Bela Beier
626 posts
Digital Production Newsroom
Supersplat! Open-Source 3D Editor Adds Animated Gaussian Splats
The open-source 3D graphics editor just upped its game with support for animated Gaussian splats, offering new possibilities for real-time graphics.
Project Grot’s Houdini Tools: Ruins and Flesh for Free
Procedural ruins and flesh generation tools from Project Grot now available for Houdini users. Free to download—test them before they test your patience.
Free Metahuman Animation Tool: Rig It Right
A free animation tool for Metahuman rigs now supports UE5 Mannequin and CC4 skeletons.
NVIDIA’s Project DIGITS: A Tiny Powerhouse for VFX Pros?
Project DIGITS pairs NVIDIA's Grace Blackwell Superchip with compact design, offering potential for VFX rendering, denoising, and AI workflows. Testing will tell.
Sony’s mocopi Pro Kit: Elevating Full-Body Motion Capture
Sony introduces the mocopi Pro Kit, featuring a 12-sensor setup, real-time Bluetooth connectivity, and integration with the XYN Motion Studio app for enhanced motion capture.
Getty Images and Shutterstock are merging.
The giants of stock media shake hands, leaving creators pondering the future of licensing.
Nuke Gets Splatted: Gaussian Splatting Plugin Debuts
Introducing Gaussian Splatting for Nuke: real-time 3D point cloud rendering with GPU acceleration, enhancing VFX compositing workflows.
Celsys Announces Clip Studio Paint 4.0: A Feature-Rich Update
Clip Studio Paint 4.0, releasing in March 2025, introduces puppet warp, enhanced 3D capabilities, improved filters, and animation features tailored for professionals.
NVIDIA’s RTX 5090: Overkill or Exactly What Your Render Farm Needs?
NVIDIA unveils its RTX 5090 lineup, promising record-breaking performance for VFX, real-time rendering, and game development. Ready to upgrade?
Maxon Grows: Laubwerk Joins the Family
Maxon integrates Laubwerk’s 3D vegetation tools into its ecosystem, expanding possibilities for plant-based workflows!
Paint Your Blender: Free Add-On Brings Photoshop-Like Layers
A new free Blender add-on lets you paint directly on 3D objects using Photoshop-like layers. Precision meets simplicity for digital artists.
HDR Without Headaches: Dolby Vision Training by Matthias Bolliger
Matthias Bollinger’s Dolby Vision course "Advanced" simplifies HDR workflows, from color grading to light scripting. Certification prep included.
A Wrapping Revolution: Wrap 2024.11 & Wrap4D Unveiled
FaceForm updates Wrap and Wrap4D with enhanced node graph features, new brush tools, and a comprehensive blend rig pipeline for 3D scanning professionals.
PFTrack 24.12.19: Scene Reconstruction Gets a Makeover
And to keep track (Höhö) of the New Years Resolution, The The Pixel Farm releases a new version of PFTrack! The Pixel Farm's Version 24.12.19 introduces AI-powered enhancements to its photogrammetry toolset.
Walk the Space Station—Virtually
Explore the International Space Station in a 3D Tour Built with Unreal Engine 5.
20 New Presets for Tiny Eye 1.3: Eyes Wide Open
Tiny Eye 1.3 receives 20 new presets, adding more versatility to this real-time graphics tool for VFX and CGI. Check the update before diving into production!
Blackmagic Camera 9.2 Update: Pyxis 6K Gets Remote Love
Control the Pyxis 6K remotely, courtesy of the new Blackmagic Camera App. Firmware updates that might actually make life easier.
Fly Blender Like a Drone – For Free!
A free Blender add-on turns your camera into a drone-style controller, bringing a new perspective to 3D animation and VFX.
Moho 14.3: Mantis Shrimp Packs a Colorful Punch
Moho 14.3, the Mantis Shrimp update, introduces advanced brush features like Color Drift and Opacity, enhancing 2D animation with natural media effects.
MoonRay 1.7: DreamWorks’ Renderer Gets a Shiny Update
DreamWorks Animation releases MoonRay 1.7, introducing PortalLight, enhanced NVIDIA GPU acceleration, and Cryptomatte support in hdMoonRay.
3DCoat 2024.30: New Year, New Tools for Your 3D Arsenal
Pilgway's 3DCoat 2024.30 introduces RealityCapture integration, enhanced boolean operations for 3D printing, and new array tools for streamlined workflows.
The nightmare before Christmas: Horrendous Blender Interfaces
The Colleagues from Lvl80 collected some of the most horrendous interfaces for Blender – thanks for the nightmares,…
Cell Fluids 2.0 Released: A Splashy Update for Blender
Cell Fluids 2.0 brings new features for fluid simulation in Blender, targeting VFX and real-time workflows. Check it before jumping in!
Terragen 4.8 & Sky Update: Shaping Clouds and Worlds
Planetside Software releases Terragen 4.8 and updates Terragen Sky, introducing GPU previews, cloud exports, and a cloud-painting tool for CGI and VFX professionals.
RenderMan 26.3
Pixar rolls out RenderMan 26.3 with updates focused on real-time rendering, denoising, and artist-friendly features.
Blender to Unreal Exporter: Free Tool Promises Simpler Workflows
A free Blender-to-Unreal Engine exporter aims to streamline workflows between the popular 3D creation tool and Epic's game engine.
ShapeLab 2025: Sculpting in VR, Now Sharper Than Ever
ShapeLab 2025 brings VR sculpting tools for VFX artists, game developers, and 3D creators – now available for download.
Adobe Substance 3D Stager 3.1 Beta
Adobe Substance 3D Stager 3.1 introduces key updates, enhancing material editing, asset management, and real-time rendering workflows.
AI Meets 3D: Meshtron Spins Up Smarter Meshes
Meshtron uses AI to generate 3D meshes with speed and flexibility. A promising tool for VFX, games, and real-time workflows—simplicity remains key.
UNIGINE 2.19.1 Embraces Full USD Support
UNIGINE’s real-time engine hits version 2.19.1, introducing full support for USD files. Artists and developers can now integrate USD assets smoothly, improving compatibility across tools like Maya, Houdini, and Blender.
Blackmagic’s $30,000 URSA Cine Immersive Camera Enters Pre-Order Stage
Blackmagic Design's new URSA Cine Immersive Camera targets VR pros with stereoscopic 3D video capture at a steep $30,000 price tag.
Mocha Pro 2025: Planar Tracking, USD, and Roto
Boris FX rolls out Mocha Pro 2025 with USD support, improved planar tracking, and updated rotoscoping workflows for VFX professionals.
GIMP 3.0 Finally Lands: Has the Free Editor Aged Like Wine?
GIMP 3.0 arrives after two decades, bringing long-awaited UI updates, non-destructive editing, and multi-platform support.
Ronja Räubertochter Meets Generative AI: FMX 2025 Highlights Unveiled
Important Looking Pirates share VFX secrets for Netflix’s Ronja Räubertochter, while Martin Nebelong explores generative AI workflows.
From Sketch to Scene: Clay Pencil Turns 2D into 3D in Real Time
Clay Pencil transforms 2D sketches into 3D animations in real-time, leveraging Blender’s node-based Geometry Nodes system.
Chaos Brings V-Ray Beta to Blender
V-Ray for Blender beta is here—free and packed with pro-grade tools from Chaos, including lighting, rendering, and shader features, plus OSL support.
Framestore Brings Spike Jonze and James Gunn to the Table—Virtually
Framestore’s collaboration with Spike Jonze and James Gunn reveals the dynamics between directors and animators in CGI filmmaking.
Blender Holograms: Gaussian Splats Meet Real-Time Magic
Splattering Holograms and skeletons sounds like a Slasher-Movie, but it might be the most efficient way to get your "Ghosts of Christmas" done before Christmas. CHeck out the Tutorial by BlueNile 3d!
Autodesk Opens USD for 3ds Max
Autodesk has released the USD plugin for 3ds Max as open-source on Github,
Foundry Releases Katana 8.0, Mari 7.1, and Nuke 16.0 Open Beta
Katana 8.0 introduces USD roundtripping, Mari 7.1 unveils 2D painting, and Nuke 16.0 open beta offers multishot workflows for VFX professionals.
Breakdown Maker for Blender: Get your showreel ready!
Breakdown Maker, a $25 Blender add-on, simplifies VFX breakdowns by automating render pass exports and offering professional animation presets.
SideFX Offers Free Houdini Muscle Masterclass
If you already know your New Years resolution to get "fit" will fail as miserably as always: Why not change the objective and build muscles in Houdini?
Major Update for LumaFusion on Android and ChromeOS
LumaFusion 2.0 for Android introduces speed ramping, enhanced keyframing, and flexible pricing options for creators.
UE Project Titan: Open-World Learning Resource
Epic Games releases Project Titan Unreal Engine project with tools, training, and assets for game developers.
Free 3D Looping Animated Tree Asset
"VFXAssets" on Gumroad offers a free procedural 3D looping animated tree for VFX, game design, and CGI workflows—ideal for environment animation projects - a larger library is also available!
ARRI Introduces ALEXA 265: Compact Evolution in 65mm Cinema
ARRI’s ALEXA 265 offers a lighter, smaller 65mm camera with improved dynamic range, low-light performance, and advanced workflow features.
World VFX Day 2024: Live Event Details and Highlights
World VFX Day kicks off this Friday with over 20 hours of talks, interviews, and showcases, streaming live from Tokyo and available online.
Procedural Scene Generation in Blender: AAA Nodes Add-On
AAA Nodes offers a powerful procedural modeling toolkit for Blender, simplifying the creation of detailed 3D scenes and assets with a node-based approach.
Maxon One Winter Update Brings New Tools
Maxon’s winter release offers powerful updates across Cinema 4D, ZBrush, Red Giant, and Redshift, enhancing workflows for all the little VFX artists and designers who have been nice.
Epic Games Launches Free Unreal Fellowship Game Development Course
Epic Games introduces a free, limited-time Unreal Fellowship course for aspiring game developers, filmmakers, and VFX professionals.
LayerPainter Update Enhances Painting Workflow in Blender
The LayerPainter add-on for Blender gets updated with improved UI, new features for texture painting, and added functionality for VFX workflows.
Submit Projects Now for Animation Production Days 2025
Animation Production Days 2025, Europe's key animation co-production platform, opens submissions for film, TV, and transmedia projects. Deadline: February 4, 2025.
Crocotile 3D 2.4.5: Tile-Based 3D Modeling Tool Gets New Features
The Crocotile 3D 2.4.5 update adds key enhancements to streamline tile-based 3D modeling, with new editing tools, features, and improved workflows.
Procedural Texturing using Houdini and MaterialX
Learn how Houdini's MaterialX simplifies procedural texturing for VFX artists, with a focus on efficient shading and rendering workflows.
Activision Releases Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera Dataset for Real-Time Applications
The Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera datase has been released, for testing and developing, offering production-ready assets for real-time graphics and game development
FilmConvert Hazy: Digital Mist for Cinematic Post-Production
FilmConvert introduces Hazy, a plugin for Resolve, Premiere and FCP. bringing mist filter effects to post-production workflows. Aimed at enhancing cinematic visuals digitally.
3dgs Render 2.0 Adds 3D Gaussian Splats Editing to Blender
3DGS Render 2.0 introduces Blender support for 3D Gaussian splat editing, streamlining real-time graphics workflows for VFX and game development.
World Creator 2024.3: Enhanced Terrain Generation for Game Dev and VFX
The latest update to World Creator introduces faster terrain generation, streamlined workflows, and deeper integration with engines like Unreal and Unity.
Nevercenter Updates Silo and Milo for 2025: Refining 3D Modeling and Rendering
Nevercenter launches Silo 2025 and Milo 2025, enhancing quick and lightweight 3D modeling and real-time rendering tools.
Population V2 Add-on for Blender Enhances Crowd Simulation
The lightweight Blender add-on Population introduces updates for faster, more flexible crowd simulations tailored for VFX and animation workflows.
Andreas Weidman’s Project Greylight: Free Tools for Houdini Artists
Project Greylight by Andreas Weidman offers Houdini users free tools to streamline Solaris workflows, USD management, and integration with Unreal Engine.
Fluid Flux 3.0: New Tools for Fluid Dynamics in Unreal Engine
Fluid Flux 3.0 expands its VFX toolkit with glass simulation, underwater lighting, dynamic rain, and enhanced fluid simulations for Unreal Engine workflows.
Download 125 Free 2D Cloud Textures for VFX
Get 125 free 2D cloud textures for VFX and post-production. Perfect for compositing, matte painting, and CGI workflows.
Black Friday 2024: Best Deals for Post-Production Pros
This year’s Black Friday brings discounts on DaVinci Resolve, FilmConvert Nitrate, and OWC hardware—essential tools for post-production workflows.
Blender 4.3: Updates for Animation, VFX, and Rendering
Blender 4.3 introduces light linking, a Metallic BSDF node, F82 Tint, enhanced compositing features, and updates for geometry nodes and simulations.
Free Update: Reallusion’s Blender Auto Setup Plugin Enhances CC4 Workflows
Reallusion updates its free Blender Auto Setup plugin, improving rigging, shader setup, and character import workflows for Character Creator 4 and iClone.
New Kizzle Splatter Node Enhances Adobe Substance 3D Designer
Kai Mergener’s custom Kizzle Splatter Node streamlines pattern creation in Substance 3D Designer, offering new procedural texturing capabilities for 3D artists.
Cascadeur Mobile Brings AI Animation to iOS
Create keyframe animations with AI-assist on your iPhone or iPad. Cascadeur Mobile adapts desktop tools for on-the-go workflows.
WRetargetTool: Free Animation Retargeting Tool for Maya
Discover WRetargetTool, a free and adaptable animation retargeting solution for Maya, focused on simplifying character animation and mocap transfer.
Free Brushstroke Tools Now Available for Blender from Blender Studio
New brushstroke tools for Blender—free from Blender Studio—offer expanded control for digital sculpting and painting.
Final Cut Pro 11 Introduces Magnetic Mask and Transcribe-to-Captions—Finally
Apple unveils Final Cut Pro 11 after an 11-year gap, adding features like magnetic masking and automatic transcriptions—but are these enough to keep pace with competitors?
Unity Webinar: Get Real with Real-Time 3D
Join Unity's German today! (November 14th, 10 o'clock) to explore new tools and real-time 3D applications across industries, from VFX to architecture.
Unreal Engine 5.5 Unleashes Color Grading, Virtual Production, and SMPTE 2110 Advances
UE 5.5 equips creators with new tools for animation, real-time IP workflows, and color grading—streamlining complex VFX and virtual production tasks.
FMX 2025 – Let’s Go!
"Ryhthm of change" - this year's FMX overarching topic will be chaired by none other then Paul Debevec!
DaVinci Resolve 19.1 Enhances Multicam, Audio, and VFX Workflow
The DaVinci Resolve 19.1 update adds new audio tools, Fusion effects, and color grading features, alongside support for spatial media and USD export.
Foundry Offers 10-Year Free License for Modo: A Farewell Gift for Loyal Users
Foundry grants 10-year Modo licenses for users as part of its end-of-life transition plan.
Blender Conference 2024: Mastering Topology and Retopology
Blender Conference 2024 covered practical topology techniques for 3D workflows, with a free PDF guide on efficient modeling for diverse applications.
Academy Software Foundation Welcomes OpenAPV as a New Codec Standard
Academy Software Foundation adopts OpenAPV, Samsung's royalty-free codec for high-quality, space-efficient video production.
Epic’s Fab Debuts Free Military Airport Asset Pack for Unity and Unreal Engine
Epic Games launches free military airport environment by FreshScan on Fab, kicking off a bi-weekly release schedule for Unity and Unreal Engine assets.
Study Explores Automated 3D Mapping for VFX and Game Development
Researchers investigate ActiveSplat, a cutting-edge system for automated 3D mapping, offering new possibilities for VFX and game production.
Foundry Announces Modo’s Retirement: A Final Version Before End-of-Life
Foundry announces the end of Modo development, shifting focus to core products; support for Modo 17.1 will continue until contracts expire.
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario 2.1: Manual Calibration and Enhanced Export Features
New Update Gives ZEISS CinCraft Scenario 2.1 Full Manual Spherical Lens Calibration for Broader Compatibility in Virtual Production.
VR gallery at the Ostfalia
Wouldn't it be great if you could see something else in VR besides hectic hustle and bustle, demos and microtransaction calls? An art exhibition, for example? Yes, there is - and we found one such project with Noah Thiele, a student at Ostfalia.
RealityScan 1.5.3 Update Eases 3D Scans with Better Processing for iOS
Epic’s RealityScan update brings flexible processing, smoother workflows, and better support for iPad Pro and image uploads.
Unity Webinar: A Practical Dive into Real-Time 3D Across All Devices
Join Unity's German webinar on November 14 to explore new tools and real-time 3D applications across industries, from VFX to architecture.
Sketchsoft Releases Feather 1.0: Streamlined 3D Drawing
Sketchsoft’s Feather 1.0 introduces a real-time 3D drawing and modeling tool focused on efficient asset creation.
Dolby Launches free Training : Visual Storytelling in HDR
Dolby has unveiled its newest training course, Visual Storytelling in HDR, designed to bridge the knowledge gap around HDR and make this technology accessible for creatives at all skill levels. Developed over months by Dolby’s expert team, the course offers practical education and SDR/HDR examples, tailored especially for creatives who may be less familiar with the technical aspects of HDR.
D5 Render 2.9: Enhanced Terrain and Workflow
D5 Render 2.9 updates: Terrain tools, AI-based lighting, and pipeline optimizations for smoother real-time rendering.
University up north!
By the way, you can also study at a university in Flensburg if you want to distance yourself as far as possible from the "Wild South". But what can you expect there?
MIO3 UV for Blender: Advanced UV Unwrapping and Mesh Transformation Tools
MIO3 UV Blender add-on offers efficient UV-to-mesh transformation, with
Xencelabs Quick Keys Remote
Functionality and compactness for artists on the graphics tablet - useful, but with pitfalls when creating macros.
Wonder Dynamics Brings Real-Time Animation to VFX
Wonder Dynamics releases Wonder Studio, an AI tool promising real-time animation for 3D characters in VFX pipelines. Production-ready? Time will tell.
3ds Max Plug-In: Tree Generation
Looking for streamlined tree generation and animation in 3ds Max? This plugin offers an efficient approach to plant animations and environment design.
“Grease Pencil” hPaint for Houdini
hPaint now extends Grease Pencil-like features for Houdini 20.5 in one easy to use HDA.
Topaz Labs Launches Gigapixel AI v8
Gigapixel AI v8 from Topaz Labs introduces real-time image processing, boosting performance and compatibility for high-resolution workflows.
Blender Pack Saves Your Back: 2,000+ Interior Assets for 3D Artists
Skip the furniture store—this 2,000-item Blender pack brings diverse, ready-to-use interior assets straight to your VFX pipeline.
Free Unity 6 ‘Time Ghost’ Demo Project Files Now Available
Unity releases the project files for its 'Time Ghost' demo, showcasing real-time VFX and game development capabilities with Unity 6.
Adobe Fresco Goes Free
Adobe Fresco is now free for all users. Does it fit into your pipeline? Here’s what you need to know about its potential use in painting and beyond.
Flow Warp Plugin for Nuke Bends Images with Precision
The free Nuke plugin, Flow Warp, lets artists bend images along custom paths with ease—ideal for particles and tricky compositing shots.
Substance 3D Modeler released! v1.15: New VR Feature
Adobe’s Substance 3D Modeler v1.15 brings VR sculpting enhancements and improved stability for 3D artists.