Your Phone, Blender’s Puppet: Blender Object Controller & Camera Controller Add-Ons now with Live View & World Tracking
Blender Object Controller and Camera Controller Beta receive updates: new UDP and live camera streaming, world tracking, timeline and keyframe controls, and more.
Houdini 21 : Otto, Otis, Copernicus and 300+ New Features. No, Really
Houdini 21 sneak peek: SideFX previews 300+ features: Otis solver, Otto rig, Copernicus, Vulkan viewport, full rigging and CFX overhaul.
Imagen AI Automates Frame‑by‑Frame Grading: An interesting Beta
Imagen for Video (Beta!) adds AI grading to Premiere with full controll in Lumetri, promising time savings.
Rebelle 8 Hits Early Access: Brushes Get Bristly, Updates Get Sensible
Rebelle 8 enters Early Access with new Bristle Brushes, NanoPixel 2, RealShader, SoftShadows, and a perpetual license with 1-year free updates.
InstantQPatch: Im3dJoe’s Quad-Only Mesh Hole Filler for Maya
InstantQPatch by Im3dJoe patches polygon holes in Maya with quad-based, curvature-following geometry. Free for all uses, but code sharing is forbidden.
Sony VENICE 2 Firmware 4.0 Adds EL Zone Tool
Sony’s VENICE 2 firmware 4.0 introduces EL Zone exposure system and tri‑colour frame line display plus camera extension support.
One Click Damage 2.5 Tricks up Blender’s Sleeve
VFXGuide’s One Click Damage 2.5 for Blender (4.5+) features procedural wear layering, masking, sync, and HERO Module enhancements.
ARRI ALEXA 35 Xtreme: Frame Rates up, Data Rates Down, Everything Else… Still ARRI
ALEXA 35 Xtreme brings 660 fps, ARRICORE codec, five times longer pre-recording, and 10% less power use. The same sensor, new muscle, all ARRI.
Free UE5 Pack: 200+ Ways to Build Your Own Dynasty (In Unreal)
Epic’s Fab offers Chen Jian’s 205‑mesh Traditional Chinese‑Style Park UE5 pack free until 12 August 2025
JangaFX unleashes LiquiGen 1.0: liquids meet production‑ready polish
LiquiGen 1.0 delivers production‑ready GPU‑based liquid simulation with per‑emitter viscosity, mesh flipbook and VAT export, new materials and camera controls.
Mesh Match for Maya adds Auto‑Skeleton & Landmark Detection – AI Without the Hype
Mesh Match for Maya now supports facial and body landmark detection plus full‑body skeleton build to accelerate character rigging workflows.
Phantom FX Scoops Up Milk VFX and Lola Post
Phantom Digital Effects acquires award-winning Milk VFX and Lola Post; both will keep their names and leadership after the deal.
Cascadeur 2025.2 Adds Motion Styles, Tangent Editing, and Automatic Fulcrum Detection
Cascadeur 2025.2 adds motion-style selection, viewport tangent editing, longer inbetweening and auto fulcrum detection.
Dual Export: 4Dviews Adds Gaussian Splatting to HOLOSYS+
4Dviews’ HOLOSYS+ now outputs in mesh‑and‑texture or Gaussian Splatting formats, enabling richer volumetric capture workflows.
Pixar Faces, Blender Spaces: SMIRK Lets Features Wander Free
Krysidian’s SMIRK toolkit brings detached Pixar-style facial features to Blender—free and Geometry Node-powered.
Godot Pixel Renderer: Get a Free 3D‑to‑Pixel Art Export Toolkit
BUKKBEEK’s Godot Pixel Renderer is a free MIT‑licensed Godot 4.4 toolkit for real‑time pixel art rendering, with batch export and shader control.
Rumba 2.0: No More Animators’ Elbow
Rumba 2.0 from Mercenaries Engineering launches, promising faster, artist-friendly Maya-compatible character animation and seamless USD, Alembic, and FBX support.
Blender on iPad Pro at Last—Without Losing Its Blender-ness
Blender Foundation has begun work on a full-feature iPad Pro app with sculpting, Apple Pencil support, and a live demo at SIGGRAPH 2025
KitBash3D: Your Open World Just Got Lazier (and Faster) with Gameplay Ready Kits for UE5
KitBash3D launches 12 Gameplay Ready Kits for Unreal Engine 5—Nanite, instancing, collision, and free samples. Art directors, rejoice.
FX Guide: URSA Cine Immersive brings Apple Vision Pro to life
FXguide offers the first downloadable Apple Immersive Video test footage shot on the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive, complete with spatial audio.
D5 Render 2.11: Now With AI, Sci-Fi Plants, and Path Tracing by Default
D5 Render 2.11 lands with AI-assisted planting, PBR texture creation, default path tracing, camera and lighting upgrades, and expanded collaboration for teams.
IlluGen Drops: Node-Based VFX Tool from JangaFX Now Public, and Free for 14 Days
IlluGen is out now! JangaFX’s node-based VFX tool is public and free for 14 days. Procedural asset workflows for game and real-time VFX.
MetaTailor’s One-Click Dress-Up: Unreal Engine Bridge Plugin Arrives in Public Beta
Hologress launches public beta of MetaTailor Unreal Engine Bridge: enabling one-click MetaHuman and clothing transfer. Windows only. Free tier available.
Samsung Debuts Corporate LED Studio Bundle: ARRI ALEXA 35 Camera Included
Samsung’s Corporate LED Studio Bundle: ARRI ALEXA 35, The Wall IVC, and UNIQVUE. A complete turnkey in-house broadcast offering - Sounds interesting?
Panasonic Brings ARRI Log C3: A $199 Key Opens Cinema-Level Color
Panasonic’s DMW‑SFU3A key adds ARRI‑certified Log C3 to LUMIX GH6, S1II, S1RII, S1IIE and GH7.
Berlin’s Animation-Only Festival FAB 2025 Returns: Japan, Stop-Motion, and 132 Films
FAB returns to Berlin in September 2025 with 132 films, Japanese guests, a stop-motion symposium, and six competitions at silent green Kulturquartier and City Kino Wedding.
BMD ups the ante with 16 TB Media Module for URSA Cine 12K LF
Blackmagic Design introduces a 16 TB Media Module (M.2 SSD) for URSA Cine 12K LF, doubling storage to support 12‑bit BRAW at 1 432 MB/s and 10G workflows.
LensNode Evolving Vintage Lens Emulation in DaVinci Resolve
LensNode uses real‑lens profiles, GPU acceleration, ACES‑ready processing and granular controls in DaVinci Resolve for authentic vintage lens emulation. Get into early acces now!
Chaos Envision 1.1: Now with Smarter Traffic and Door Sensors—What Could Go Wrong?
Chaos Envision 1.1 adds traffic simulation, proximity sensors, batch rendering, and new material tools for streamlined architectural animation.
Ninja TX: Atomos Finally Gives Ninjas SDI, CFexpress, and Cloud: No Ancient Relics Inside
Atomos reveals Ninja TX: 12G-SDI, HDMI 2.0, CFexpress Type B, and all major codecs, ready for 8Kp30 and cloud, $999 from August 2025.
Frank Rueter’s Quest to Stop Nuke Knowledge from Disappearing
Nukepedia’s origin: How Frank Rueter launched the community’s Nuke tool repository and why the relaunch matters in 2025 - and what is coming to nuBridge?
HDR Light Studio 9.1 Lumi‑Curve Turns Lighting into Line Art—Literally
HDR Light Studio 9.1 introduces Lumi‑Curve: freeform, editable curve-based lights for shaping reflections, highlights, trails, and backgrounds.
DJV 3.0 Returns: Free VFX Review Tool Gains Timeline & USD Support
DJV 3.0 revives its open-source VFX viewer with OTIO timelines, USD playback, OCIO color management, and multi-track audio under a BSD license.
GSOPs 2.6: The Swiss Army Knife for Gaussian Splatting in Houdini
GSOPs 2.6 delivers free 2D/3D Gaussian Splatting editing, viewport rendering, mesh export, Karma and Solaris integration for Houdini 20.5.
Animation for All: Reallusion AccuRIG 2.0 and Friends Keep Things Moving
AccuRIG 2.0 puts 4,500+ animations a click away. Reallusion’s animation and rigging ecosystem is picking up speed.
River in a Click: Baga River Generator v2 Brings Automated Terrain Carving to Blender
Baga River Generator v2 for Blender adds terrain carving, procedural foam, and scatter modifier support for rapid river creation in 3D scenes.
Game Boy Robot: When Nostalgia Gets a Quad-Based Makeover
Game Boy nostalgia meets quad-based hard-surface modeling in Benavidmark’s detailed 3D robot tribute—every production step dissected.
Gaea 2.2 Unveils Frosty Nodes and Selective Erosion
QuadSpinner’s Gaea 2.2 delivers 10 new terrain nodes, major Erosion_2 upgrades, 60 examples and bridges for Unreal Engine 5.6, plus 150+ fixes.
Substance 3D Designer 15 arrives
Substance 3D Designer 15 arrives with a new real-time/path-tracing renderer, in-viewport post FX, and direct scene-based material editing.
InstaMAT 2025 Graduates: Terrain, Ray Tracing, and Polyverse. Now That’s a Release!
Free for small teams, a next level texture-workflow, collaboration tools, a finely tuned asset library and much more!
Minister Brandes Opens VP-Stage: Germany’s First University Multi-Purpose LED‑Wall and MoCap Studio at HSHL
NRW’s Ina Brandes inaugurated HSHL’s LED‑wall VFX Lab, partnered with Babelsberg, SMPTE, FKTG, ICT AG and ICT AG and research project Digital Locations - for real‑time and motion‑capture production. By students and everybody who wants to develop!
KeyShot Studio 2025.2: AI Moves In And This Time, It’s Staying Local
KeyShot Studio 2025.2 introduces Studio AI for local generative rendering, new Light Layers, AMD GPU support (beta), and enhanced randomization.
SynthEyes 2025.5: Now With Fewer Headaches Per Pixel
SynthEyes 2025.5 lets VFX artists export lens distortion, harness AI for tracking, and parent meshes with less tedium. Now with 17K BRAW support.
Photogrammetry Parlor: Free 17-Mesh UE5 Asset Pack
Anderson Rohr has released a free Unreal Engine 5‑compatible photogrammetry pack with 17 high‑detail meshes and 4K–8K textures.
Unigine 2.20: Now with More Splat and a Whole Lot Else
Unigine 2.20 debuts Gaussian Splatting, UI Designer, XR and renderer upgrades, multithreaded shadows, mesh compression, and sweeping engine optimizations.
Artists Must Adapt: 3DModels.org Launches “One Car Challenge”
3DModels.org invites artists to transform an identical base car model into a unique render. Deadline is September 30.
Blender 4.5 LTS is here!
Blender 4.5 LTS has launched today, bringing two years of long-term support and a significant wave of upgrades.…
SDF Modeler 0.5.3: Sculpt, Blend & Trace – Refined Free SDF Concept Tool
SDF Modeler 0.5.3 adds push/avoid/emboss/deboss blends, spline curvature, 3‑axis mirror, export bugfixes and UI enhancements.
Maxon Invites Artists to Attend the ZBrush Summit 2025 Virtual Edition
Maxon will stream ZBrush Summit 2025 Virtual Edition Nov 7–9, celebrating 25 years with beta previews, tutorials, sculpt‑off, and artist spotlights. Mark your calendars!
Graphite: open‑source vector design tool with a twist
Graphite launches in browser alpha, mixing layer‑based drawing with procedural node graph, desktop apps and bitmap editing due later in 2025.
Retro Dithering Goes Full‑Color: Dither Boy 4.0 Hits All 52 Effects
Studio AAA’s Dither Boy 4.0 adds full‑color support across 52 effects including video—one purchase, free monthly palettes.
Blender on Android: Ported, Not Polished Yet
Blender runs on Android tablets via an unofficial port from developer epai, but major rendering bugs and feature gaps persist.
No DRM, No Fuss: Digital Production Archive Now Online
The Digital Production archive is live: all issues as DRM-free PDFs via Dropbox, exclusively for subscribers.
The Noise You Want, None You Don’t: Bubblebird’s Browser Generator Delivers
Free browser noise generator by Bubblebird Studio: 2D/3D seamless noise, Perlin/Voronoi/random, PNG export, presets, normal maps, MIT licensed.
Oil Gets Real: Rebelle 8’s RealShader and SoftShadows Put Ray Tracing on the Canvas
Escape Motions unveils Rebelle 8 with RealShader, real-time ray traced shadows, environment maps and 20× NanoPixel export. Early Access late Q3.
DigiDiff v3.0: Kromatica’s Pixel-Level Diffusion for Resolve
Kromatica’s DigiDiff v3.0 brings an upgraded digital diffusion toolkit to DaVinci Resolve, aiming at colorists, finishing artists, and…
V‑Ray Developer Chaos Becomes Blender’s Gold Sponsor
Chaos joins Blender Foundation as Gold sponsor with a €30,000 annual pledge, coinciding with the release of V‑Ray 7 for Blender.
Maya’s Jiggle Assistant: PUPbuildDynamic Does Your Secondary Motion
PuppetSoul PUPbuildDynamic for Maya is a free add-on delivering real-time secondary motion and collision on joint chains—without FX overhead.
Crossbow: Workflow Automation for VFX & Animation
Four years of R&D, zero spreadsheets, no more copy-pasting shot status—Crossbow promises a less painful way to manage VFX and animation projects. In this interview, Jindrich Cervenka explains what Crossbow shoots, why it matters, and why you still need a mid-range GPU.
Over 1,500 Free PBR Textures from LotPixel’s Library
LotPixel has released over 1,500 scan‑based PBR texture sets in JPEG format, with resolutions up to 8 K, and…
Plastic Software upgrades Plasticity to 2025.2 with HDRIs, physical materials, new surfacing tools
Plastic Software’s Plasticity 2025.2 adds HDRI lighting, physical materials, new shaders and continuity tools in a surfacing-focused upgrade.
Maxon Sunsets Forger: iPad Sculptors Get the (Maintenance) Axe
Maxon drops Forger on September 10, 2025—details device support, mesh quirks, and migration caveats in a new FAQ.
![A stylized blue cartoon character with big eyes and a wide smile, shown in a wireframe model. The background features a gradient from blue to purple, with text overlay indicating 'Blender [Addon] Rlg Creator [Beta]'.](https://i0.wp.com/digitalproduction.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Banner_Rig_Creator_A_free_Blender_add_on_for_creating_character_rigs.jpg?resize=380%2C250&quality=80&ssl=1)
Rig Creator Beta for Blender: Faces, Relationships, and a Fresh Start
Rig Creator’s beta rebuild adds facial rig, Relationship tool, overhauled bone generators, and English names—now free for Blender users.
Framestore Opens Up Oz: Wicked FX Webinar with Evan Peignet
FX Lead TD Evan Peignet explains Framestore’s Wicked magic—from Glinda’s bubble to Munchkin crowds—in a live online event.
Unreal Engine Freebie: 350‑Piece Flying Fantasy Town Kit
Epic Games offers 358 free Unreal Engine‑ready meshes from George Shachnev’s Flying Fantasy Town kit. Available via Fab until 15 July 2025.
Packer‑IO with Blender integration!
Packer‑IO 1.3 merges scale‑aware UV packing, multithreading, and smarter hole‑filling with UnwrellaConnect for Blender.
Beeble: AI relighting steps up to validate in your pipeline
Beeble‘s SwitchLight 2.0 marks the company’s push to put AI-powered relighting into the hands of actual postproduction artists—and not…
Parrot Sample: Engine Switch from Unity to Unreal Without Headaches?
Parrot Game Sample offers annotated Blueprints, C++, feature parity and walkthroughs to simplify engine migration.
Procedural Village People: SideFX Lets Houdini Users Play Skylark Architect
SideFX publishes Project Skylark’s Houdini assets and eight snappy tutorials: procedural tools for clouds, bridges, bottles, and a healthy dose of fantasy architecture.
V-Ray for Blender: Chaos releases Renderer into the Open Source Universe
V-Ray for Blender lands with CPU, GPU, and Chaos Cloud support, plus 5,600+ free Chaos Cosmos assets. Special pricing for Blender users now available.
Lola Post’s VFX Survival Guide on Walking with Dinosaurs
Lola Post’s Rob Harvey shares VFX details on Walking with Dinosaurs 2025: 800 shots, 200 artists, Unreal Engine for dinosaurs, and zero Jurassic Park liberties.
CityEngine 2025.0: Street Designer Arrives, Perpetual Licensing Leaves
CityEngine 2025.0 brings multi-lane Street Designer, Visual CGA Editor improvements, and drops perpetual licenses for ArcGIS Professional subscription only.
OpenVAT Adds VAT Encoding to Blender—Real-Time Asset Ready
OpenVAT encodes animated Blender geometry into VATs with normals, PNG/EXR output and real‑time engine support for Unity, Unreal, and Godot.
Reallusion’s CC4.54 & iClone 8.54 Let You Snag, Try and Buy Assets Without Leaving the App
CC 4.54 and iClone 8.54 bring in-app trial assets, instant DA Point checkout, and low-cost iContent licence for rapid prototyping.
Skeleton Crew: How Halon Gave Ms. Blue Her Digital Bones
Halon preserved an 87-foot blue whale skeleton for AR using LiDAR, photogrammetry, and good timing—thanks to a foggy morning jog.
Thunderbolts* Vaults: Digital Domain on Marvel’s Most Grounded Brawl
Digital Domain VFX Producer Ryan Wilk breaks down Marvel’s Thunderbolts* vault chaos, Ghost phasing, and why less is more for photoreal CG.
ScatterFlow Add-on brings gravity‑aware scattering to Blender
Apex Assets releases ScatterFlow, a Blender 4.4 add‑on enabling physics‑based scattering with optional asset pack.
Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K Slides Into Netflix’s List
Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K is now Netflix-approved but still unavailable to general buyers—professionals might consider early Christmas shopping.
Draw the Line: Octane Edge Tools Brings Outlines to Blender – For Free
Octane Edge Tools is a free Blender add-on from Otoy for creating mesh-based outlines with OctaneRender Toon Material. Controls for edge thickness, object selection, and NPR styles.
3DCoat 2025 with Node-Based Sculpting and RealityCapture
Pilgway ships 3DCoat 2025 with a Node Room, RealityCapture photogrammetry, new Hotkey Manager, UI themes, Soft Booleans and Smart Hybrid tech.
O3DE 25.05 delivers deep technical refinements: Atom, ROS 2, XR, MGPU and more
O3DE 25.05 expands Atom renderer, multi‑GPU, ROS 2 SimInterfaces Gem, TrackView, Android/Script Canvas fixes and Hugo‑module docs.
Free 330‑piece kitbash set for gritty post‑apoc scenes
Oleg Ushenok offers 330 PBR‑textured FBX kitbash assets from his commercial Post Apocalypse Survivor Environment pack, free for commercial use.
Polydex from Poliigon Tackles Asset Chaos
Polydex auto-indexes local 3D textures, models and HDRIs for easy import into Blender with one click.
Procedural Ferns in Blender
Alex Martinelli’s free Blender 4.3+ fern asset uses Geometry Nodes for non-destructive, procedural plant creation with material and instancing controls.
Basefount Animcraft: One-Stop 3D Animation Library & Bridge
Animcraft is a collaborative 3D animation library/editor with re‑targeting, facial rigging, mocap, and DCC/engine connections across Standard and Advanced editions.
Cinema 4D 2025.3 gets liquid sim and UDIMs
Maxon Cinema 4D 2025.3 debuts GPU based liquid sims with fill emitter and Liquify modifier, adds UDIM/texel density tools, AI Asset Browser search, and native Laubwerk plant support.
LumaFusion 2.3 Android HDR support at Last
LumaFusion 2.3 for Android (June 24, 2025) debuts HDR and 10‑bit color support (Rec.709, HLG, HDR10, DisplayP3) with stability fixes.
Crossbow Confidential: PFX’s Digital Dashboard Keeps ‘Locked’ Rolling
PFX marshals 60 artists, a lidar-scanned SUV and its Crossbow app to steer 750 shots for Locked through four months of frantic VFX.
RealityScan 2.0: Epic Gives RealityCapture a New Name and New Tricks
Epic overhauls RealityCapture into RealityScan 2.0, complete with AI masking, LiDAR fusion, and a mobile-first workflow focus.
Modeler 2025.2 for Houdini Lands: Hard‑Surface Modelling Makeover
Alexey Vanzhula’s Modeler 2025.2 rebuilds hotkeys, shading presets and moves to Qt6, offering a smoother hard‑surface workflow in Houdini.
MoonRay 2.15: Developer Joy with NUMA, GUI Control & Fisheye Finesse
MoonRay 2.15 adds a new regression suite (~400 tests), NUMA tuning, rdla_gui, per‑BSDF lightsets, fisheye FOV and TwoSidedMap—confirm stability before use.
![A blue, futuristic aircraft with robotic features displayed in a dark, industrial environment. The image features the text 'Marmoset Toolbag 5.02 [Beta Release]' above the aircraft, highlighting software branding. The background has a metallic appearance with grid lines.](https://i0.wp.com/digitalproduction.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/502-beta-socialsbanner.jpg?resize=380%2C250&quality=80&ssl=1)
Baking, Decals, Fog and a Smudge of Beta in Marmoset Toolbag
Marmoset launches the Toolbag 5.02 beta with new features for baking, painting, fog rendering and scene management.
After Effects 25.3 Adds Smooth Zoom
After Effects 25.3 brings smooth zoom, file reveal, and serious 3D model handling—ready for professional use but test in your pipeline.
Strange New Virtual Production Worlds!
It's a good time for us Trekkies - between Discovery and Lower Decks, between Picard and Strange New Worlds, there's something for everyone - finally again! But there's a lot going on behind the scenes - because the first big show to be filmed on a Virtual Production Stage was Star Trek: Discovery. And right after that - almost simultaneously - came Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. As it was definitely worth seeing, we asked what you can expect from your big VP production.
Odyssey: Toons on the Unreal Engine Timeline
Odyssey is now free on Fab: 2D storyboarding and vector animation, baked right into Unreal Engine 5.6.
Chaos Corona 13: AI, GPU & Cartoon Vibes
Corona 13 adds AI Enhancer, GPU rendering via Vantage Live Link, cel/outline shaders, Scatter Clusters, AI‑based asset variations, Firefly removal, VRScene import, Thin‑Film shader.
Mocha 2025.5: Faces, Frames & Focal Lengths
Mocha 2025.5 tracks faces, fixes mattes, solves 3D scenes with stationary cameras and adds batch export presets for speedier pipelines.
Sink or Shoot: Datacolor Webinar on Underwater Photography
Datacolor teams up with Kate Jonker for a free webinar on underwater photography – covering gear, lighting, and techniques for tiny critters and coral giants.
Sony Burano firmware 2.0 update — More Power, Less Fuss
New Sony Burano firmware 2.0 brings raw-friendly 3.8K/4.3K/1.9K modes, enhanced IBIS, better autofocus, metadata overlays — pro set-ready.
WeFX Saddles Up for “1923”
From pristine scans to viscous blood foam: how 50 artists spent six months on 20 shots that make one horse’s final tumble painfully believable.