The online edition of the ICE.ART 2025.II conference, held 1 & 2 October 2025, has released all presentation and panel recordings. They are now freely available via the website and the YouTube channel.

Game developer and educator Sam Martino, founder of Dogwood Gaming, delivered one of ICE.ART 2025’s coolest talks with Rebuilding 100-Year-Old Tracks: The Montgomery Raceways Project. His presentation explored how Unreal Engine 5, GIS height-map data and painstaking archival research are being combined to digitally reconstruct long-vanished pre-war racetracks for a historically grounded racing game. Working with small museums and local historical societies, Martino’s team has recreated sites such as the Laurel Raceway board-track in Maryland, the Aquidneck Park circuit in Rhode Island, and the Second Beach course, America’s first recorded beach race. Each track rebuild begins with scans of archival stock brochures, period town maps and surviving photos, which are aligned with real-world topography to ensure geographic accuracy inside Unreal. Beyond the technical craft, Martino framed the project as a form of digital preservation, rescuing automotive heritage from oblivion as museums close and collections disperse. By transforming lost raceways into interactive worlds, he argued, game technology can safeguard mechanical history and remind new generations how ingenuity once roared on wood and sand.

In his talk Capturing the Magic of Automotive Viz in Unreal Engine, Nairobi-based CGI generalist and director Jay H. Patel shared an in-depth look at how he and the Lotus Tech Creative Centre produce cinematic automotive visualisations entirely in Unreal Engine. With nearly 15 years of cross-industry experience, Patel demonstrated how world-building, lighting, virtual cinematography and procedural content generation (PCG) combine to deliver high-fidelity marketing films such as Lotus Type One and Lotus Emira for Drivers. He described Unreal as the team’s “final assembly” tool, integrating assets from Houdini, 3ds Max, Blender, and Substance Painter and emphasised real-time iteration as the key advantage over offline renderers. His breakdowns included real-world techniques such as path-traced rendering for glass accuracy, motion-blur under-cranking for speed shots, and rule-based PCG setups for dynamic environments.

In his presentation Scope City – Procedural Urban Manufacturing, Faruk Heplevent, founder of The Scope, demonstrated how his team has built a fully procedural city-generation system in Houdini to meet the demands of high-end automotive visualisation. Developed over five years, Scope City automates the creation of legally safe, photoreal urban environments for car commercials: cities that feel authentic without copying real-world architecture. The tool ingests OpenStreetMap data and converts it into editable urban layouts, allowing art directors to control scale, style and composition for each campaign. Heplevent detailed the studio’s pipeline from Houdini and Substance Designer through V-Ray, Vantage and Omniverse, with ongoing work toward Unreal Engine and OpenUSD/MaterialX support. By designing “manufactured” cities with strict calibration (six pixels per centimeter), watertight geometry and procedural materials, his team ensures assets can hold up under close scrutiny and serve multiple production needs — from commercials to virtual production and synthetic-data training. At its core, Heplevent described Scope City as an evolving machine for storytelling control: a digital assembly line that lets car brands design their own cities.

Some of Platige Image’s R&D team (Sara Batista and Zoltan Cseri) presented Lights, Camera, Unreal: Redefining the Cinematic Workflow at Platige. The duo offered a technically grounded look at how the studio has standardised Unreal Engine as a core component of its cinematic pipeline. Batista, a software engineer turned production manager, and Cseri, a senior developer specialising in realtime engines, outlined how Platige’s internal Unreal team evolved from early experiments in 2020 (Koala) into a full-fledged department producing over 30 projects across commercials, cinematics and short films. The studio now maintains its own Unreal 5.6 build, develops proprietary tools, and integrates the engine into traditional CG workflows used for productions such as Love, Death & Robots, Crossfire, and Little Ruby.

Their presentation compared two milestone projects. The Aston Martin commercial, produced with Unreal 5 beta, demonstrated procedural materials for marble and crystal shaders and spline-based city generation, but also exposed the need for a dedicated pipeline and toolset. The later Warhaven cinematic, created in Unreal 5 release, showed the results of that investment: realtime fire effects built with EmberGen flipbooks, dynamic slow-motion using Unreal’s time dilation, a custom “turn-to-stone” blueprint replacing Houdini caches, and efficient render-farm integration.

Beyond showpieces, the talk detailed Platige’s in-house automation: Perforce and Git versioning, Deadline render-queue management, custom Python/C++ shot-building and render-submission tools, shared shader caches, and OCIO-based colour consistency. Batista and Cseri also addressed the cultural shift of retraining artists for realtime production, citing optimisation discipline as the hardest transition from offline rendering.

Michael Shelton, a 30 year industry veteran, works as Visual Effects Supervisor, Second Unit Director, and in other roles. Find more about his services on his website and work on IMDB.

In his presentation, Michael talks about his early work starting in the 1980s, ranging from designing, building to help puppeteering practical creatures. The creatures, such as a 1/6 scale Godzilla (Roland Emmerich’s movie in 1997), were moved using telemetry suit, which drove massive, dangerous hydraulics systems.

With time, Michael got into the digital realm, both for 2D and 3D work, using the first versions of Photoshop, Maya, and many, many more. Projects he worked on include Mary Poppins, Star Wars, West World, and many others. We’re all waiting for Michael to publish a book about his work!

How to watch

Recordings are available through the ICE.ART website, in the “Recordings” section under ICE.ART 2025.II, and on the official YouTube channel, making it easy to catch up at your own pace.

Upcoming events

Looking ahead, ICE.ART already lists a special collaboration event with the Visual Effects Society (VES) on 26 November 2025 under the rubric “Beyond VFX”, focusing on AI ethics. Also planned is the next main edition, ICE.ART 2026.I (7–9 April 2026), which maybe will switch to a new presentation platform, and that is going to be great. Be ready to be surprised!

The post ICE.ART 2025.II recordings now live for free first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

ICE Nexus 1, the inaugural event by ICE.art and Arcware, has released all session recordings online. For everyone who missed the live stream, the full lineup is available for replay. The sessions covered interactive 3D, digital humans, and the ever-popular topic of real-time graphics.

Who Said What? Speaker Lineup and Sessions

The event opened with a technology overview by Arcware, setting the stage for a day focused on storytelling with interactive 3D content. The speaker roster included:

• Madis Kirsman from Avar on “Virtual 3D Showrooms”—bringing pixel streaming to real projects after eight years in the trenches.
• Rudi Witt and Steffen Schreiber of Access Point AI with “Let Them Speak. Bringing LLM-driven Digital Humans to Life.” These two also introduced VMAT, a branch of their company dedicated to medical education.
• Fabrice Bourrelly, Unreal Engine educator and 3D visualizer, on “The Realtime Revolution.” Bourrelly currently teaches architectural visualization at a UK university—sometimes from Venice.
• Fatih Inan from Bizzlogic with “Visualizing Virtual & Real Worlds.” Inan, with over a decade of experience in immersive tech and Unreal, discussed his daily workflow spanning technology, arts, and deployment.

A panel discussion and outro wrapped up the event, featuring all the above plus Manolis Emmanouilidis and Derk Steemers from Arcware, and Matthias Buehler from VRBN.

The event, hosted live from Arcware’s Munich HQ, managed a hybrid of live presentations, panel chats, and Q&A. Real-time chat allowed for on-the-fly feedback,spontaneous discussions about car configurators and the finer points of architectural visualization. No lengthy monologues—just quick-fire intros and direct answers.

How to Watch

All ICE Nexus 1 recordings are now available via the ICE.art website. Whether you want the Arcware overview, Madis Kirsman’s virtual showroom workflow, the Access Point AI digital human demo, or a taste of Fabrice Bourrelly’s Unreal world, every session is just a click away. Questions about the event or suggestions for the next one can be directed to conference@ice.art.

ICE nexus 1: Arcware Technology Overview

ICE nexus 1: Intro

ICE nexus 1: Madis Kirsman: “Virtual 3D Showrooms”

ICE nexus 1: Fabrice Bourrelly: “The Realtime Revolution”

ICE nexus 1: R. Witt & S. Schreiber: “Let them speak. Bringing LLM-driven digital humans to life.”

ICE nexus 1: Fatih Inan: “Visualizing Virtual & Real Worlds”

ICE nexus 1: Panel Discussion & Outro

The post ICE Nexus 1 Recordings Now Online: Catch the 3D Action (With Crisp Audio) first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

ICE.ART and Arcware are set to host the inaugural ICE Nexus 1 on June 25, 2025, running from 18:00 to 20:00 CEST, a free online session focused on real‑time 3D pixel streaming via the Unreal Engine. Co‑hosted by Arcware, the event promises succinct technical explorations rather than broad overviews.

ICE Nexus Format: Bite‑Sized, Focused, Free

The session begins with an introduction by ICE’s Matthias Buehler. Arcware’s Manolis Emmanouilidis and Derk Steemers will present their pixel‑streaming stack, detailing platform architecture and deployment options for Unreal‑based 3D environments. The focus is on enabling high‑quality immersive experiences shared via browsers or embedded front‑ends. After a first short break, four themed presentations follow:

1. Virtual 3D Showrooms by Madis Kirsman (AVAR)
2. LLM‑driven Digital Humans by Rudi Witt & Steffen Schreiber (AccessPoint AI)
3. The Realtime Revolution by Fabrice Bourrelly (3DW)
4. Visualizing Virtual & Real Worlds by Fatih Inan (BizzLogic)

These are followed by live Q&A and a themed panel on the current and future role of pixel streaming in production.

Who It’s For and What to Expect

This ICE Nexus event emphasises creativity over tech hype, centring artists handling concept design, real-time workflows, CGI, training/simulation, GIS, or AEC/BIM. Though not deeply technical, the sessions span career advice, budgeting, and industry entry—aimed at both seasoned professionals and emerging talent. ICE Nexus serves as a targeted “deep dive” sub‑brand under the broader ICE.ART umbrella, distinct from its October 2025 flagship “Ice.art“

Why It Matters for Production Artists

Arcware’s pixel‑streaming solution delivers consistent, photorealistic frame output across platforms—ideal for architects, product configurators, e‑commerce, and digital twins. The Munich‑based infrastructure supports scalable, low‑latency streaming with GDPR‑compliant hosting arcware.com. Participants can expect realistic case studies: virtual showroom demos, LLM‑powered digital human interactions, real‑time pipeline innovations, and mixed virtual/physical world visualisation.


Anyone who doesn’t want to wait until the next ICE-Art Nexus this evening (June 25) can now watch all videos from the ICE-ART 2025.I conference online.

And the videos of the second day, we’ll post very soon!

The post ICE Nexus: Pixel‑Perfect 3D Streaming Goes Live Today! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

ICE.ART kicks off a new sub-brand: ICE Nexus. Its first edition goes live June 25, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm CEST. The two-hour online event is free to attend and focuses on real-time 3D pixel streaming, co-hosted by Arcware.

Register for free here!

The Stream Scene: Agenda Highlights

After a short intro by ICE’s Matthias Buehler, Arcware’s Manolis Emmanouilidis and Derk Steemers explain how their solutions enable Unreal Engine pixel streaming for developers and 3D artists. Topics include sharing immersive 3D experiences and making real-time content accessible.

Presentations follow on a range of use cases. AVAR’s Madis Kirsman opens with a talk on virtual 3D showrooms. AccessPoint AI’s Rudi Witt and Steffen Schreiber dive into LLM-driven digital humans. 3DW’s Fabrice Bourrelly covers “The Realtime Revolution”, and BizzLogic’s Fatih Inan explores visualizing virtual and real worlds.

A live Q&A and panel discussion close the session, focused on how pixel streaming supports current production and what’s expected next.Topics range from technical workflows and production design to broader career-oriented themes: industry entry, budgeting, contracts, and job security. Tracks are thematic, not deeply technical—yet. The idea is to inspire professionals beyond their silos and to give juniors valuable career insight. The long-term goal: elevate art, artists, and collaboration at the intersection of disciplines.

Good to Know

This ICE Nexus event is part of the larger ICE.ART conference family. While the next full ICE.ART conference is set for October 1st/2nd, 2025, Nexus sessions are more focused one-offs. All industries tied to 3D environments are welcome, including entertainment, GIS, AEC/BIM, and training simulations.

Registration & Contact

To join, register directly at ice.art. Questions? Contact conference@ice.art or info@arcware.com.

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Testing reminder: All workflows and technologies presented at ICE Nexus should be tested in controlled environments before use in production.

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ICE Nexus agenda and event details: ICE.ART Homepage

The post ICE Nexus: Now Streaming, Pixel by Pixel first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

If you missed CEUM 2025.I—short for CityEngine User Meeting—you can now play catch-up. The full video set from the event has been uploaded to the 3D Environment hub: www.3d-env.tech.

Esri, the company behind CityEngine, supported the event, and several speakers contributed presentations—though again, specifics aren’t listed in this release. Still, if you use or explore procedural urban design, it’s worth a watch.

Dr. Michael Bieri [Esri Inc.]

Devin Lavigne [Houseal Lavigne]

Dmitry Kudinov [Esri Inc.]

CEUM 2025.II: Save the Date

Looking ahead: CEUM 2025.II is already scheduled. The second CityEngine User Meeting of the year takes place on 17 September 2025. If you’re planning to speak at the event, organiser Matt is open for submissions—reach out to get involved.

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ICE 2025.II—also known as the 3D Environment Conference—is heading your way on 21 and 22 May 2025. Organised by the ICE.ART team, the event promises two days of 3D-centric knowledge exchange. The call to action is clear: registration is live, and it’s happening via the official website.

While the announcement doesn’t list topics or speakers yet, ICE conferences are typically known for bringing together professionals working in 3D environments, simulation, modelling, and real-time graphics. Still, no assumptions—what’s not explicitly listed stays out. The only certainty is: you can now register, and if you care about digital environments, you probably should. Check directly with the organisers via the official ICE site.

CEUM 2025.II: Save the Date

Looking ahead: CEUM 2025.II is already scheduled. The second CityEngine User Meeting of the year takes place on 17 September 2025. If you’re planning to speak at the event, organiser Matt is open for submissions—reach out to get involved.

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The post Mark Your Calendars: ICE & CEUM Return first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

The ICE.ART 3D Environment Conference is officially returning with its 2025.I edition. Scheduled for May 21st and 22nd, 2025, the event puts art center stage once again. The conference will focus on 3D environment creation, including procedural workflows, stylised and photorealistic asset development, realtime-ready environments, and techniques relevant across VFX, Art, Architecture and game development.

And: the Call for Speakers is now open. Artists, developers, and technical directors interested in contributing can contact the organisers directly via conference@ice.art. Submissions are open to professionals with experience in 3D environment production—across tools, pipelines, engines, and styles.

Save the date, pitch your talk

For now, this is all that’s confirmed: the date, the title, and the fact that the ICE.ART team is “in full swing” with preparations. If past editions are any indicator, ICE.ART will again offer deep dives into production workflows, pipeline efficiencies, environment-focused worldbuilding, terrain generation, and procedural asset creation.Ffollow updates at ice.art.

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The post ICE.ART 2025.I: May Your Env Be Ever Procedural first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

The CityEngine User Meeting 2025 (CEUM) is now open for registration. The annual event, focused on 3D environments, procedural modeling, and urban planning, takes place online on April 16, 2025, from 5–8 pm CEST (8–11 am PDT / 11 am–2 pm EDT). Participants can expect a mix of presentations, discussions, and insights from professionals in the field.

Call for Speakers

Got expertise in CityEngine and procedural 3D environments? The CEUM team is looking for speakers to share their knowledge with the community. Interested presenters can reach out via the official event page: www.3d-env.tech.

Join the 3D Environment Community

CEUM 2025 is an opportunity to connect with other CityEngine users, discuss workflows, and explore the latest in procedural modeling and urban design. Whether you’re a longtime user or just getting started, the event provides valuable insights into the tool’s applications in VFX, game development, and architecture.

The post CityEngine User Meeting 2025: Registration Open for CEUM first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

In nuce: The ICE conference, an event that aims to cover all areas of the creative industry – from entertainment to advertising to engineering – is starting again this year. According to the event’s self-promotion, the focus is generally on artists and the artworks they create, and is also aimed specifically at all those who work with 3D worlds. The cloud: the event is free of charge. The ICE conference is taking place for the second time this year. It is a purely online event.

When is the ICE Conference taking place? The event will take place on 8 April, i.e. this week on Friday. The ICE will only take place on this one day, starting at 4 pm German time and ending at 8.30 pm. If you would like to attend the event, you must register in advance.

What programme items can you expect? The programme for this year’s ICE once again covers a wide range of topics, including 3D environments, concept & design art, workflows, project budgeting, work-life balance and tips & tricks for newcomers to the profession. The programme items are placed one after the other. They are as follows:

• Creating a Place of Transformation – followed by a question and answer session
• Building a Career in the 3D Entertainment Industry – followed by a Q&A session
• How VFX can help create CG Content at a larger Scale for other Industries – followed by a Q&A session
• Roundtable Discussion – with the lecturers of the previous programme items

Click further: All further information can be found on ice.art. The promo video below will whet your appetite for ICE 2022. The second video is the complete video recording of ICE 2021, an ideal opportunity to get an impression of the conference. We wish all participants a lot of fun!

ICE’22 Promo: Manuel Thomasser

ICE.ART 3D Environment Conference 2021

The post The ICE conference takes place this Friday! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.

A new event is earning for your attention: ICE – Inspiration, Creativity and Emotions awaits you at the online event that focuses on the topics of 3D environment, concept & design art, workflows and project budgeting. ICE is aimed at all those who come into contact with 3D worlds for professional reasons – or those who want to explore what lies beneath the surface of the 3D iceberg.

Further information

Book author Chris Solarski and concept artist Marco Iozzi have been announced as speakers so far – more speakers are to follow. The first edition of ICE will be streamed on Friday 30 April – participation is free.

If you want to get a taste of what’s to come, you can watch Chris Solarski’s Google Tech Talk right here.

The post ICE | 2021 Event first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ice.Art.