Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 26, 2016. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Golaem Version 5
The Layout Tool is a post-simulation editing tool based on Maya manipulators. It helps particularly with smaller crowd scenes in which little or no AI is used and artistic control is required instead.
The new feature avoids having to return to the first step of a simulation. Instead, simulation results can be adjusted in the post-simulation stage using Maya’s Translate, Rotate and Scale tools, as well as the Duplicate/Kill functions. Through the Character Palette, characters’ props and shadings can be randomised, or individual characters can be picked out manually to add variation to the crowd.
The animation speed can also be balanced or edited. And because the Layout Tool works like a layer on the simulation, all modifications can be cancelled or adjusted quickly and easily, at any point in the history.
Golaem Layout Tool
Anyone who does not own Golaem can also purchase Golaem Layout as a standalone solution. It is cheaper than the full version of Golaem and has fewer simulation options, but existing simulation results can be visualised and edited with it. This allows studios to organise work differently and use an expanded workflow, because other departments can call up a full previsualisation of simulated characters in the viewport this way. A simulation library can also be created with Golaem Layout.
Price and Availability
Until March 21, rental licences for Golaem and Golaem Layout are discounted by 50 percent: Golaem then costs 325 euros per month (original price 650 euros), while Golaem Layout is available for 65 euros per month (instead of 130 euros).
Here you can find the complete pricing overview for the Golaem tools.
A 30-day trial version is available here.
Simulated physics on characters with Golaem and Nvidia PhysX:
For many well-known studios such as Cinesite, Framestore, Atomic Fiction and many more, Golaem is standard in the pipeline for CG crowd scenes. Here is the Golaem Showreel 2016:
All further information about Golaem for Maya is available here: golaem.com
