Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 3, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Autodesk has presented the latest version of its digital sculpting and painting solution, Mudbox 2010. Release 2010 makes it easier for artists to use Mudbox in parallel with programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Softimage. Mudbox 2010 also offers numerous new creative tools and workflows, as well as a Software Development Kit (SEK) that gives production teams the ability to customise Mudbox as required and integrate it into pipelines.
Mudbox 2010 will be supplied as part of the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites, making it more affordable to introduce the technology into film, game and television workflows.
“Autodesk Mudbox gives artists the freedom to create digital 3D artwork as easily as working with clay and paint,” explains Stig Gruman, Vice President at Autodesk’s Digital Entertainment Group. “The software allows artists to give their 3D characters, objects and environments an additional level of detail that is difficult to achieve with conventional 3D applications.”
Christoph Schädl, Character Artist at RABCAT Computer Graphics GmbH, was one of the beta testers for Mudbox 2010. “I am absolutely thrilled with Mudbox because the intuitive user interface allows me to concentrate completely on my creative vision,” says Schädl. “The feature that convinced me most in software version 2010 is the ability to work seamlessly across multiple texture maps and in different paint channels at the same time. That means you can create truly enormous textures—up to 50K and more.”
Important new features of Autodesk Mudbox 2010
• Interoperability with Adobe Photoshop—New workflows simplify the use of Mudbox in conjunction with Photoshop. Mudbox 2010 can both import PSD files and use them as paint layers, and export paint layers as PSD files for correction.
• Simplified interoperability with Maya, 3ds Max and Softimage—Mudbox now supports Autodesk’s FBX data transfer technology, allowing artists to import and export scene data containing more information than the conventional OBJ format. Painted texture maps, cameras and image planes can be retained, resulting in greater transfer fidelity and saving the artist time.
• Software Development Kit (SDK)—Mudbox 2010 is equipped with a new C++ SDK, allowing production teams to customise Mudbox as required and integrate it into pipelines.
• New creative tools and workflows—Software version 2010 features new brushes, support for reordering paint layers, ambient occlusion map baking and new viewport filters. It enables images to be rendered directly from the viewport, making Mudbox highly suitable for presentations.
Autodesk Digital Entertainment Creation Suites
With Autodesk’s new Entertainment Creation Suites, customers can choose between Maya 2010 and 3ds Max 2010 in conjunction with Mudbox 2010 and Autodesk MotionBuilder 2010. These suites give artists and production facilities the opportunity to use several powerful creative tools at once. Through Autodesk FBX 2010 data transfer technology, the suites provide a closed, efficient pipeline. Combining the programmes can maximise artists’ creativity and optimise their productivity.
Prices and availability
Sales of Mudbox 2010 and the new Digital Entertainment Creation Suites are scheduled to begin in August 2009. The 32-bit version of Mudbox 2010 is supported by Windows Vista Business (SP1), Windows XP Professional (SP2) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5.7. The 64-bit version of Mudbox 2010 is supported by Windows Vista Business (SP1) and Windows XP x64 Edition (SP2). Pricing information is available from Autodesk resellers: http://www.autodesk.de/partner