Meshes in Unreal: Arvomis Oy ships SmartConform Pro
One click to stick panels, rocks, and greebles to ugly geometry. SmartConform Pro stays inside UE and bakes results fast.
Adobe After Effects 26.2 adds Object Matte and more
For those who don’t know the tool: Adobe makes After Effects, a compositing and motion graphics workhorse that…
Phoenix moves to end of support
Chaos Phoenix is now end of support. No new standalone subs, existing subs can renew, and bundles still include it in the same state.
Samplitude 2026: the DAW that learned new video tricks?
Samplitude 2026 targets faster sessions, smoother video playback, and remote control. Suite users get new routing and tighter SFX handling.
Chaos V-Ray 7 Update 3 goes real time
Viewport real time meets offline finals in one workflow. Update 3 adds AI lighting help, new materials tools, and tighter review loops.
GoPro MISSION 1 targets compact cinema capture
GoPro MISSION 1 goes after real productions: 8K, Open Gate, timecode sync, and a lens swap option later in 2026.
Epic Games ships Twinmotion 2026.1
Twinmotion 2026.1 goes harder on camera realism and faster lookdev, then quietly fixes the boring stuff you actually feel daily.
Maxon Autograph 2026 is here
Maxon Autograph went free for individuals, learned USD, and picked up OpenFX. Nice.
Maxon ships Cinema 4D 2026.2 update
Cinema 4D 2026.2 brings a clothy viewport brush, a darker sky, and a truckload of bug fixes. Your crash logs may feel lonely.
Adobe brings Color mode to Premiere beta
Premiere beta gets Color mode: new grading controls, Operations, Clip Grid, and color management that tries to keep editors in flow.
Cargo 3.0 merges two asset libraries
Cargo 3.0 folds two libraries into one app, adds smarter search, and hands you hundreds of free assets so you can start dressing scenes today.
Marvelous Designer 2026.0 adds 3D Pencil and lacing
Draw patterns on an avatar, auto-route laces, flip to toon materials, and tighten export controls. Marvelous Designer 2026.0 aims at faster iteration.
Thomas Riedel buys ARRI
ARRI changes hands, keeps Munich HQ, and lines up a Eurovision camera debut. Big signal chain meets big glass.
Atomos buys Flanders Scientific
Flanders Scientific changes hands, and reference monitoring just got closer to set life and investor math.
Digital Anarchy releases ShotNotes panel for Premiere.
ShotNotes adds a notes and task panel to Premiere Pro, with clickable timecode, marker sync, search, and time tracking reports.
Blackmagic Design turns DaVinci Resolve 21 into a photo app
DaVinci Resolve 21 adds a Photo page, deeper AI helpers, more Fusion graphics, and tidier audio timelines. Big toolbox energy.
Chaos launches free V-Ray for Blender Community Edition
Chaos has released a free Community Edition of V-Ray for Blender
, giving solo users access to the renderer for learning, portfolio work, teaching and smaller freelance tasks. The catch is not especially well hidden: the free tier comes with clear limits on output, support and production features, while the paid version keeps the heavier pipeline machinery.
Resolve 21, Fusion, Fairlight Live, and many, many boxes!
NAB 2026 turns into a platform push: 100G SMPTE 2110 live gear, Resolve Photo Editing workflows, new Fairlight live mixing, and a bigger Fusion core.
Neat Video 6.1.2 adds Vegas 2026 and Nuke 17
Neat Video 6.1.2 shows up with M5 Pro and M5 Max support and fresh host app compatibility, so your denoise keeps pace.
FMX 2026 adds animation, lens talks and of course AI
New sessions span performance animation, AI workflow debates, and lens science, with cloud and software partners joining the mix. Just three weeks until FMX! Wuhu!
KeyPro revamps Maya
KeyPro stacks waveform, key density, heat, and range into one strip under Maya’s timeline, plus rig aware tools and a one time buy.
DOSCH DESIGN and KeyShot hit the road in May
Free KeyShot roadshow in Düsseldorf and Nürnberg: live demos, Q&A, and a quick reality check for your CAD to render workflow.
Reallusion Announces 2026 Vision: Redefining 3D Production through Hybrid AI
As the AI revolution redefines the creative landscape, Reallusion is proud to unveil its latest technology roadmap, positioning the company at the forefront of the next era of hybrid media creation.
EIZO ColorEdge CS3200X adds 31.5-inch 4K
A new 31.5-inch 4K ColorEdge lands with wide-gamut presets, HDR targets, and one-cable USB-C power for tidy desks and tidy color.
![A visually engaging scene featuring the word "SWITCHX" in a modern font, overlaying a group of people in dynamic poses at a beach during twilight. The tagline reads, "SWITCH [ANYTHING]. KEEP WHAT MATTERS."](https://i0.wp.com/digitalproduction.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/beeble-switchx-hero.png?resize=380%2C250&quality=72&ssl=1)
SwitchX API for video transformations in YOUR pipeline
Beeble has launched the SwitchX API in public beta, exposing its browser-based image and video transformation workflow through REST. The API supports uploads, generation jobs, polling, webhooks, 720p and 1080p output, and a more detailed alpha workflow than the launch text initially lets on.
Cascadeur 2026.1 adds Unreal Live Link, Filament rendering and AI root motion.
Cascadeur 2026.1 ships with a rebuilt Unreal Engine Live Link, full adoption of the Filament rendering engine and a new generative Root Motion tool. The release also adds collision penetration cleanup, point constraints in physics workflows and further work on quadruped posing.
OpenPGL joins ASWF
OpenPGL lands under new open source stewardship, with a sandbox start and a clear goal: faster, cleaner path traced frames.
Nature Generator update brings procedural nature to Blender
Cinematic Cookie updates Nature Generator with new scatter, wind, trees, and presets, plus the same procedural rocks to rivers workflow.
Sparseal Wafer opens Windows beta
Wafer jumps from iPad to Windows in a free open beta, aiming at stylized painting with layers, masks, and multi-channel strokes.
AutoCut brings AI cleanup inside Premiere Pro
AutoCut moves the boring cleanup into your timeline: silences, captions, takes, and more, with a trial and three pricing tiers.
Open Light: Procedural HDR Lighting Without the Texture Archaeology
Open Light is a new tool that generates procedural HDR light textures. It builds softboxes, gobos, Kino Flo style sources and other modifiers as 32-bit EXR or HDR files, with support for ACEScg and resolutions up to 4K.
Real Caustics for Blender
Real Caustics bakes water caustics into textures so your shots keep moving while your render times do not.
ASCII Resolve: Free Resolve effect turns footage into configurable text art
ASCII Resolve is a free DaVinci Resolve effect that turns clips into configurable ASCII-style graphics. The free download is available on Gumroad.
Today: ICE.ART 2026.I kicks off on April 7
ICE.ART 2026.I begins April 7 at 5:00 PM CEST. Physics sims, Q and A, prizes, then stages and splats across three nights.
Media-Anywhere launches AirFrame.One
AirFrame.One serves frame-addressable media straight from cloud storage to a browser portal and Premiere, no file shuffling required.
dy Install Libs adds Library Manager to Houdini
dy Install Libs ships Library Manager for Houdini, turning library installs into clicks instead of JSON wrangling.
RealityScan 2.1.1 adds better COLMAP support and new XMP export options
RealityScan 2.1.1 is a maintenance release, but a practical one. Epic updates COLMAP exchange, adds new XMP with image list export options, cleans up mask export, and fixes a long list of editor, alignment, and CLI issues.
Beeble Background Remover hits Cloud app
Background Remover unbundles fast AI masking into a standalone workflow with preview, refinement, and RGBA or alpha-only exports for comps.
Procedural Clouds with Cycles focus
Procedural Clouds lands on Superhive with Blender 4.5 to 5.0 support, Cycles targeting, GPL licensing, and three pricing tiers.
MetaHuman DNA add-on for RBF editor
Character DNA 0.6.2 brings an RBF pose editor for MetaHuman body correctives plus automatic DNA backups, and it targets newer Unreal and Blender builds.
WrapKit wraps surfaces in Blender
WrapKit is a free alpha Geometry Nodes wrapper for Blender that aims for cleaner surface contact and generates UVs
Hardcuts Launches Alpha Access for Fast Voxel-Based Hard-Surface Sculpting
Hardcuts is a new standalone hard-surface sculpting tool with a simple pitch: fast voxel booleans, less clutter, more shape-making. The alpha is available now, free to try, and might be a rather good way to spend a quiet Easter weekend.
CameraMatch AutoSetup v6 speeds photo matches
Jamie Cardoso ships CameraMatch AutoSetup v6, a one click camera match script for 3ds Max and Blender, with Maya queued next week.
FreeCAD 1.1 stacks workflow upgrades
FreeCAD 1.1 adds draggers, clearer previews, and CAM, Assembly, and FEM upgrades, plus broad import and export for common pipeline formats.
Adobe DNG becomes ISO standard (Not an April Fools joke)
DNG just got an ISO badge. That turns a popular RAW container into a formal standard and makes archives and pipelines a little less spooky.
Galata.ink Ships Tamga Sculpt and Paint for Browsers
tamga brings lightweight sculpting, vertex paint, and ink style renders to web, desktop, and iPad, with quick OBJ handoff.
Alpha Pixel adds Gaussian Splats to Cinema 4D
Scan a place, drop it into C4D, then art direct it like motion graphics. Gaussian splats just got a lot less precious.
VDBRender for Nuke
VDBRender renders OpenVDB volumes inside Nuke with deep output, AOVs, lighting presets, and a free MIT licensed codebase.
Boris FX welcomes Vegas Pro
Vegas Pro gets a new owner and a fresh 2026 release, with offline AI, new titling, and ProRes RAW support landing right out of the gate.
Adobe Turntable spins into Illustrator
Turntable hits Illustrator and turns one vector into a pile of editable angles, so turnarounds stop demanding unpaid overtime.
Chaos Vantage 3 update 2 adds Toon
Toon shading meets splats and VDB export in Vantage, while Enscape 4.17 quietly tidies DLSS, lights, and exports. Less drama, more frames.
XR Day 2026 brings XR to Ludwigsburg
Talks in the morning, headsets in the afternoon. XR Day tours fox vision, AI avatars, and a Minotaur choice with real pipeline flavor.
Arnold 7.5.1 comes with Flow Render Tech, Volume AOVs, and MIKKTSpace
Autodesk has released Arnold 7.5.1. The update adds the Flow Render tech preview with 2,400 free cloud render minutes per month, alongside custom AOVs for volume shaders, MIKKTSpace normal mapping support, Windows CPU rendering optimizations, and a range of shading, USD, and API changes.
ONYX Ai Matte for OFX hosts
ONYX Ai Matte targets fast alphas in OFX apps with prompts, tracking, trimap refinement, and published RTX only system limits.
Real-time Blender to Unreal Live Link
One click, fewer reimports: Blender Live Link pushes assets to Unreal in real time and can bake complex shaders into tidy textures.
OpenUSD v26.03 gets the SPLATS
OpenUSD v26.03 brings native Gaussian splats, a reference renderer, and WebAssembly builds, plus real pipeline speed and rigging work.
Re: Novation ArchViz Challenge opens
Re: Novation Challenge is live until June 9, 2026: one base building model, unlimited redesigns, plus a new Animation Category. No AI.
Autodesk ships Maya 2027
Maya Creative gets most of Maya 2027, while Maya 2027 adds Smart Bevel, USD tools, MotionMaker horses, and deeper Bifrost perks.
Comment: We Were Told Sora Would Replace VFX by Next Year. Awkward.
OpenAI has killed Sora before the proposed Disney deal ever closed. One expensive AI showpiece is gone, while the wider industry still shovels absurd amounts of money into data centers in the hope that a business model will wander in and introduce itself.
VINZI Atlux λ arrives on Fab
Atlux λ is now on Fab, bringing a virtual photo studio and one click renders to Unreal Engine, plus Mac support.
Handy RefTool 3.0 speeds Maya ref matching
RefTool bundles Maya reference camera matching into one UI, adds a fuller paid build, and keeps a free version for core workflows.
Save the date: ICE.ART 2026.I is in two weeks
The ICE.ART 3D Environment Conference 2026.I goes live on 7, 8, and 9 April 2026, each day from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM CEST. It is a webinar series, so your commute is the distance from your chair to your snack stash.
NanoGaussianSplats for UE5
NanoGS adds a UE plugin for big Gaussian splat scenes, with LOD clusters, culling, and GPU sorting to keep frames moving.
Redshift 2026.4 adds Redshift Live and expands support for Vectorworks
Maxon has released Redshift 2026.4. The update introduces Redshift Live as a new real-time render mode, drops Redshift RT, adds support for Vectorworks 2026 Update 4, and brings a set of rendering and workflow updates across the wider Redshift ecosystem.
glTF sample assets and fidelity site refresh
New glTF browsing and comparison pages make it easier to test assets, spot renderer quirks, and argue about pixels with evidence.
Unity ships Unity Studio for in-browser 3D
Unity Studio is out, bringing no-code 3D editing in the browser, link-based sharing, and a clear per-seat price with storage and bandwidth caps.
Forest Pack 9.3.5 broadens collisions
Forest Pack 9.3.5 spreads collision checks everywhere, adds .pmat in the Library Browser, and gives Effects new camera-aware tricks.
Sony to wind down Pixomondo
Televisual reports Pixomondo will be wound down after contracts finish, with VFX efforts set to refocus on Imageworks.
FlippedNormals Marketplace closes March 31
The store stops taking orders March 31 and file access ends April 30. Download your library now, then expect a leaner reboot.
JangaFX makes its layoff assistance programme permanent
Layoff Assistance is now permanent: eligible laid-off artists can get six months of the Janga tool access to rebuild reels without paying.
Cava / Serif updates Affinity
For those who don’t know the tool: Affinity is a free single app that combines vector, photo, and…
MotionVFX joins Apple
MotionVFX just went in house at Apple. Final Cut Pro editors get closer plugins, everyone else waits for the fine print.
Blender 5.1 is here
Blender 5.1 boosts animation speed, adds Raycast and Mask to SDF, and shaves time off shaders and nodes. Free upgrades feel nice.
Adobe settles US case over cancel terms
A $150M US settlement targets hidden fees and hard exits. Expect clearer terms, trial nudges, and simpler cancellation flows.
Dither Boy 6.0 brings animation and video polish
Dither Boy 6 rewrites the app, adds animation timelines and temporal variation, plus faster iteration and better video playback.
Maxon ships Redshift for Archviz
Redshift Archviz moves BIM scenes from waiting to tweaking, with real-time previews, assets, and a one-click hop to Cinema 4D for the fancy shots.
Adobe ships Rotate Object in Photoshop beta
Rotate Object arrives in Photoshop beta: rotate a cutout like it grew depth overnight, then upscale and Harmonize for faster comps.
Official Steam support lands on Unity roadmap
For those who don’t know the tool: Unity is a realtime game engine that ships to desktop and…
The GIMP Team boosts GIMP 3.2
GIMP 3.2 arrives with linked layers, vector layers, smarter non-destructive filters, and new export options. Less redo, more done.
Pixel Lab drops free Blood Hit Alembic
Blood Hit is a free pre-simmed Alembic blood hit, built for drag and drop gore beats across lots of 3D apps.
iCrowds 2.0.0: Ragdolls arrive, dignity leaves
iCrowds Generator 2.0.0 adds ragdolls for Blender crowds, so collisions can look messy in the good way, with less setup.
Huion Kamvas Slate 11 Review: A Practical Android Tablet That Also Draws
A compact, competitively priced Android tablet that works as a daily driver for sketching and notes, with solid performance, a surprisingly good screen, and a pen that is good for everyday work but not in Wacom territory for pressure and tilt nuance.
Let’s Build a Blender Hut This Weekend!
A free Blender Geometry Nodes hut generator with adjustable detail and clear reuse rules for personal and commercial projects.
FMX 2026 program goes live
The FMX program is live for the 30th edition, with RENO pipeline lessons, generative video craft, and European collab on Predator: Badlands.
A Lost Méliès Gag Film Resurfaces in 4K
A 45-second Georges Méliès slapstick short unseen for over a century is online again after scan and stabilization work.
Adobe releases Substance 3D Painter 12 with decal warp
Substance 3D Painter 12 adds Warp to Geometry for decals, expands viewport post effects, and introduces flatten-in-stack exports plus new pricing details.
Neat LimbKit gives Blender a hand, literally
LimbKit is a free Blender 4.5+ Geometry Nodes tool for quickly blocking hands, feet, and some creature variants via adjustable procedural controls.
Nobe OmniScope gets Live Pack for on-set and live monitoring
Time in Pixels has released Live Pack for Nobe OmniScope Pro, adding SDI output, Livegrade integration, multi-input monitoring, recording, snapshots, focus peaking and loudness metering for on-set and live work.
OpenPBR BSDF reference code from Adobe
OpenPBR BSDF reference implementation for Substance is public as a small library with prepare, sample, eval, pdf API and multi-target compilation.
On a Mission: Creating “NO ONE’S LIGHT”
No One’s Light is what happens when you start with 50 sci-fi ideas, delete 47 of them for survival reasons, and end up with a five-minute animated short that still looks like an alien planet got a proper art department. Blender handles the world building and Geometry Nodes chaos, CloudRig keeps characters bendy instead of broken, and Nuke ties it together before final grading at HFF München.
Texturing XYZ puts SKAP online, pores included
Texturing XYZ’s SKAP turns 2K to 8K inputs into 16K skin maps in a browser, priced in credits at $1 each.
AdonisFX 2.0 brings Houdini support, anisotropic muscles, and triangle-level self-collisions
AdonisFX 2.0 is a big structural release: Houdini support arrives as SOP nodes, core solvers pick up anisotropy and triangle-level self-collisions, paint maps gain non-linear remaps, and the toolset gets a practical layer of “pipeline hygiene” improvements.
How Pixar Cheats a Skunk Tail
Kranzler talks Hoppers grooming and shading, including a layered wet-fur look and why skunks got a “cheated” tail.
MPC’s Cold Storage
MPC Paris delivered 575 shots on Cold Storage, from invisible fixes to slime, creatures and a nuclear finale. But how?
QuickSweep sorts your Premiere bins while you blink
EditingTools.io ships QuickSweep for Premiere Pro: one-click bin sorting, optional auto-sweep every four seconds, and an item-move history log.
BMD European Tour 2026 lets you touch the gear
Blackmagic Design’s Workflow Tour lands in Amsterdam and Berlin in March with ATEM ISO and Resolve sessions aimed at fast podcast delivery.
VFX School Closes and Leaves the Lights On
For those who don’t know the school: The VFX School was an online training platform focused primarily on…
Gradient Generator: free Cinema 4D tool for procedural gradients
Gradient Generator is a small, free helper for Cinema 4D 2025+ that generates gradient-based looks without turning your material editor into a museum of tiny sliders. It is compatible with Octane Render 2025+ (not required) and ready for Octane and Redshift users.
CrumplePop targets baked audio mixes
CrumplePop 2026 adds GPU processing and AI models that split finished mixes into editable stems inside SoundApp.
Autodesk adds generative 3D to Flow Studio
Autodesk introduces Wonder 3D inside Flow Studio, enabling text and image prompts to generate editable 3D assets.