3ds Max 2026.3 from Autodesk is now available as a subscription-only release for Windows 10 and later. It delivers incremental but practical enhancements to modelling, materials, USD support and rendering pipelines.

Conform modifier gains distance & fall-off

The Conform modifier, used to project one mesh onto the surface of another, now offers dedicated distance and fall-off parameters when using the Shrink Wrap projection method. This gives users finer control over how far the modifier searches for the target surface and how the influence decays. It results in more predictable deformations when wrapping geometry—helpful for architectural visualisation, game asset prep, or surface-fitting tasks. As always, test in your own scenes before deploying in production.

Materials: animated index in the Material Switcher

The Material Switcher, which lets artists manage variant materials on assets, now supports an animatable material index. This allows dynamic switching between up to 9,999 different materials during animation or scene changes. It is particularly useful for large asset libraries, scene variants or motion graphics work that requires frequent material swaps. The “up to 9,999” figure is vendor-supplied and should be tested for performance impact in real-world scenes.

USD plugin enhancements

The USD for 3ds Max plugin, now at version 0.13, introduces several workflow improvements. A new Asset Resolver allows users to set custom search paths and tokens to reduce “asset not found” errors. The viewport now supports duplicating prims using the Shift-drag shortcut, and artists can rename, delete and re-parent prims directly. The USD Importer now supports MaterialX materials referenced in USD files, while the USD Exporter adds support for Shell materials. For studios using USD pipelines across DCC applications, these changes improve interoperability and scene organisation. Nonetheless, compatibility with downstream tools should be verified before adoption.

Arnold integration updates

The Arnold for 3ds Max plugin (MAXtoA 5.8.3.2) updates to the Arnold 7.4.3 core. It introduces a new Inference Imager, allowing image-to-image machine-learning models via the ONNX framework to stylise rendered output. There are also performance improvements in global light sampling and GPU volume rendering. The ML-based Inference Imager is potentially interesting for stylised render pipelines, though users should evaluate render time and output quality within their colour-management setup.

Fixes and workflow polish

Several workflow refinements improve day-to-day usability. The Slate Material Editor’s thumbnail cache now holds unique thumbnails for different colour-management settings, avoiding unnecessary re-renders when toggling view transforms. Users can disable “Update Browser Samples” to speed up interaction when preview accuracy is less critical. Stability fixes address Biped crashes when keyframing twist bones or setting IK keys with sub-animations enabled. In the Skin modifier, weight changes made using the Remove Zero Weights tool are now properly committed when switching bones. Cloth simulation behaviour has also been restored to match results from previous versions after inconsistencies in 2026.0–2026.2.

Licensing, system requirements & pricing

3ds Max 2026.3 runs on Windows 10 or later and is available exclusively via subscription. Pricing is set at 255 USD per month or 2,010 USD per year. In many regions, artists earning under 100,000 USD annually and working on projects valued under that amount qualify for the Indie subscription at 330 USD per year. Always verify eligibility and regional pricing before purchase.

Editorial verdict

3ds Max 2026.3 is not a major overhaul but a purposeful iteration. It strengthens modelling precision, improves material management, expands USD interoperability and introduces an ML-based stylisation tool in Arnold. For production artists in arch-viz, motion graphics and real-time asset pipelines, these modest but thoughtful refinements can streamline daily work.

The Inference Imager’s machine-learning workflow should be evaluated for integration stability and render-time overhead. The “up to 9,999 materials” limit on the Material Switcher may vary depending on scene complexity. USD enhancements look promising but must be validated against existing DCCs and pipeline tools.

As with any version upgrade, test the new tools and modifiers in a controlled environment before deploying across your pipeline.

The post Autodesk 3ds Max 2026.3: A modest update with key workflow tweaks first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Mike Kuhn.

Hothifa Smair, known for iCity and iCars, has released iCrowds — a full-featured crowd simulation system for Blender 4.5 and newer. The add-on targets film, games, architectural visualisation, and urban design, offering seven integrated systems for both static placement and dynamic movement of thousands of autonomous agents.

Seven Systems for Every Scenario

iCrowds divides its toolkit into static and dynamic subsystems.
The static systems provide surface, curve, vertex, and structured venue distribution.
The dynamic systems introduce motion, pathfinding, and crowd intelligence.

The core modules are:

• On Ground System: Scatters agents across terrain surfaces using vertex group masking, density gradients, and natural variation noise. Supports both single agents and cluster formations.
• On Curve System: Generates linear distributions along user-defined paths with width control, automatic orientation, and curve radius–based density scaling.
• On Vertex System: Enables precision placement on mesh vertices for architectural and design layouts, supporting weight painting and group-based patterning.
• Stadium System: Builds structured seating or audience arrangements, with grid controls for rows and columns, and alignment parameters for rotation and orientation.
• Walkers System: Simulates organised pedestrian flows along curves with bidirectional traffic, lane control, and personal-space handling.
• Fluid System: Adds real-time dynamic behaviour with physics-based attraction, repulsion, and path following. Agents react to scene elements and adjustable flow fields, suitable for events or evacuation simulations.
• City System: A full urban AI layer inspired by games like The Sims. Agents respond to internal needs—hunger, rest, fun, or bladder—and navigate to context-appropriate locations (restaurants, homes, toilets). Debug tools permit real-time inspection of individual agent states.

Performance and Scalability

The developer states that iCrowds supports up to 100,000 agents, depending on hardware and scene complexity. It includes LOD (Level of Detail) options for real-time performance, and baking tools to commit simulations for render-heavy scenes. The add-on uses efficient memory management for scaling from architectural previews to large film visualisations.

Characters and Customisation

The package provides 10 human base models in high- and low-poly variants, available in multiple outfits. Clothing options include formal, casual, and accessory combinations such as hats and glasses. Each model can be randomised for diversity in background and mid-distance crowd shots.

Workflow and Pipeline Integration

iCrowds fits into Blender’s standard workflow:

1. Artists select a static distribution system.
2. Density and masking are refined via vertex groups or curves.
3. Static layouts are imported into dynamic systems such as Fluid or City for movement simulation.
4. Final adjustments include variation, physics tuning, and performance baking.

Systems can be mixed for specific production needs:
Urban environments benefit from combining City and Fluid systems; structured events can merge Walkers and Stadium; architectural projects may pair On Vertex with Fluid.

Use Cases Across Industries

The toolset is aimed at multidisciplinary users:

• Architecture & Visualisation: Quickly populate renders, simulate building capacity, and contextualise scenes with human scale.
• Game Development: Populate open worlds, generate background NPCs, and run behavioural simulations for day/night cycles.
• Film & Animation: Animate large background crowds and pre-visualise crowd movement in sequences.
• Urban Planning: Test pedestrian flow, space usage, and crowd density during design studies.

Price and Availability

iCrowds is available for $19 per licence on Superhive Market. The add-on supports Blender 4.5 and above on all major operating systems.

Stability Reminder

While iCrowds appears production-ready and technically mature, artists should verify performance and reliability in their own pipelines before integrating it into ongoing projects. Stability, agent count limits, and render compatibility may vary by system configuration.

The post City Life for Crowds: iCrowds Lands in Blender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Ikea without the meatballs

Polygoniq has released Interniq 2.0, a Blender asset library designed to fill virtual interiors without a single Allen key. The collection now holds over 800 assets, including 457 new additions. The assets cover furniture, decoration, lighting, and small props for interior design, archviz, and set dressing. Unlike a Saturday afternoon in Ikea, everything fits on first try.

What’s inside the box

The library includes:

• Fully pre-made interiors for instant drop-in use
• Categorised assets for faster browsing
• Parametric controls for colours, materials, and lighting
• Fabric assignment for furniture
• Working clocks powered by Geometry Nodes

Interniq’s goal is practical: speed up scene dressing in Blender while avoiding external downloads or scattered file management.

VRAM, spawning, and optimisation

According to Polygoniq, Interniq 2.0 is optimised for modern GPUs with at least 10 GB of VRAM. Asset spawning and placement have been tuned to reduce lag. Whether this optimisation holds up in complex production pipelines must be verified individually.

Pricing without the showroom maze

Interniq 2.0 is sold via Superhive in three tiers:

• Starter Pack ($2): one complete apartment scene
• Lite ($49): 300+ assets
• Full ($99): entire library with 800+ assets, including all new additions

Licensing is mostly royalty-free, but some assets are limited to editorial use. Exact licence terms are provided per tier on Superhive.

Installation: no flat-pack, no panic

Interniq integrates directly into Blender’s Asset Browser. Installation consists of downloading the pack, placing the library folder in a user-defined location, and linking it via Blender’s preferences. Assets then appear in the Asset Browser, sorted by categories. No add-on scripts are required, and the process avoids version mismatches with Blender updates. There is a plugin available called “engon”, but that doesn’t seem to be required.

Categories to reduce choice paralysis

The asset pack covers standard interior categories:

• Seating, tables, and storage
• Kitchenware, bathrooms, and electronics
• Lighting fixtures
• Decoration, plants, and fabrics

Polygoniq also includes several fully staged rooms. These can be used for quick previews or as a base for custom interiors.

Promotional discount

At press time, Polygoniq is offering a 33% discount on Interniq 2.0 with the promo code boostiq. This applies across tiers but is subject to change.

Production reality check

Interniq 2.0 offers variety and speed, but, like all assets, it should be tested inside actual pipelines before production use. File size, shading behaviour, and render times can vary depending on hardware and project complexity.

The post Interior assets without flat-pack stress first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: State of Art Academy is offering a lesson from the webinar Postproduction & Matte Painting Online as a free YouTube video. In the almost ten-minute video, published on 2 January this year, interested parties will learn which tricks and hacks can be used to make 3D vegetation look better in V-Ray and with Corona Renderer. State of Art Academy is a branch of State of Art that specialises in educational content with a focus on architectural visualisation. State of Art Academy is aimed at people from the creative industry who want to learn – even beyond those who have a soft spot for architectural visualisation.

Click further: On 6 December 2021 , Digital Production last reported on the State of Art Academy’s online training programme – at the time, inquisitive minds were taught how to simulate rapid fall (within a decor featuring one of those iconic bright red telephone boxes from the UK Post Office).

Archviz Postproduction: improving vegetation with render passes

The post How can vegetation be made more realistic? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: Esri, the company behind the architecture software CityEngine, has published a new tutorial that demonstrates how to revitalise an Unreal Engine environment using automated assets. More specifically, readers are introduced to a workflow that can be used to replace assets in the Unreal Engine – after importing an ArcGIS CityEngine Datasmith scene. The tutorial was published on esri.com on 2 November this year. The authors of the tutorial are Avonlea Fotheringham and Benjamin Neukom. To illustrate the processes shown in the tutorial, the two authors use a concrete application example – the authors have linked the corresponding assets.

The authors of the tutorial: Avonlea Fotheringham is Esri Product Manager for ArcGIS CityEngine. She has been part of the Esri team for over three and a half years, joining as Social Media Manager. Avonlea holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Carleton University in Canada. Benjamin Neukom is a software developer within the CityEngine Research & Development team in Zurich. Benjamin has been part of the Esri team for five years now. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science, both from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland.

Click further: To the tutorial on the ArcGIS blog. Digital Production last reported on City Engine on 18 November this year ; at that time it was the User Meeting 2022, which was held for the sixth time this year. Five videos were made available as a follow-up – including one in which Benjamin Neukom talks about CityEngine Datasmith and plugins (see also below).

CityEngine User Meeting (CEUM) 2022: “Newest features in CityEngine 2022.1 – Part 2

The post How to connect CityEngine with the Unreal Engine? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.