Browsing Tag
3D animation
42 posts
HFF Munich seeks new mentor for 3D animation
HFF Munich is hiring a part-time 3D animation mentor for its VFX programme under Prof. Jürgen Schopper, starting 1 May 2026.
How I Spent Five Years Making a Solo 3D Film
Maxim Gehricke spent five years creating his solo 3D short film SEN. Here’s how he did it without funding, team, or sleep.
Autodesk launches Maya 2026.3 & Creative 2026.3
Maya 2026.3 packs Bifrost rigid bodies, Graph Editor channel sets, Flow connectivity, and an upgraded USD asset resolver.
Mesh2Motion Update 6 Adds Explore Library and Rebuilt Rigs
Update 6 gives Mesh2Motion a new Explore Library, rebuilt Blender rigs, and smarter bones for birds, dragons, and quadrupeds.
Cascadeur Mobile 3D Animation Now on Android
Cascadeur Mobile is now on Android, bringing AI-assisted 3D animation tools to phones and tablets. From AutoPosing to AR previews, the mobile app shrinks desktop workflows into a pocket-sized package. Ideal for animating between train stops or polishing keyframes on the toilet break.
ICE.Art 2025: Virtual Worlds Meet After Hours
ICE.Art 2025 goes online in October. Two evenings of talks on 3D environments. Michael Shelton returns after his FMX Westworld talk.
Autodesk adds AI Assistants to Maya (and beyond)
Maya gets AI Assistants and Graph Assist. Autodesk outlines a larger AI push for artists.
TD-Meetup: Join us live, we talk about how VR Speeds Up Animation & Previz!
VR meets previs: Dan Franke shows how Quill VR fuels storytelling and rapid 3D iteration at the TD Meetup this thursday!
Here’s Character Creator 5 — Now in Hero-Quality, MAya-Friendly, MetaHuman-Friendly, and Armed with ActorMIXER
Reallusion launches Character Creator 5 featuring HD subdivision, upgraded facial animation, ActorMIXER Pro, and integration with Maya, Marmoset, and Unreal.
Houdini 21: SideFX pushes for production readiness across the CG pipeline
SideFX releases Houdini 21, promoting Apex, Vulkan, Otus, and major animation and rigging upgrades to production-ready status.
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.
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.
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.
ICE Nexus: Now Streaming, Pixel by Pixel
ICE Nexus launches June 25 with Arcware, exploring real-time 3D pixel streaming, digital humans, and virtual showrooms in a free online event.
Step Into the Unknown: ‘Worlds Next Door’ Invites Digital Artists to Create and Collaborate
The Blender challenge Worlds Next Door starts June 8. Artists remix a template into looping shorts—no AI, transparent background required.
CEUM 2025.1 Videos are online :)
CEUM 2025.II follows on 17 September, and if you missed the last one: no worries, the CEUM 2025.I talk videos are already online and ready for your next coffee break.
Mark Your Calendars: ICE & CEUM Return
ICE 2025.I is coming up on 21–22 May—mark your calendar and grab your spot now, registration’s already open. CEUM 2025.II follows on 17 September!
The First Look at Character Creator 5: Prelaunch Offer Starts NOW
Reallusion is set to redefine real-time 3D character creation with the upcoming launch of Character Creator 5 (CC5) this summer. Key updates feature HD character bases, enhanced shaders, and an advanced facial animation system.
CityEngine User Meeting 2025: Registration Open for CEUM
Registration for the CityEngine User Meeting 2025 is now live. The online event takes place on April 16, 2025, from 5–8 pm CEST.
Maya 2026: Is Golaem the Lone Star in a Sparse Update?
Autodesk's Maya 2026 introduces Golaem integration, but offers minimal other enhancements, leaving users questioning the value amid rising subscription costs.
LightWave 2025: Something is coming
LightWave Digital unveils LightWave 2025, introducing RIPR for real-time HDR previews, enhanced Rhiggit tools, LW Construct for rapid asset creation, and a versatile Cel Shader for stylized rendering.
iClone 8.52: A Major Leap for Animation Editing
iClone 8.52 delivers a highly anticipated update for professional animation editing, packed with groundbreaking features driven by user feedback. Despite its numerical step from 8.51, this release introduces transformative tools to elevate animation workflows.
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.
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.
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?
Hff’s Little Star
Every year, the VFX programme at HFF Munich produces various projects that break new creative ground. These include the animated mixed-media short film "Little Star", which brings a touching encounter to life through a combination of traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and 3D computer animation. But how exactly was the film made?
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.
“Grease Pencil” hPaint for Houdini
hPaint now extends Grease Pencil-like features for Houdini 20.5 in one easy to use HDA.
New Cloth Creation Toolset for Houdini: A First Look
Houdini Artits introduce a new cloth and curves creation toolset basend on the drawing of Curves.
Forest Pack 9 for 3ds Max Released: What’s New?
iToo Software has rolled out Forest Pack 9 for 3ds Max, and the latest update is packed with new tools and improvements aimed at artists working on environment creation, visual effects, and architectural visualization
Castle In The Sky Hommage
We all think Studio Ghibli is great - and if you want to learn what makes it so charming and appealing, a homage is always a good way to go. And I had the opportunity at Ostfalia University,
to really immerse myself - a
an experience report.
Trash, Dance & Robots
In winter 2021, we decided to make a film as a group of three under the guidance of our professor Jürgen Schopper about a robot whose purpose in life is to pick up rubbish. A lot has happened in the meantime: the robot is now controlled by an old lady and can - surprise! - dance very well. We have spent many enjoyable, stressful and also funny days at the HFF with our robot and the old lady. The original idea resulted in a four-minute animated film. We - three visual effects students (Valentin Dittlmann, Hannes Werner, Felix Zachau) at the University of Television and Film in Munich - developed, realised and completed this film in the course of our first year of study.
Flight of fancy | Retro article
Review: In DP 06 : 2014, the second instalment of Planes rotated its way into the inbound flight path. Disneytoon Studios increased the budget for software licences and personnel at the time - but does the film come close to Disney-Slash-Pixar major productions such as Frozen or Brave?
Blender’s animation toolbox is about to get a makeover!
Doctor Sybren Stüvel & team announce: Blender's animation tools will be significantly improved by the end of 2025.
The Cascadeur animation software is available as a full version!
The beta tests have been successfully completed - now the full version is being released. A five-minute video shows which new functions are coming.
MetaHuman Creator 1.3 and DNA Calibration Library !
Double release from Epic Games: Version 1.3 of MetaHuman is released as Early Access, then the calibration library expands creative freedom for artists.
Unity’s Digital Human Package gets an update!
At the Unity 2022 industry event, Unity CEO John Riccitiello announces new features for the package, which can be used to create realistic human characters. The download is free of charge.
Adobe releases Character Animator 22.5!
The convenient software for anyone who wants to enhance their content with animated cartoon characters. The latest version of the real-time tool for motion capturing and character animation.
Plask | Great tool
With this free tool you can animate in the web browser - including motion capturing function.
Noisy Night, Senseless Stuff
Review: In DP 01 : 2017, we discovered the true spirit of Christmas with the animated musical "More Stuff" from London. But how is Brexit affecting everyday animated life?
Making-of videos from the Film Academy: “Shine”
At the animago CONFERENCE, the team explained how the animated film "Shine" was created. Anyone who couldn't be there can now catch up on the knowledge via 5 making-of videos.
watch “Alike” in full length
Cover motif of the animago special issue and animago AWARD winner in the "Best Character" category - "Alike" really cleaned up at this year's DP event. The delightful father-son film is now online in full length.