in the Death Star trench sequence; and Lucas’ apparent desire to do away with human actors altogether has seen countless other innovations and developments.

Benoît Mandelbrot
The French mathematician, now 85, is another indirect pioneer. With his work on developing and consolidating fractal theory – iconically exemplified by the Mandelbrot set – he paved the way for hundreds of other algorithms and theories which describe how to realistically model the real world within CG. The representation of landscapes, atmospheres, vegetation and many other natural phenomena in CG owe their existence to Mandelbrot’s work.

Total Drama Action Premieres as Most-Watched on All TV Among Kids

Officially kicking the summer television season into high gear, Cartoon Network’s newest cartoon animation series TOTAL DRAMA ACTION premiered Thursday night (June 11, 9 p.m.) as the most-watched program of the day on all television-broadcast and cable-among kids 6-11, kids 9-14 and boys 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research.



The animated reality series charted double- and triple-digit ratings and delivery gains across all kid demos and ranked as the network’s highest-rated telecast year-to-date among kids 9-14. Coupled with brand new episodes of original animated comedy series THE MARVELOUS MISADVENTURES OF FLAPJACK (8:30 p.m.) and 6Teen (9:30 p.m.), Total Drama Action drove the Har Har Tharsdays comedy block (8-10 p.m.) to a significant win as Cartoon Network’s most-watched Thursday prime time performance year-to-date and second-best overall prime time performance to date in 2009.

A series spin-off to last year’s TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND — Cartoon Network’s #1 series in 2008 among kids 6-11 and 9-14 — TOTAL DRAMA ACTION proved even more potent than its predecessor, which premiered in the same timeframe last year. Compared to the TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND premiere on June 5, 2008, TOTAL DRAMA ACTION out-delivered kids 2-11 by 81%, kids 6-11 by 85% and kids 9-14 by 140%. Even more significantly, boys 2-11 delivery increased by 103%, boys 6-11 delivery by 101% and boys 9-14 delivery by 174%.

Highlights from the TOTAL DRAMA ACTION series premiere, as well as Cartoon Network’s Har Har Tharsdays prime time performance compared to the same time period last year, include the following:

TOTAL DRAMA ACTION (Thursday, June 11, 9 p.m.) vs. TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND (Thursday, June 5, 2008, 9 p.m.)

* Kids 2-11 delivery (1,714,000) increased by 81%, and ratings (4.2) by 75%

* Boys 2-11 delivery (1,144,000) increased by 103%, and ratings (5.5) by 104%

* Kids 6-11 delivery (1,347,000) increased by 85%, and ratings (5.5) by 83%

* Boys 6-11 delivery (946,000) increased by 101%, and ratings (7.6) by 100%

* Kids 9-14 delivery (1,163,000) and ratings (4.8) both increased by 140%

* Boys 9-14 delivery (859,000) increased by174%, and ratings (6.9) by 176%

Har Har Thardays (Thursday, 8-10 p.m.) vs. the same time period in 2008

* Kids 2-11 delivery (1,270,000) increased by 13%, and ratings (3.1) by 11%

* Kids 6-11 delivery (967,000) increased by 17%, and ratings (4.0) by 18%

* Kids 9-14 delivery (790,000) increased by 27%, and ratings (3.2) by 28%

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.) vs. the same time period averages in 2008

* Kids 2-11 delivery (1,107,000) increased by 7%, and ratings (2.7) by 4%

* Kids 6-11 delivery (824,000) and ratings (3.4) both increased by 10%

* Kids 9-14 delivery (648,000) increased by 26%, and ratings (2.7) by 29%

6TEEN (Thursday, 9:30 p.m.) vs. the same time period averages in 2008

* Kids 6-11 delivery (923,000) and ratings (3.8) both increased by 6%

* Kids 9-14 delivery (843,000) increased by 38%, and ratings (3.5) by 40%

TOTAL DRAMA ACTION is an animated comedy that showcases all the elements of favorite reality TV shows within the framework of an exciting, larger-than-life elimination competition. Created by FreshTV Inc., TOTAL DRAMA ACTION delivers the best moments of reality television: romances and friendships, scheming and sabotage, death-defying stunts and stomach-curdling challenges. The 14 lead contestants from 2008’s TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND series return to face thrilling challenges in an abandoned film studio backlot-all inspired by the movies! Participants compete for rewards and the hope of winning the monster cash prize of one million dollars. Every second episode, contestants will face the dramatic Gilded Chris Ceremony, where one unlucky loser will walk the green mile and ride the “lame-ousine” home, never to return.

The Penguins of Madagascar Top Children Show for May

Nickelodeon’s hit cartoon animation series, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (Sunday, June 14, 10 a.m. ET/PT) averaged 3.7 million total viewers (P2+) and ranked as the week’s top kids’ show with P2+ on all of basic cable with the repeat performance of “The Hidden/Kingdom Come”. The Penguins Saturday morning play (”Little Zoo Coupe/All Choked Up”, June 13, 10 a.m. ET/PT) ranked as the number-one telecast for the week with kids 2-11 (5.8/2.0 million, +23%) on broadcast and cable TV.

THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR has quickly become an established hit, ranking as the number-one animated series among total viewers for the month of May and reaching more than 26 million P2+ each week (source: Nielsen Media Research Npower, May 2009). Quarter to date, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR is the number-two animated show with kids, only behind SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, and the number-one animated show with total viewers.

Nickelodeon’s ICARLY — which quarter to date ranks as the number-one kids’ program on broadcast and basic cable with kids 2-11, kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14, and is the number-one kid-targeted program with total viewers (P2+) — was basic cable’s top-ranked kids’ show on Saturday night (”iTake on Dingo”, June 13, 8 p.m. ET/PT) with total viewers. The half-hour episode averaged 3.3 million P2+ (+28%) and swept all kid demos, ranking number-one with T9-14 (5.5/1.2 million), K6-11 (6.4/1.4 million, +16%) and K2-11 (4.9/1.7 million, +20%).

The Penguins of Madagascar is an American CGI animated television series broadcast on Nickelodeon, starring the penguins from the 2005 film, Madagascar, which the TV series is based on.

2 Day Workshop in Amsterdam in July

3d-Palace Hosts 5th Amsterdam 2 Day Seminar for 3ds Max Hard Surface skills.

3d-Palace (www.3d-palace.com) will be hosting a 2 day event in the Netherlands again this year to teach Hard Surface skills in modeling, animation and effects in the beautiful city of Amsterdam to ten students this year. The theme this time around is “Racing Particles” and the class will be taught by Cris Robson, senior tutor at 3d-palace and recognized expert on teaching of hard surface skills.

The class, which costs 200 Euros, will require students to provide their own laptop in order to reduce costs and will be running from 10am to 5pm on the days of Thursday the 23rd of July and Friday the 24th of July 2009 from the American Book Center teaching rooms in central Amsterdam. During the two day event, students will be taught a variety of methods of hard surface modelling for detailing, approaches to primary and secondary methods of animation and particle driven effects simulations;

Day 1;

Learning about hard surface modelling with a focus on creation of high detail pieces. We will cover using scripts to place detail as well as boolean methods of detail.

Following the initial information and lessons the class will create a high detail racing vehicle during the remainder of day one either by following along with the tutor or taking his ideas and extrapolating on them. The piece created will be detailed and then optimized.

Day 2;

Animation, animation methods for features such as rudder systems and other important aspects will be discussed and demonstrated.

Track - a track will be created using various methods to show how to rapidly develop environments.
Texturing - using a mixture of procedural and photoshop, textures are applied to the created track and ship.

Particles - An introduction to Particle Flow followed by a hands on follow along exercise in which we create an array of racing ships that race around the track that we have created with a randomly calculated winner.

Seminar Timetable

10:00am start
12:30pm Lunch
13:30pm Afternoon session
17:00pm End for the day

Q&A.

Will I need the software?

We will be using 3ds Max 2010 so if you do not have the software it can be provided for the duration of the two day event.

Where do I stay? Is it Expensive?Not at all - go to www.hotels.nl and pick out something. I usually stay near the station where accomodation tends to be cheap. Do not look for hotels that are luxury high class venues unless you are prepared to pay a lot extra for everything - most decent hotels will have a shower or bath, a decent breakfast and clean sheets. Be aware that the stairs in the hotels in the Netherlands are always pretty steep compared to what you may be used to so remember to take care.

Are there Any Reviews?

Review from Richard Ellis (London, attended 2007);



Review from Kane (Stafford, Attended 2008,2009);



Where is the Venue?

http://www.treehouse.abc.nl/index.php?lang_id=E

The ABC Treehouse is located in the bustling center of Amsterdam on the Voetboogstraat, a small street that lies in between the Kalverstraat, Heiligeweg and the Spui Square. If you are planning to drive to Amsterdam, all roads to the center will get you to us.

To find out more : http://www.3d-palace.com/index.php?page=maxterdam09
To buy your ticket : https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webs...tton_id=5843977

email olblue@3d-palace.com if you need more details.