Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 22, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Version 1.0 of the Spotmask plug-in from German development studio 3D-IO Games & Video Production GmbH has now been released. By adding a World Position, UVW, Normal and Velocity pass via Spotmask, flexible adjustments can be made to images and animations during post-processing and compositing.
With the World Position pass, 3D artists can better select and retouch the individual areas of images and animations after rendering. The UVW pass, on the other hand, enables textures in a scene to be exchanged after rendering without having to start another rendering process. Even real-time texture replacement in compositing is intended to be possible.
According to 3D-IO Games & Video Production GmbH, the Velocity pass provides a significant improvement for camera movements, and the Normal pass can store the directions in which surfaces point. This data can later be used to add accurate reflections for light sources that were not present during the original render.
Spotmask is compatible with 3ds Max from version 2010 in 32- and 64-bit. A free trial version is available, which has a lower-detail color output. A one-seat license with high-quality output and custom settings is available for 99 euros; the five-seat licent for studios is available for 399 euros. You can purchase Spotmask here.
3D-IO Games & Video is a development studio from Wiesbaden. You can find more information about the features of Spotmask for 3ds Max Mental Ray here.
