In this video, we are taking a look at the ongoing effort of the Otoy team to modernise the Cinema 4D Plugin with “quality of life” improvement, as well as newly added features such as the “Material Link”. If you are an Octane C4D user, don’t miss out on this video. I bet you find one or more useful things in there!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:32 Tut Overview
01:24 C4D Octane Material Link
03:03 C4D Octane UI Improvements
03:19 C4D Octane Scene / Plugin Settings
03:48 C4D Octane Imager UI
04:12 C4D Octane Rest Position Tag Improvements
04:18 C4D Octane Null Material Improvements
04:40 C4D Octane Nodes Selection Improvements
04:49 C4D Octane Round Edge / Mat Layer ON
05:18 C4D Octane Live Viewer Color Rollout
05:36 C4D Octane Live Viewer Scaling
05:51 C4D Octane Improved Node Previews
06:11 C4D Octane Node Color4 options
06:32 C4D Octane Attribute Node String
07:19 C4D Octane Clamp Edge Displacement
07:47 C4D Octane C4D OCIO support!
09:41 Conclusion
10:23 Patreon Thanks

Download the Tut Scene by becoming a Patreon member. No matter which tier!

VIDEO RELATED LINKS:
Maxon’s Official Website: https://www.maxon.net/
Octane C4D Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…

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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a VFX artist spends too much time obsessing over pixels and lighting, well, welcome to my world! You can find all my latest experiments, tutorials, and general nerdy shenanigans here:

Website: silverwing-vfx.de
Patreon: patreon.com/SilverwingVFX (Get scenefiles for all of my tutorial scenes also while supporting me)
Instagram: instagram.com/silverwingvfx (Finished 3D projects and engagement with the community)
YouTube: youtube.com/@SilverwingVFX (Updates and news about my work and what I am up to)

And if you’re into retro gaming and deep-dive nostalgia, check out the big article I wrote for this magazine: my love letter to the legendary Game Boy. Because nothing says “true love” like an 8-bit screen and a battery life that could outlast modern smartphones.

The post C4D Octane: 1.9.x Update Features Video first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Raphael Rau.

TL;DR: Node Ninja is a free plugin from School of Motion for Maxon Cinema 4D that builds Redshift materials from PBR texture folders.

The promise: stop wiring nodes, start rendering

Node Ninja targets a very specific kind of production friction: the endless, repetitive setup work that happens between downloading a texture set and having a usable Redshift material inside Cinema 4D.

A single PBR texture set can include 6 to 12 maps per material. The manual process is requiring a TextureSampler node per map, wiring each one to the right input on an RS Standard Material, and setting roughness, metalness, and normal maps to the correct color space so they render correctly. Also: the normal map format problem: if a texture set ships with a DirectX normal instead of an OpenGL normal, the mismatch can hide until the render looks wrong.

Node Ninja estimates that the manual approach takes about 4 minutes of node wiring per material and calls itself the one-click alternative. But, let’s be honest: 4 minutes is when you are quick. School of Motion offers Node Ninja as a free download, with no credit card, on Mac and Windows.

Install once, then find it where artists actually look

Installation follows the standard Cinema 4D plugin routine: open Preferences, jump to the Preferences folder, then drop the School of Motion folder into the plugins folder and restart Cinema 4D. After a correct install, Cinema 4D shows a School of Motion entry under Extensions, with Node Ninja and a companion tool called Node Surgeon available from the same menu.

Folder in, material out

Node Ninja works by pointing it at a texture folder, then building a full Redshift node graph based on filenames. It wires maps to expected inputs and sets color spaces. The plugin recognizes common PBR map naming patterns and can auto-handle albedo, roughness, metalness, normal, displacement, AO, emission, opacity, specular, and SSS, with a longer list in the manual. It also claims to composit AO into base color using a color layer and an appropriate blending mode. On normals, it states it can detect DirectX versus OpenGL normal maps and choose the correct type for Redshift, which it describes as using OpenGL normals.

Projection choices, plus an editor for after the fact

At import time, Node Ninja asks whether to use UV projection or world space Triplanar and wires the graph accordingly. If you change your mind later, the included Node Surgeon utility can edit existing materials to switch projection modes, and it can add or remove master controls for scale, offset, and rotation without rebuilding from scratch.

On newer Cinema 4D versions, Node Ninja uses the Redshift UV Context Projection node so tiling, offset, rotation, and pivot adjustments can happen in one place and propagate upstream through the graph.

Bulk import and duplicates, handled like an adult

Node Ninja includes a bulk import mode: point it at a parent folder and it can build one material per subfolder. When it detects a name collision, it offers three options: replace the existing material, duplicate with an auto-increment name, or skip it. That matters when you re-import a library mid-project and you want control over what gets overwritten.

A companion upgrade utility for existing materials

Node Ninja also ships with a second tool aimed at already built materials. The companion utility is included free with Node Ninja and targets existing Redshift materials built with standard PBR textures. There are three things the utility can do without starting over: switch projection modes, add or remove master controls, and upgrade legacy materials to Cinema 4D 2026’s modern UV Context format. It also scans the material first, pre-fills a dialogue to match what is already there, then rebuilds the graph with the requested changes. It CLAIMS it carries texture paths over automatically. There are limits – the utility is designed for standard PBR materials and is not a converter for complex procedural setups.

Cinema 4D versions, older graphs, and the practical bits

Node Ninja supports Cinema 4D 2024.5, 2025, and 2026 on Mac and Windows. If you run an older Cinema 4D version, Node Ninja uses an older style of control setup rather than the newer UV Context Projection workflow, and it can still build unified scale controls through value nodes.

Pricing is simple: free, with no license key and no trial. But nevertheless, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production, ideally on a copy of a scene, because automation can propagate the same mistake across a whole library at the same speed it saves time.

https://www.schoolofmotion.com/node-ninja

The post Node Ninja builds Redshift materials from folders first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the movie: Chrysalis is a surreal short film by Robin Lochmann blending live action with CG, built in Cinema 4D, rendered in Octane Render, and finished in After Effects, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.

Who, what, and why this fog would not quit

DP: For the people in the back row exporting the wrong folder, who are you and what do you make?

Robin Lochmann: I am a Berlin-based filmmaker and 3D artist from Ireland. My work ranges from commercials to concert visuals, trailers and art projects and anything in between. My latest short film Chrysalis blends live action footage with digitally created characters and environments. You can find me at robinlochmann.com and linktr.ee/robin_lochmann.

DP: How did Chrysalis start, script first or vibes first?

Robin Lochmann: The film grew out of a series of visual experiments where I started to create characters and see what they looked like when integrated into real landscape footage that I shot. This is obviously the opposite of starting with a script and then creating the visuals. I was very motivated by combining the different techniques that I had learned and the resources that I had to create something on my own and push myself to make it look as seamless as possible.

DP: Where did you grab the real world plates, and what kicked it off on location?

Robin Lochmann: I was in the south of France with my Blackmagic Design camera and I just started shooting landscape shots. I find that being in a new place with a camera just creates options all of a sudden and is great for inspiration. The characters were the next step but the starting point was definitely the landscape. The project started in France back in 2023. I got a bunch of usable material before proper winter settled in. I came back about six months later, in the summertime, and did another round of shooting, this time with the drone. I chucked it into DaVinci Resolve for editing and colour correction, started organising everything by what might make sense together, and did a first pass at matching the colours of the two different cameras and seasons with very different lighting conditions.

Scope, time, and the luxury budget known as free time

DP: How long did you live with this project, and did you ever ghost it for a while?

Robin Lochmann: The project spanned over 3 years, but I did not work on it consistently. I still had to manage client work and regular life. At one point, there were about 10 months in a row where I did not open the project at all because I did not have any time. After taking longer breaks from it, it was always hard to pick it back up again, but I am stuck with it.

DP: Before the plot showed up, what did you actually know? Any hard rules, or just “please look slightly holy and slightly terrifying”?

Robin Lochmann: I did not have a script at this point, just a visual direction. I knew I wanted to integrate animated characters into the landscape, that they would be doing this ritual, and that there would be a procession.

DP: Where did the costume language come from?

Robin Lochmann: I started collecting images of religious and ceremonial robes and headpieces with a similar vibe. I wanted to contrast the religious feeling with leather straps and mix those opposing aesthetics.

DP: The main head shape feels oddly familiar, in a good way. What fed that silhouette?

Robin Lochmann: I love the look of the alchemist character in The Holy Mountain. That and a Catholic bishop’s hat, a miter, were the original inspiration for the main character’s head design. I wanted the shape to feel somewhat familiar but still unique, with a strong profile where the front is much longer than the back, almost like a shield.

DP: Any research rabbit holes you wish you could bill to a client?

Robin Lochmann: I looked at a bunch of other different religious practices, which was not particularly useful for the project in the end.

DP: What kept you from quietly deleting the folder and moving on?

Robin Lochmann: Honestly, I did not know it would take this long when I started. At some point, I had invested enough time into it that I thought I could not give up now. Maybe if I had really known how much was still ahead of me I would have given up. But I would always get motivated when I saw a new shot come together, and that would sustain me for a while.

DP: Money question, was there a budget, or just stubbornness?

Robin Lochmann: I did not have a budget, just my free time.

Tools, tracking, and the pipeline

DP: Give us the big picture workflow, from camera to final file, without pretending it was always tidy.

Robin Lochmann: Shoot real footage, first edit, 3D-track selected shots, build characters and environments in 3D, animate characters and simulate clothing, integrate 3D elements into tracked footage, render, and composite CGI with real footage.

DP: What apps did the heavy lifting, and which ones did you bounce between when nobody was watching?

Robin Lochmann: Cinema 4D was the main hub for everything, Octane Render handled all rendering, ZBrush sculpted the dog and bug characters, iClone handled base character animation and motion capture clean up, Rokoko provided motion capture, Marvelous Designer handled cloth simulation, and Substance 3D Painter handled texturing. I composited in After Effects, then finished editorial, colour grading and final delivery in Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.

DP: Motion wise, how much was keyframed suffering versus mocap suffering?

Robin Lochmann: About half of the film is animated by hand in iClone. That was probably the most time consuming part of the whole project. About halfway through I got a Rokoko smart suit. It lets you record body movement and transfer it to any 3D character. It still needs a lot of cleanup, but it provides a great base and definitely speeds up the process.

DP: Clothing question for anyone who has ever rage-quit a sim cache. How did you build the garments?

Robin Lochmann: I used Marvelous Designer. I started by drawing the pattern in 2D and found it helpful to look at actual tailor patterns for reference. Then I positioned the pieces around the character, sewed it together, and ran the simulation. In some cases I added top stitching lines and simulated again so the garment movement followed the character animation. Different fabric types like canvas or silk drape very differently and give different results.

Rigging: stilts, metal, and non standard creature logic

DP: The creatures look like they refuse to behave in a normal rig. How did you build and rig them without losing your mind?

Robin Lochmann: Both the dog and the bug characters are built from scratch through a combo of modelling in Cinema 4D and sculpting in ZBrush. The bug was actually pretty easy to rig, but maybe not really a standard way of doing it. I am no expert and do not have a sculpting background, so I was winging it and pushing and scraping until it took shape. I painted it in Substance Painter, which feels similar to Photoshop with layers and masks. I added wings, bones for the legs, head sculpt variations to blend between, and a joint chain through the center of the head to make it wiggly. I animated the wings and added slight bends to the body. A shot with the bug trapped inside the jar ended up being one of my favorites.

For the dog, I used the quadruped rig in Cinema 4D as a starting point, but it was a little tricky because the dog is on stilts. Also, some of the metal bodies needed to stay rigid, so I constrained that separately.

DP: The robot dog is doing a lot. Where did that idea come from, and why the wonderfully impractical stilts?

Robin Lochmann: The initial inspiration came from a sculpture I saw in the Louvre in Paris. I liked the idea of a robot animal wearing a mask and the odd, impractical idea of having it on stilts. I wanted it to look cobbled together from scrap metal and discarded parts, barely held together by a rusty frame. I made a rig for it in Cinema 4D so I could animate it. I wanted the movement to feel janky and strenuous, like the rustiness holds it back a little bit.

World building, forests, and staying sane

DP: How much is plate based, and how much is full CG?

Robin Lochmann: Roughly half of Chrysalis uses real background footage and the other half is fully CG.

DP: When you go full CG, what does a scene build look like?

Robin Lochmann: I built the environments in Cinema 4D and made two main forest sets. Once they were finished, I could move a virtual camera around and frame like in the real world. I would do a previs first as a basic render for timing and camera movement, then refine and add details before final rendering with Octane.

DP: Lighting-wise, how did you get the France vibe into the CG shots?

Robin Lochmann: I made 360-degree HDRI images in France as a starting point to light the scene. That was rarely enough by itself, so I added extra area lights and a fog volume, basically a big box of fog that sits on top of the scene and breaks up how light particles shine through it.

DP: Any survival tips for reopening giant environment files without screaming?

Robin Lochmann: Try to stay organised in big environment scenes, so when you open the project again, you do not completely lose your mind.

DP: When it was time to hit render, what did you spit out for comp, and what passes mattered?

Robin Lochmann: I rendered everything in Octane. I used EXRs with beauty, cryptomate, volume, and Z-depth passes for each shot. That was usually enough for compositing. Because I was rendering locally on a 2080 and a 3090, I would usually just render overnight but at the very end I had about one week of nonstop rendering.

Then, everything came together for compositing and final adjustments in After Effects. Because I had the cryptomasks, I could select every object separately for small color or brightness tweaks and add CG elements to real footage. Edges are a dead giveaway, so I used light wrap to bleed background light into the foreground edges. I also added haze and sometimes more fog, took down digital sharpness, and added a bit of film grain while obsessing over small details to balance the image.

DP: What did you deliver in the end, and how wild were the render times shot to shot?

Robin Lochmann: 4k 24fps. Render times varied a lot. Some shots, where it was just one character that would later be composited onto real footage, rendered quickly while the fullCG scenes took much longer. Because I was rendering on the go, at night, it is really hard to say how long the total render times were.

Sound: music first, then realism on top

DP: Who made it sound expensive, and how did you brief them without writing a novel?

Robin Lochmann: Music by Robot Koch and sound design and mixing by Philippe Glandien. Throughout working on the project, I would listen to Robot Koch’s music while watching playbacks and I knew that I wanted him to do the music for the film. I sent him a locked edit and gave him some guidelines, but I already trusted his taste and style.

After just two revisions teh music was locked down. For the sound design, I gave Philippe Glandien the film with the final music. I wanted to aim for realism. The sound design should just support the visuals and make the film feel more tactile, while the music was the emotional heartbeat.

Updates mid project: the good, the bad, and the crashy

DP: Over three years, updates happen. Which upgrades were helpful, and which ones tried to eat your project?

Robin Lochmann: Because the project went on so long, I did have to update most tools along the way. The worst was After Effects. The number of crashes kept increasing, and by the end I could not even close the project without it crashing. Some updates in Cinema 4D were really useful, like their particle system and the updated cloth simulations.

I used these cloth simulations to tear the cocoon and the main character’s wings directly inside Cinema 4D. To control where cloth breaks, you can paint a vertex map, allowing tearing to occur precisely. For the cocoon emergence, I layered different versions so they pushed up from underneath and broke at various points, with layers reacting to each other and different physical properties.

DP: And the white webbing lines that creep over things? How did you do that?

Robin Lochmann: I shot particles at the object and traced the particle path to form a line. The particles split and form new particles. I used the same technique in a couple of shots where white webbing covers everything.

DP: If you rebuilt the character pipeline today, what would you streamline first?

Robin Lochmann: Some of the workflows were also not the most efficient *cough* in terms of bouncing between the different tools, especially for the characters. Bringing them from motion capture to cleanup, clothing, and then back into C4D to remove the base and attach the head involved too many steps. I am not a coder, so I had to do it all manually, but I think now I would try to use AI to write a script to automate it.

DP: Any deleted scenes you still mourn, or are they safely buried in a folder called OLD_FINAL_FOR_REAL_THIS_TIME?

Robin Lochmann: I made early test shots to see how the parts combined. None of those shots ended up in the film. In earlier versions there were other characters I built and then cut out, like a giant baby statue, an awful kid, and a mask. I even finished a couple of scenes with one character, then went to the cinema to see Dune 2 and saw characters so similar that I decided to remove that character completely.

DP: You skipped the festival waiting game at first. What was the thinking, and what happened after you hit publish?

Robin Lochmann: I decided to skip festivals at first and go straight online, mainly because I did not want to wait so long to share it. I am really glad I made that decision. Even with a decent festival run, you are lucky to have a couple of thousand people see your film. Two weeks after release, we had already gotten over 100k views on YouTube just organically. That was way more than I expected, since not many people want to watch short films. The feedback has been great. I am also submitting it to some smaller festivals now that do not disqualify films that are already publicly available.

DP: Last one. When did you stop tweaking and let it leave the nest, or the render farm, whichever hurts more?

Robin Lochmann: Sometimes all you need is a deadline. Right up until it was being screened, I was still tweaking details that nobody else would ever notice. Then, when the time was up, I was happy to let it go. I think only you can decide for yourself when it is finished; nobody else can make that decision for you.

https://www.robinlochmann.com/

The post Chrysalis first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In this video we will explore how we can simulate realistic “kick up dust” from wind that is blowing over a surface in Maxons Cinema 4Ds internal Pyro simulation tool. The most likely use case is the effect you probably know from a helicopter taking of or landing.
As I learned yesterday, this effect is known as “downwash”.

Learn how to solve for air pressure and use the output of the moving airfield to automatically create and simulate dust picked up from the ground and carried away by the air movement realistically.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

00:48 Tut Overview

01:31 C4D Scene Setup: Geometry

03:02 About Pyro Solvers

04:33 Setting up a Pyro Domain

08:26 Setting up the Downwash Wind

10:33 Setting up Vectors (Velocity)

14:57 Offsetting the Collision Landscape

15:57 Caching the 1st (Base) Simulation

16:30 Setting up the Dust Emitter Vertex Map

18:33 Simulation Scene Object

20:21 Field Force

20:49 Finalizing the Downwash Sim

23:00 Looking at the Results

Download the Tut Scene by becoming a Patreon member. No matter which tier!

VIDEO RELATED LINKS:
Maxon’s Official Website: https://www.maxon.net/
Octane C4D Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…

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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a VFX artist spends too much time obsessing over pixels and lighting, well, welcome to my world! You can find all my latest experiments, tutorials, and general nerdy shenanigans here:

Website: silverwing-vfx.de
Patreon: patreon.com/SilverwingVFX (Get scenefiles for all of my tutorial scenes also while supporting me)
Instagram: instagram.com/silverwingvfx (Finished 3D projects and engagement with the community)
YouTube: youtube.com/@SilverwingVFX (Updates and news about my work and what I am up to)

And if you’re into retro gaming and deep-dive nostalgia, check out the big article I wrote for this magazine: my love letter to the legendary Game Boy. Because nothing says “true love” like an 8-bit screen and a battery life that could outlast modern smartphones.

The post C4D Pyro Tutorial: Helicopter Kickup Dust first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Raphael Rau.

If you build lookdev in Cinema 4D with Redshift, you already know the ritual: import textures, create a material, wire the usual suspects, then repeat until your wrist files a complaint. dding_one sells a small utility called RS Node Tools that aims at exactly that loop. The focus sits on PBR texture sets and the annoying, frequent job of connecting maps to the right inputs. The product description frames it as “auto connect PBR textures” with automatic mapping so you can spend less time on housekeeping and more time pushing the look.

What it actually tries to solve

In practical terms, that makes it a fit for artists who already have a Redshift material strategy and simply want the fastest path from a folder of textures to a connected graph. If your studio already enforces naming conventions and texture packing rules, tools like this often land as a quick local speed boost for lookdev, previz, and small teams.

It also means you should treat it like any other automation layer. Test the results on a couple of hero assets, check color space handling, validate roughness and metalness intent, and confirm the node graph matches your pipeline expectations before you trust it across a whole scene.

Pricing that does not block a test run

RS Node Tools uses pay what you want pricing on Gumroad, with a minimum that starts at 0 USD. Pricing beyond that is the 5$ Supporters License, which is also for COmmercial Use.

That pricing model makes it easy to trial in a real scene instead of a toy setup. Drop it into a scratch project, run it on three texture sets from different sources, and see whether it saves you time without creating cleanup work afterward.

Production reality check

Automation can be a gift and a trap in equal measure. When it works, it removes the low value parts of a task. When it fails, it fails fast and at scale.

So treat RS Node Tools like you would any plugin that touches shading graphs: validate output, verify naming and connections, and keep a clean rollback path. New tools and innovations should always be tested before use in porudction, especially when they rewrite repetitive steps you normally spot check by muscle memory.

Where it fits in a modern C4D and Redshift stack

Redshift node workflows in Cinema 4D keep trending toward more node centric material authoring, and that naturally increases the number of connections artists need to manage. Tools that reduce graph wiring time become more interesting as soon as a project hits volume: lots of assets, lots of variations, lots of deadlines.

https://ddingone.gumroad.com/l/RS-Node-Tools

The post RS Node Tools speeds Redshift nodes first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Autograph is a motion graphics, VFX, and compositing app that mixes 2D and 3D, supports OpenFX, and fits alongside Maxon Cinema 4D, Red Giant, and Universe workflows.

The free license that actually means free

Maxon now offers Autograph team licenses completely free for commercial use, starting May 7, 2026. Teams of any size can use it at no cost, and the same free commercial stance also applies to individual use. Studios, agencies, brands, educators, and in-house teams can use the team licenses. The terms describe no output limitations, no time restrictions, and no conditions for using Autograph in commercial work.

The free team setup also keeps the command-line functionality and Python support included. Team usage also does not get limited to, or counted as, the seat count in the team license agreement, because users can run Autograph beyond the seat limit under individual accounts. So, one VFX-Artist can EASILY fill the pipeline for dozens or hundreds of compers. As it always has been ;)

Standards, plugins, and the “please do not break our colour pipeline” list

Autograph supports USD, OpenEXR, ACES, OpenColorIO, and OpenFX. If your pipeline already speaks those dialects, you can keep your existing expectations about interchange, image containers, and colour management, then see how Autograph behaves under real shots. On the effects side, Autograph integrates with Universe and select Red Giant tools. The Red Giant tools include Magic Bullet Looks, Cosmo II, Mojo II, Optical Flow, Real Lens Flare, Renoiser, Shine, and Starglow.

Autograph also launches with support for third-party OpenFX plugins from RE:Vision Effects, BorisFX, and Digital Anarchy, with those plugins available through their own marketplaces. If your facility already lives on OFX, that matters a lot more then anyone likes to admit.

Training and onboarding, with fewer excuses

Autograph users get full access to the excellent Cineversity Training library, including an Introduction to Maxon Autograph multi-part series led by Chad Perkins. That should help teams onboard faster, or at least fail faster, which also counts as progress. On the distribution side, Autograph team licensing became available beginning May 7 at the Autograph page on maxon.net.

Small print energy, big pipeline implications

Maxon Autograph 2026 is here

Autograph is a unified environment combining 2D animation, compositing, and 3D capabilities, aimed at motion designers, 2D and 3D artists, compositors, and content creators. The whole thing leans on speed, an intuitive workflow, and a quick learning curve, unlike your current wokrflow of hoarding After Effects presets and hoping nobody opens the comp.

As always, test new tools and new licensing models before you bet a delivery date on them, even when the price tag reads zero.

Where this lands in the DP universe

If you have been following the Autograph saga , free commercial team use removes the usual tax where you spend weeks proving a tool works, then spend months arguing about who pays for it.

The new kid on the block!

It also makes Autograph a much easier sidecar in a compositing pipeline, because adoption friction drops. You can pilot it on a real project, with real plates, and real colour management, without waiting for a purchasing window.

If your artists already lean on Red Giant style effects, the built-in integration path matters, but the licensing for those tools still remains separate. And if the rollout goes through the Maxon App, expect the usual studio questions about installs, updates, and permissions.

Pricing

Autograph team licenses are free for commercial use.

https://www.maxon.net/de/article/maxon-makes-autograph-free-for-teams?srsltid=AfmBOoonp5vfGFNA–bYMgL5ol-M1Jx5GN4ljh323-5jIVkxiGayKhpJ
https://www.maxon.net/autograph

The post Autograph, now free for teams first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: VirtuCamera is a mobile virtual camera for realtime camera motion capture into DCCs via plug-ins for Blender, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, SideFX Houdini, and Maxon Cinema 4D.

What VirtuCamera 2 actually is

VirtuCamera 2 turns an Apple or Android device into a six degrees of freedom controller for a camera inside supported DCC software. The app captures device motion and sends it to the host plug-in over a network connection, then records the move into keyframes when you hit record. It also streams the DCC viewport back to the device for framing while you operate.

The new release includes a redesigned user interface and a full screen viewport. It also adds an Android version alongside iOS, with live viewport streaming over Wi-Fi, capture and streaming at up to 60 frames per second, on device controls for playback and camera switching, focal length sliders, and the ability to scale camera movement for longer travel.

Supported DCCs and versions, now with fewer workarounds

The current plug-ins list the following versions: Blender 5.1, 5.0, and LTS 4.5, Autodesk Maya 2027 and 2026, Autodesk 3ds Max 2027 and 2026, SideFX Houdini 21, and Maxon Cinema 4D 2026.

If you live in mixed DCC land, this is the rare case where one handheld capture app claims first-party plug-ins for five major platforms at once. You still need to validate the exact DCC build and pipeline constraints in your environment, but at least the compatibility targets are stated clearly.

Viewport streaming, latency, and why tethering exists

VirtuCamera 2 streams the viewport to the device so you can frame from the phone or tablet. On paper, that reduces the whole remote monitor dance. In practice, the network decides how cinematic your day will be.

The tethering documentation spells out why. Wi-Fi can drop packets, jitter, or kill long connections due to congestion, roaming, power saving, and network restrictions even when normal browsing looks fine. The guide recommends tethering as a way to make the computer treat the phone as a wired network interface, avoiding Wi-Fi variability and often improving latency. USB tethering also commonly keeps the phone charging during use. If you have ever watched a handheld take turn into a stuttering mess at the exact moment the director liked it, you already know why this section exists.

There is also Ethernet tethering, described as plug and play across macOS, Windows, and Linux, assuming you use a USB to Ethernet adapter compatible with the phone so the device recognizes it as a network interface. Also, test this stuff before you trust it in production. Network quirks love showing up when they shouldn’t be there.

Scale settings, because meters are not a suggestion

VirtuCamera 2 includes a scale setting designed to map real world movement to DCC units. You need to establish how much 3D software units equal real world units. In the app settings, you set a value so that one meter in the real world matches the software units you choose.

That sounds simple, but it solves a recurring problem in virtual workflows: a physically reasonable move can become a microscopic nudge or a teleport depending on scene scale. Making this an explicit setting in the app puts the responsibility in the right place. You calibrate once per scene scale, then operate like you mean it.

If you work across projects with different unit conventions, write the chosen mapping into your show notes and keep it consistent. Otherwise you will spend an afternoon wondering why yesterday’s operator feels like they had longer arms.

https://twitter.com/CosmoMidias/status/1779701979431985161

Plug-ins, Python, and rolling your own integration

VirtuCamera’s official site shared the underlying Python module. VirtuCamera plug-ins for Maya, Blender, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and 3ds Max are based on the PyVirtuCamera module, and PyVirtuCamera uses FFmpeg for video encoding. PyVirtuCamera exists as a public repository on GitHub and a Python module API to create VirtuCamera plug-ins, with downloadable releases and a wiki for usage details.

This matters for two audiences. If you are a pipeline TD, a published API reduces the risk of being blocked by missing official plug-ins for your in house toolset. If you are a plugin developer, a shared module means feature parity across host DCCs depends on the same core, not five separate implementations drifting apart.

Somebody will ask whether this means you can jam it into anything. The official site says you can create your own plugin with the PyVirtuCamera Python API and that it does not need to be a DCC.

Pricing and availability

On the German Apple App Store and on the Google Play listing, VirtuCamera 2 is priced at 18€ currentl. On the US App Store listing, it is priced at $20. If you are evaluating total cost, also account for the time cost of validating networking, device mounting, and scene scale conventions. The app cost is rarely the expensive part.

https://virtucamera.com/

https://apps.apple.com/de/app/virtucamera-2/id6761327593

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?hl=en&id=com.theweirdbyte.virtucamera2

https://github.com/theweirdbyte/PyVirtuCamera

The post VirtuCamera 2: The Weird Byte goes Android first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: OctaneRender is a GPU renderer with DCC plugins like Blender, Cinema 4D, and Houdini. It ships via Studio+ and has a macOS stepsibling called Octane X.

Virtual textures, now allowed on the farm

OTOY shipped OctaneRender 2026.3 with a headline change that matters to anyone who has ever watched a heavy lookdev scene bully a GPU: network rendering now supports virtual textures. Virtual textures arrived earlier in the 2026 cycle, and 2026.3 extends that system beyond the local box so you can run the same approach in distributed jobs instead of treating it like a workstation-only party trick.

If your pipeline leans on huge texture sets, this is the kind of change that can reduce the amount of manual babysitting around what fits where. It does not magically fix bad asset hygiene, but it can remove one common excuse for why a scene behaves differently on an artist’s machine versus a render node. The release notes also call out a reduction in time to first sample in render nodes when scenes contain large image counts, which pairs naturally with the idea of texture-heavy shots that take too long just to begin doing anything visible.

One practical footnote: the release notes explicitly say that virtual textures are not supported for texture displacement. That line sits inside a crash fix description, but the constraint itself matters. If your assets rely on displacement driven by high-resolution maps, you still need to plan for the old reality there, even while the rest of the texture stack gets more flexible.

Trace sets, shadow catchers, and other production glue

2026.3 continues to sand down workflow edges around features introduced earlier in the 2026 line. Trace set visibility rules can now also apply to shadow catchers, which sounds small until you are trying to art-direct what reflects in what while keeping plate integration sane. Shadow catchers often sit at the intersection of lighting cheats and comp expectations, so anything that reduces the number of special cases usually pays back quickly.

There is also an update to USD import preferences: you can override point instances so they can be used to instance other external geometries. That is a very specific knob, but pipelines that move a lot of set dressing through USD tend to accumulate a lot of “why does this instance not behave like that instance” questions. Having an explicit override in the import preferences at least gives TDs another lever that lives in the tool instead of in an external patch script.

The same release adds support for importing float and colour primvars from USD curves, and it fixes an issue where motion blur was not visible when using USD curves. If you push curves for hair, cables, trails, or procedural motion guides, this is the kind of boring detail that stops being boring the moment it breaks a shot.

For readers tracking platform standards, this is another reminder that renderer updates are increasingly about interchange stability as much as raw features. You still want speed, but you also want fewer surprises when assets cross DCC borders.

MaterialX displacement support gets more real

The 2026.3 release adds MaterialX import support for displacement shader sub graphs. It also fixes a handful of MaterialX-related issues, including proper operation for TransformNormal and TransformPoint, errors when loading scenes with Time and Frame nodes, alpha blending in HexTiledImage for color4 outputs, and import issues around bi-tangent inputs that could break normal mapping.

If your studio has been treating MaterialX as “great in theory, wobbly in practice”, this is a concrete step toward the practical side. A step, not the finish line! Not even for Scandinavian Studios! It does not claim perfect parity with every other tool, but it does show attention to the unglamorous parts: node correctness, error spam, and consistent interpretation of common transforms. A separate behavior tweak affects anisotropy: rotation in Standard Surface now matches OpenPBR and other renderers, and existing scenes are not affected. Hopefully

NRC memory use drops, plus a grab bag of fixes

OTOY says memory usage has been reduced when using the Neural Radiance Cache, referred to as NRC. The same notes mention fixes for render artifacts when using volume media in combination with NRC, plus a crash fix when rendering starts while virtual textures compile and are used in texture displacement, with the earlier reminder that virtual textures do not support texture displacement.

There is also a long list of resolved issues touching a lot of interchange formats and stability landmines: fixes for Alembic loading with materials saved as non-constant FaceSet objects, multiple FBX importer and exporter issues around vertex attributes and vertex animations, crashes on unsupported or invalid SPZ files, and potential application crashes upon initialisation on Windows and Linux.

A small but very real quality-of-life fix: empty file name nodes no longer get replaced with the directory of the containing OCS file, and they stay empty. That is the sort of bug that creates invisible path issues that only show up in a farm run at 3 a.m. on a Saturday night, while you are trying to remember what these things called “Weekends” were, the strange people in the group called “Friends” on Discord are blabbing about. Random example.

Drivers, OS baselines, and what your IT team will ask

The release notes list two explicit minimums. The minimum NVIDIA driver version required is R555, and it is R572 for GeForce RTX50 series. The minimum version of macOS required is 14.5.

Lua API tweaks for pipeline tinkerers

2026.3 includes Lua API changes that target data handling and introspection. Several octane.node functions now accept raw C arrays for cases where the API expects an array, and there are new helpers for querying animator types and retrieving animator data as a raw C array. It also states that for non-array attributes, you are allowed to set animators with different channel counts from that of the attribute type.

If your facility uses Lua to automate scene setup, tool integration, or pipeline hooks, or just is full of Autohotkey-Nerds (My People!) these are the kind of changes that can reduce wrapper code and make scripts less fragile. It is not the most glamorous section , but it is often where studios quietly win back hours.

Pricing and availability

OctaneRender 2026.3 is available via downloads linked from the release notes, including standalone builds for Windows, Linux, and macOS, plus node builds for Windows and Linux, and demo downloads for Windows and Linux.

Pricing is subscription-based via Studio+. The OctaneRender Studio+ subscription is 24€ per month billed monthly, and 20€ per month billed yearly for an annual subscription. There is also an OctaneRender Offline USB Dongle for 49 euros.

Even if the feature list sounds perfect for your exact setup, treat it like any other renderer update: test it on your own scenes, with your own texutres, on your own farm, before you let it anywhere near a delivery schedule.
https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=85624

The post OctaneRender 2026.3 adds virtual texture netrender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Manuel Kotulla.

For those who don’t know the tool: Cinema 4D is Maxon 3D for modeling, animation, sims, and lookdev, with tight Redshift Renderer integration and common handoffs like USD. Think MoGraph, then render, then wonder why lunch is over.

The update in one sentence

Cinema 4D 2026.2.0 comes with new modelling (especially for cloth) and lighting features, plus broad fixes across animation, modelling, MoGraph, simulation, viewport, exchange, and rendering. As well as a load of smaller cool features and updates.

Fabric Brush gets hands-on with soft stuff

The big new feature is Fabric Brush, a modeling tool that uses the app’s simulation system to shape soft materials directly in the viewport. The intent is tactile: push and pull forms while the sim helps create folds, draping, and deformations, without setting up rigs for the job.

In practice, this is a new option for artists who want quick cloth-like sculpting while staying in a familiar modelling workflow. It aims for standard tool responsiveness while adding simulation-driven behaviour for the soft look.

Redshift goes nocturnal

Cinema 4D 2026.2 introduces a night-sky option in the Redshift Sun and Sky system for dusk and night lighting setups. If your scene needs a sky that reads after sunset, this is now a first-class mode inside that system, rather than a workaround of lights and environment tricks.

Cinema 4D 2026.2 ships with Redshift 2026.5.0. Older Redshift versions from 2026.0.0 and higher remain compatible, but they will not include the newer Redshift features, plus enhancements to integration and performance.

Redshift 2026.5.0 also raises a practical requirement: the minimum required version for the 2026 plugin becomes Cinema 4D 2026.2. On the Cinema 4D side, a related integration note calls out Redshift Live replacing Redshift RT.

Deformers, clones, and command lines get small superpowers

A few smaller changes target everyday rigging and motion graphics chores. Bend Deformer improvements add new symmetry origin options, so mirrored bends can come from a single deformer. For quick character tweaks, product flex shots, or anything that wants a symmetric bend without duplicate setups, this is a quality-of-life gain.

A new Xpresso Command Line Argument node allows passing string arguments into Xpresso setups during command line rendering. That is a direct nod to pipeline automation, where renders often start from a farm call, a script, or a build system rather than a human clicking the Viewer.

MoGraph users get a new loop option for the Target Effector, allowing the first and last clones to target each other in closed arrangements. That fits neatly into circular patterns, rings, and repeating layouts where “ends” should not exist.

In the Material Manager, an Active Object Material Filter shows only materials applied to the currently selected objects.

Animation, curves, and viewport comfort

Cinema 4D 2026.2 adds an Align Tangents command to quickly align tangents on F-Curves. If you spend time cleaning curves after mocap, procedural animation, or hand-keyed polish, this is the sort of tiny tool that can save a lot of clicks.

Exchange formats and rendering housekeeping

Cinema 4D 2026.2 includes an exchange crash fix when exporting to Alembic. It also fixes an issue where reimporting a previously exported skeletal animation USD scene could result in an incorrect preview area and scene length even though the export itself was correct.

Rendering and output fixes include preventing multipass images from being saved in viewport render, and a Physical renderer change where Remesh no longer recalculates during rendering. The Picture Viewer gets reduced color banding, and a Redshift-related workflow fix allows creating a render setting from a render to work with Redshift renders.

Redshift 2026.5.0 adds and fixes several Cinema 4D specific items, including a new default native Projection Mode intended to resolve material tag UV tiling incompatibilities with UV Contexts, a fix for UDIMs not rendering correctly when using Team Render, and a fix for random black images when rendering heavy meshes with deformation blur enabled. It also notes a faster connection and smoother navigation for the RS Live Viewport IPR, limited to Cinema 4D 2026.2 and higher.

ARM downloads and driver reality checks

Cinema 4D 2026.2 includes a warning for downloads on ARM: update the GPU driver to the latest version – they even have a link for Windows on Snapdragon users to Qualcomm for the latest drivers.

https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/8658038724124-Cinema-4D-2026-2-0-April-15-2026

https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/8814051767964-Redshift-2026-5-0-2026-04-April-15-2026

The post Maxon ships Cinema 4D 2026.2 update first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who do not know the tool: Redshift is Maxon’s GPU renderer for VFX, motion graphics, animation, and visualization. It is available for DCC applications including Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, and 3ds Max.

Maxon has released Redshift 2026.4. The update introduces Redshift Live, a new real-time render mode that replaces Redshift RT, and adds support for Vectorworks 2026 Update 4. The release marks a clear product shift. Redshift Live is intended as the new interactive rendering layer inside Redshift, with Maxon positioning it for look development and architectural visualization. That makes 2026.4 more than a routine feature drop. It is a directional release.

The current implementation is still limited. External reporting notes that Redshift Live does not yet support features such as subsurface scattering, hair, texture displacement, point clouds, volumes, motion blur, depth of field, light linking, or AOVs. For now, it is a real-time mode with a defined scope, not a full replacement for the production renderer.

The Vectorworks angle matters just as much. Support for Vectorworks 2026 Update 4 places Redshift more directly inside AEC and planning workflows, where quick visual feedback is increasingly expected. In that sense, Redshift Live and Vectorworks support belong to the same story.

Outside the real-time changes, Redshift 2026.4 also adds support for per-polygon materials with texture displacement, support for non-0-1 UVs for texture displacement, a new shader input for the RS Dome Light Material, and a light normalization mode for Physical Sun & Sky covering sun and moon lighting and camera contribution.

Cinema 4D users also get expanded Physical Sky features. Maxon says the system can now render stars, the Milky Way, and the moon. The release also adds conversion from Redshift Standard materials to OpenPBR materials, extending material workflow compatibility.

Taken together, Redshift 2026.4 is less important for any single checkbox than for what it signals. Redshift RT is gone. Redshift Live takes its place. Vectorworks support broadens the target market. The rest of the release improves the core renderer in smaller, more practical ways. Maxon is not just updating Redshift. It is repositioning it.

Maxon release notes:
https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/8814051767964-Redshift-2026-4-0-2026-03-March-17-2026

The post Redshift 2026.4 adds Redshift Live and expands support for Vectorworks first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Redshift is a GPU renderer built for fast lookdev and final frames. Vectorworks is a BIM (Building Information Modeling) and CAD hub where buildings get drafted and organised.

Architectural visualisation pipelines love a clean handoff, but they hate the part where you wait for it. Redshift for Archviz positions itself as a single-environment loop: preview inside your BIM tool, iterate while the model still feels editable, then render without rebuilding the whole look in a second app.

The core pitch is direct integration with Vectorworks, aimed at letting artists and designers stay in the same workspace while moving from real-time previews to final renders. The platform targets the usual ArchViz pressure points: quick iterations, look development that stays consistent from draft to final, and visuals that survive client meetings without the dreaded “we will render it later” disclaimer. Maxon describes this as an expansion of the same rendering technology used in its existing ecosystem, tuned for real-world, real-time architecture design workflows

Real-time lighting that behaves like a grown-up

In the feature set, the real-time preview leans hard into lighting, materials, and environment response. The toolset includes controls to change the time of day, sun position, and cloud cover, to show how natural light interacts with the design as you adjust conditions.

Cloud cover control is quite precise, spanning conditions from clear to fully overcast, specifically to visualize how clouds affect natural light, shadows, and the overall mood of an architectural render. That kind of environment knob matters because it ties directly to decision-making. When lighting direction and softness update instantly, material choices stop being theoretical and start becoming compositional tools.

Assets, materials, and the eternal fight against empty rooms

The content side is framed around libraries that help you get to “inhabited space” faster. A growing asset library includes materials, lights, and ready-to-use assets intended to speed up scene building while keeping physical accuracy and visual consistency.

On top of that, the feature descriptions call out drag-and-drop population of interiors and exteriors with a selection that includes furniture, vehicles, realistic plants, and people, and these assets interact naturally with surfaces.

Material coverage is physically correct, spanning concrete and metal through glass, wood, and textiles, with the promise that materials react naturally to light and environment. The workflow emphasis stays on applying, adjusting, and previewing changes in real time, so look development can happen while you are still shaping the design.

Mac and Windows parity, right from the start

Platform coverage is plain: Redshift for Archviz is available for Windows and macOS, andfeature parity across both platforms from the outset. That matters whether you bounce between machines in a studio or your clients do. It also matters if your pipeline includes artists who bring their own gear and do not want a surprise feature gap halfway through a project.

The Cinema 4D escape hatch for the fancy stuff

When a still image turns into a walkthrough, you need more than a preview window. The workflow includes the ability to send a project to Cinema 4D with a simple click, with the intent of enabling more advanced architectural visualisation work, including procedural animations and simulations.

The FAQ describes export from the Redshift for Archviz plugin to Cinema 4D, and states that geometry, materials, cameras, and basic lighting generally transfer well. Once in Cinema 4D, refining scenes, materials, and lighting with a higher level of control is as usual, and then extending the project with animation and simulation.

This is a practical bridge for teams who want the speed of in-app previs but still need a DCC stage for shot craft, camera choreography, or heavier scene management. It also keeps the promise of visual continuity: the same scene, lighting, and materials across preview and final output.

Installation and the beta-shaped reality

The tooling around installation is explicit enough to be useful. The install notes state that the current availability is for Vectorworks, with Revit and Archicad coming soon.

For the Vectorworks side, the guide references installing Vectorworks 2026 using default settings, downloading and signing into the Maxon App, installing an AEC Viewer, then activating the plugin inside the host application by customising the workspace and adding the Redshift entry from the Rendering category. Launch is a Auto Synch button inside the host environment. Use requires creating a MyMaxon account and accepting an EULA. The subscription bundle (Plans and Pricing) supports multiple instances with up to eight GPUs on a single computer.

Because this is new workflow territory, treat early adoption like you treat any new renderer, plugin, or bridge. Run a proper test scene, push the corner cases, and validate the round-trip before you bet a deadline on it. Do that before you put it into production.

What this means for working artists

The practical story is simple: real-time previews inside a BIM host, asset and material libraries geared at architectural scenes, cross-platform support on Windows and macOS, and a pipeline bridge into Cinema 4D for animation and simulation.

If you live in the overlap between design and storytelling, this kind of integration can reduce handoffs and shorten iteration loops. If you live in the overlap between client expectations and physics-based lighting, real-time environment controls can turn “maybe” into “yes” quickly.

Just remember the unglamorous part: new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production, even when the marketing copy sounds like it was written by a very confident sunbeam.

https://www.maxon.net/en/article/maxon-introduces-new-real-time-rendering-and-cinematic-previews-solution-for-architects

The post Maxon ships Redshift for Archviz first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Druckli Tools is a node asset library for Cinema 4D by Dominik Ruckli. It installs via the Asset Browser as a zip database and adds procedural modelling, selection, distribution and generator assets aimed at node-based workflows.

Version two, asset browser first

Dominik Ruckli has released version two of Druckli Tools, a node asset collection for Cinema 4D. Vversion two includes all tools from version one plus additional assets, and requires Cinema 4D 2026.1 or later. On earlier versions not all tools will work. Installation is handled directly through the Asset Browser by connecting the downloaded zip file as a database. The zip does not need to be unpacked. Two variants are available. The full version contains example scenes and additional assets. A light version omits the heavier example scenes to reduce disk usage. The toolset is distributed via Gumroad . Pricing is “Name a Fair Price” .

Minor updates, practical fixes

Several assets from version one have been updated. All selection visualisers no longer rely on a default selection string that stopped working in Cinema 4D 2025.1, Users must now explicitly define or search for selections. The Ray Connector asset has been clarified. Its input was previously labelled as a points object, which led users to assume it required geometry. It actually operates on a matrix object.

Surface Stippling has been adjusted for large scenes. The previous version reportedly produced incorrect results on very large meshes. The updated asset is described as working correctly on larger scenes. A new stippling distribution variant has also been introduced for MoGraph workflows.

Plane Split rebuilt

The most significant change is a complete rebuild of the Plane Split asset, now referred to as version three inside the library. In the previous implementation, UVs, normals, weight maps and selections were not reliably transferred after cutting geometry. The new version is described as transferring UVs and normals correctly and offering optional transfer of vertex maps and selections.

Users can define the cutting axis and whether to generate top, bottom or both outputs. Selection transfer can be toggled for performance reasons when working with large meshes. The asset can also store new selections created at the cutting edge, including point, edge and polygon selections. Users can define custom names for border, top and bottom selections generated during the cut.

Normal handling is addressed explicitly. Proper shading after cutting requires correct normals. The author demonstrates generating a normal tag before cutting, either manually or procedurally, to avoid shading artefacts caused by Phong interpolation. This is a practical reminder that procedural cutting still depends on valid surface normals.

An included example scene demonstrates a procedural crystal generator built with Plane Split and the Close Polygon Holes asset. The setup uses repeated plane cuts, parameterised height, radius, side count, displacement seed and crack count to generate fractured crystal forms. The example is procedural and adjustable but relies entirely on the provided node assets.

Selection and visualisation tools

Outline Selection provides an alternative to Cinema 4D’s built in Border Selection node. According to the author, the default node can be slow on dense meshes. The custom implementation is presented as faster, although no benchmarks are supplied.

Select by Camera View creates selections based on a camera’s field of view. It supports viewport camera reading or object link input in node setups. Parameters include XY border offset, near and far clipping planes, optional exclusion of occluded geometry and surface offset tolerance for polygon selection. An example scene shows scattering trees only within the active camera frustum.

Vertex Map Visualiser displays per point vertex map values as numeric text in the viewport. Standard vertex maps are colour based and can exceed a normalised zero to one range depending on node operations. The visualiser reveals exact float values with adjustable precision and optional camera alignment. The author notes that camera aligned text can reduce performance on high density meshes.

Normal Visualiser exposes vertex normals in node-based workflows. Cinema 4D’s viewport normal display does not function inside node meshes. The asset requires a normal tag to read data. If only Phong smoothing is present, users must convert it to a normal tag.

Axis Preview visualises transformation matrices as axes, primarily for distribution and scattering setups. It displays X and Z orientation vectors per matrix, aiding debugging of alignment in node-based MoGraph workflows. These utilities target technical directors and look development artists who need numeric and vector-level feedback inside node graphs.

Modifiers and node utilities

Close Polygon Holes procedurally fills open boundaries on meshes. It can operate automatically on all holes or use an edge selection. When used in combination with Plane Split, it can cap newly created openings. If a normal tag exists, the asset can either respect it or generate flat shading normals.

Spline Smooth restores interpolation on resampled splines. In Cinema 4D, resampling removes interpolation type influence. The asset reintroduces interpolation modes such as Bezier or B-spline on resampled splines inside procedural setups.

3D Noise extends Cinema 4D’s Sample Noise by outputting a three-dimensional vector instead of a single float. Standard Sample Noise returns a one-dimensional value, requiring three nodes for XYZ displacement. 3D Noise outputs a vector directly, simplifying vector displacement workflows. Parameters include offset, noise type, octaves, seed, scale, amplitude, speed and remapping range. This reduces node count in displacement setups.

Get and Set Polygon Color convert between point-based and polygon-based vertex colour representations. The toolset allows per polygon colour assignment using arrays, iteration and conditional logic inside nodes. Example scenes demonstrate threshold-based colouring and polygon index comparisons.

These assets are procedural building blocks rather than UI tools. They are intended for users already comfortable inside the Scene Nodes system.

Generators and distributions

The Stitching asset generates procedural stitches along a guide spline on a surface mesh. It operates in real world scale. Parameters control stitch length, gap, randomness, zigzag or parallel patterns, thread count, lift, tilt, bendiness and global seed.

A grow animation system supports progressive stitching with different animation modes, including floating and machine style stitching. Users can define subdivision for performance versus smoothness trade offs and adjust fade spread and randomness.

Multi Loft functions similarly to Cinema 4D’s Loft object but operates on spline segments within a single connected spline rather than separate spline objects. It supports open or closed configurations, segment interpolation and optional caps. An additional optimise asset can weld resulting points.

Split Spline Mask extends the standard Spline Mask by producing open splines rather than always closed results. It includes axis selection, inversion and optional end point welding.

Two new distribution types are included. Surface Stippling Distribution adapts the existing stippling generator to MoGraph distribution. The author states that distribution density no longer depends on object scale, addressing behaviour in the earlier asset. Parameters include iteration count, neighbour count, search distance, strength, solver mode and optional vertex map driven charge for clustering and repulsion. Example scenes include toothbrush bristles, scale placement and large point distributions.

Paint Stroke Distribution builds on a previously published tutorial setup. It distributes strokes over a surface using flow splines derived from gradient intersection assets and vertex maps. Parameters are reorganised compared to the tutorial but functionality is described as equivalent. Example scenes demonstrate painterly portrait effects and more complex scenes with lighting and shadow driven maps.

The documentation is delivered primarily through tutorial videos by Dominik. As always, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production to confirm stability, compatibility and performance under real project conditions.

// https://dominikruckli.gumroad.com/l/txmvnj

The post Druckli Tools V2 expands Cinema 4D nodes first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Redshift from Maxon is a GPU renderer for Cinema 4D, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini and Katana. It targets final-frame GPU rendering and USD Solaris pipelines, sitting at lookdev and lighting in production.

Consolidation, not features

Maxon has released Redshift 2026.3.0. The build includes plugins for Cinema 4D, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini and Katana. It is a maintenance release focused on stability, host compatibility and incremental displacement updates. No new headline rendering features are introduced.

On Apple hardware, Redshift now requires macOS Sonoma 14 or higher. Maxon recommends macOS Tahoe 26.2 as the latest officially supported version, while noting known rendering artefacts on Intel CPU plus AMD GPU systems on Tahoe. On Windows and Linux, updated NVidia driver minimums apply, including specific requirements for Blackwell 50xx GPUs. Linux requires glibc 2.28 or higher.

Texture displacement cleaned up

Texture displacement receives performance improvements and several correctness fixes. The update resolves holes in meshes, vertical artefacts in the software ray tracer and cases where displacement disappeared on tessellated meshes without UVs.

Support for smooth normals has been added to texture displacement. The UV Context Projection node gains a new camera selection mode for camera projection mapping.

Additional fixes address deformation motion blur with displacement, incorrect auto-bump behaviour, and noisy details on scaled meshes. Material blending issues involving stacking and the Material Blender shader have also been corrected.

Hydra and Solaris updates

Redshift adds support for Houdini 21.0.559 and 21.0.596 and drops support for 20.5.654 and 21.0.440. The Hydra delegate now supports the Solaris 21.0 statistics panel in the latest Houdini 21.0 production build.

Hydra 2.0 fixes include motion blur limitations, primvars sampling issues, light linking problems, nested instancing errors and live updating of custom light and camera parameters. Support has been added for USD implicit surface primitives, USD mesh lights via the Geometry Light LOP, and updated USD and Alembic procedurals. AOV-related bugs affecting ObjectID, Depth, cryptomatte, deep and Refractions Light Groups have been fixed.

Redshift 2026.3 is a stabilisation release aimed at removing pipeline friction introduced in earlier 2026 builds. As always, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production.

// Redshift 2026.3.0 Release Notes
// https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/Redshift-2026-3-0-2026-02-February-10-2026

The post Redshift 2026.3 fixes displacement headaches first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Cinema 4D Scene Nodes are Maxon’s procedural, data driven graph system inside Maxon Cinema 4D. They operate below the Object Manager, enabling direct control of geometry, hierarchies and attributes. Midlet Dufts is a packaged Scene Nodes asset distributed via Gumroad for artists who prefer not to start with an empty graph.

Scene Nodes, Without the Blank Graph

Midlet Dufts is an asset for Cinema 4D built on the Scene Nodes system. Dufts provides a collection of Scene Nodes-based setups intended to simplify procedural scene construction inside Cinema 4D.

Scene Nodes in Cinema 4D represent Maxon’s lower-level procedural architecture. Unlike the legacy Object Manager-based workflow, Scene Nodes operate on a data-centric graph that directly manipulates geometry, attributes, hierarchies and instancing through node operations. The system is powerful but requires a different mental model from traditional C4D workflows.

Midlet positions Dufts as a ready-made solution built on top of this node system, offering artists access to procedural techniques without constructing node graphs from scratch.

What Dufts Actually Provides

Midlets is built entirely using Cinema 4D Scene Nodes. It is not a plugin compiled in C++, nor a compiled extension. Instead, it is a node based asset constructed within Cinema 4D’s own system. This distinction matters. Because Dufts is created inside Scene Nodes, it relies on native functionality provided by Cinema 4D rather than external SDK hooks. In practice, this means the tool integrates as a Scene Nodes asset within the host application.

Context: Cinema 4D Scene Nodes

Cinema 4D Scene Nodes were introduced as part of a broader architectural evolution. They allow artists and TDs to construct procedural hierarchies and geometry using a graph based system. Nodes operate on data streams rather than static objects, enabling more granular control over attributes, instancing and structure.

In contrast to Xpresso, which focuses on parameter linking and expression driven relationships, Scene Nodes operate at a deeper structural level. They can generate and modify entire object hierarchies and geometry procedurally. Scene Nodes also underpin Capsules, which are packaged node graphs exposed through a more conventional object style interface. Capsules can hide graph complexity while providing user facing controls. As with any third party Scene Nodes asset, studios should validate compatibility, inspect the internal graphs, and run stress tests under real project conditions before committing to production use.

// Midlet Dufts official Gumroad page
// https://midlet.gumroad.com/l/dufts

The post Free Scene Nodes for C4D by Midlet Dufts first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Arnold is the production renderer from Autodesk, integrated via MtoA, MAXtoA, HtoA, C4DtoA and KtoA into Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D and Katana, and increasingly used in USD pipelines.

Arnold 7.4.5 is now available. According to the official Autodesk documentation, this release introduces new shaders focused on non photorealistic rendering, expands point based shading workflows, improves OpenVDB volume perfromance on CPU and GPU, and adds controls to Cryptomatte and lens effects. It also includes API changes, bug fixes and updates to OSL and USD support.

All feature descriptions below are taken from the official Arnold 7.4.5 documentation. Where Autodesk provides measured performance figures, these are cited as vendor benchmarks and are Not independently verified at press time.

Line shader for NPR work

Arnold 7.4.5 introduces a new Line shader. The shader is designed to render line based effects directly in Arnold. According to Autodesk, it can generate outlines, contour lines and stylised strokes across surfaces.

The shader works procedurally and can be driven by surface attributes and shading inputs. The documentation states that it can be combined with other shaders and textures to create sketch style and illustrative looks. Autodesk positions it for non photorealistic rendering workflows and motion graphics style treatments.

The Line shader integrates into Arnold’s standard shading network. It supports typical shader parameters for controlling line thickness, colour and other attributes. The exact parameter list and behaviour are detailed in the official shader documentation. Appearantly, this does not replaces existing toon or contour solutions. It is presented as an additional shading node within the Arnold core.

Nearest Points shader

Arnold 7.4.5 also adds a Nearest Points shader. This shader samples nearby points from geometry or point cloud data and exposes their properties to the shading network.

The shader can read point data from geometry and OpenVDB sources. It computes distances and relationships to nearby points and outputs shading data based on those calculations.

This enables effects such as network-like connections, proximity-based colour changes and graph-style visualisations.

The shader exposes controls for the number of points sampled and the search radius. It is designed to work within Arnold’s existing shading system and can be combined with other nodes. No claims are made to replace external point-processing tools. The feature is described strictly as a shading node within Arnold core.

OpenVDB volume performance

A major focus of Arnold 7.4.5 is performance improvements for volume rendering. On CPU, the volume node now supports OpenVDB grids with mipmaps. Mipmaps are pre-filtered versions of volume data at multiple resolutions. According to Autodesk, using mipmapped OpenVDB grids can significantly improve rendering speed when sampling large volumes.

Autodesk states that in internal test scenes, CPU volume rendering can be betwen approximately 1.5 times and 5 times faster when using mipmapped grids. These figures are vendor supplied benchmarks and are Not independently verified at press time. On GPU, Autodesk reports performance improvements of up to 3.5 times for certain volume rendering scenarios. The documentation attributes this to optimisations in volume sampling and shading. Always remeber that results depend on scene content and volume configuration.

Lens Effects updates

Arnold 7.4.5 updates the Lens Effects imaging node. A new Aperture Dispersion parameter has been added. This parameter controls colour dispersion in bloom effects, simulating chromatic dispersion across highlights.

The Lens Effects node operates as a post process imaging operator within Arnold’s render pipeline. The new control extends its ability to simulate optical artefacts.

Cryptomatte controls

Cryptomatte support has been updated in Arnold 7.4.5. The documentation states that new controls have been added for handling instances in Cryptomatte outputs. These controls affect how instanced geometry is encoded into Cryptomatte IDs. Cryptomatte is commonly used for ID based compositing masks in post production. The new options allow artists to refine how instanced objects are represented in the resulting mattes.

OSL and shading updates

Arnold 7.4.5 includes updates to OSL support. OSL, or Open Shading Language, is used for writing custom shaders. The documentation lists new and updated OSL functions and improvements to compatibility. These changes aim to ensure consistency between OSL and native Arnold shader behaviour. No deprecations are prominently highlighted in the summary documentation, but API level changes are documented for developers.

USD workflow improvements

Arnold’s USD support is also updated in this release. The official documentation references improvements to USD related workflows, including enhancements to how Arnold interacts with USD scenes and Hydra delegates. USD, or Universal Scene Description, is increasingly central to pipeline interchange. Autodesk documents refinements to integration rather than new headline features.

API and developer changes

Arnold 7.4.5 includes API updates for developers integrating Arnold into custom pipelines. The release notes document changes to certain API functions and behaviours. Developers are advised to review the API changes before upgrading production builds.

Platform support

Arnold 7.4.5 is available for Windows, Linux and macOS, as stated in the official documentation. GPU rendering remains supported on compatible NVIDIA hardware under supported operating systems. The documentation does not expand hardware requirements beyond those listed in the system requirements section. Integration plugins for supported DCC applications are updated separately. Autodesk provides corresponding builds for host applications including Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D and Katana via their respective Arnold bridges.

Practical implications

For production teams, the most concrete additions are the Line shader, the Nearest Points shader and the documented OpenVDB volume speedups. NPR and motion graphics teams gain native shading tools inside Arnold rather than relying entirely on external compositing or geometry preprocessing. Pipeline engineers should review API notes and test custom plugins before deployment. As always, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production. Arnold 7.4.5 is available now via Autodesk’s official distribution channels.

// Arnold 7.4.5 Release Notes
// https://help.autodesk.com/view/ARNOL/ENU/?guid=arnold_core_7450_html

The post Arnold adds lines, points and faster volumes first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: D5 Render from Dimension 5 is a realtime rendering engine used across architecture, design, and visualisation pipelines. It connects with 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, ArchiCAD, and Vectorworks via direct sync plugins.

Oceans, clouds, and skies

Version 3.0 introduces two major environment tools: an Ocean object for animated water surfaces and a Volumetric Clouds system with multiple presets such as cumulus and cirrus. The ocean object allows control of wave scale, wind speed, and interaction near shorelines.

Volumetric clouds integrate with improved fog and light scattering options for more natural outdoor illumination. Enhancements to the existing Geo Sky model provide finer control over sky intensity and sun balance, improving consistency between time-of-day setups.

Rendering and material control

A new True Displacement option replaces parallax mapping with physically accurate surface relief. The trade-off is a higher render cost, but it yields more convincing depth in materials such as stone or concrete. Additional material updates include CMYK texture support and a toggle for HDRI resolution, allowing lighter scene loads when full 16K environment maps are unnecessary. Users can now also set a custom viewport background colour, aiding previs or presentation renders that do not require a full environment.

AI generation expands inside D5

Dimension 5 continues its exploration of integrated AI tools. The new Image-to-3D feature creates simple 3D models from one to three reference photos, processed directly inside D5. In the AI Agent suite, Scene Match allows textual adjustment of scene elements, while Asset Recommendation searches the asset library based on descriptive keywords or reference images. At press time, these AI tools remain early implementations, and output quality varies depending on subject complexity.

Experiments with Gaussian splats

D5 Render 3.0 introduces experimental import of Gaussian splats, a point-based 3D representation format derived from neural rendering research. The implementation is explicitly labelled experimental, and Dimension 5 advises users to expect incomplete material or lighting behaviour.

Workflow refinements and licensing

Navigation within scenes has been overhauled with a free-camera mode and refined controls. Several features previously restricted to Teams subscribers, such as Caesium geographic data and XR Tours, are now available in the Pro tier. The procedural city generator is also promoted from Teams to Pro.

D5 Render continues to be offered in three tiers: a Community edition that remains free, plus paid Pro and Teams subscriptions.

D5 Lite: a lightweight sibling

Alongside the main update, Dimension 5 announced D5 Lite, a compact edition designed for early-stage design work, initially integrated with SketchUp. D5 Lite runs in two modes: Real-Time Rendering for viewport previews and AI Generation for cloud-based image synthesis from screenshots. Future versions of D5 Lite are planned for 3ds Max, Revit, and Rhino, though no release schedule has been released.

Compatibility and system support

D5 Render 3.0 supports Windows 10 and later. The recommended GPU baseline is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, AMD Radeon RX 6400 XT, or Intel Arc A3 series. Integration plugins remain available for all major DCC and CAD tools. As with any major rendering update, users are advised to test D5 Render 3.0 and its AI features on non-critical projects before integrating them into live production.

The post Ocean, clouds, and splats: D5 Render 3.0 sets sail first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The release of INSYDIUM Fused 2025.4 introduces a rebuilt NeXus core that accelerates GPU simulation performance while reducing VRAM usage. The system handles particle and fluid data more responsively, and the update brings expanded mapping controls such as looping data channels and layered GPU falloffs that increase procedural flexibility. The changes shift NeXus closer to a general purpose GPU simulation framework inside the host DCC.

INSYDIUM develops simulation and animation technology that integrates directly into Cinema 4D. The company’s toolset is distributed as the Fused bundle, which contains NeXus for GPU accelerated simulation, X Particles for particle based workflows, Taiao for procedural vegetation, Cycles 4D for rendering and a series of utility modules for meshing, shading and scene structuring. The suite provides an internal alternative to standalone solvers by keeping particle effects, smoke, fire, fluids, meshes and procedural animation inside the Cinema 4D environment without external roundtrips.

What Is New In Fused 2025.4

Fused 2025.4 introduces a rebuilt NeXus core that increases GPU simulation speed and reduces VRAM usage. The update improves responsiveness during heavy particle or fluid work and adds expanded mapping controls such as looping channels and layered GPU falloffs. These changes make the system more suitable for complex effects work where simulation data needs to be adjusted repeatedly without long rebuild times.

Expanded GPU Smoke, Fire And Liquid Simulation

Several new solvers extend NeXus into full smoke, fire and liquid simulation. nxExplosiaFX processes smoke and fire entirely on the GPU and can emit from meshes, splines, vertex maps, shaders or particles. The system supports layered emitters, collision objects and forces, while the viewport can display volumetric previews and diagnostic information that assists with look development.

nxFluids adds FLIP and APIC based liquid solvers that handle varying viscosity, thin liquid sheets and surface tension features with improved stability. These solvers respond well to high velocity motion and produce more predictable shapes in turbulent scenes. For converting simulations into renderable geometry, nxMesher produces mesh surfaces with reduced temporal flicker. It supports multiple mesh profiles, layered smoothing and the transfer of simulation attributes such as colour, velocity or emitter identifiers into the resulting geometry. Foam and spray handling moves to a new system under nxFoam, which provides more stable behaviour in fast moving flows. nxSplash introduces a procedural method for generating crown splash shapes for shots that need controlled impact elements.

Layer Based Modifier Workflow

NeXus modifiers now operate through a layer based workflow that consolidates several behaviours into single modifiers. Formerly separate nodes for turbulence, motion offsets, directional changes or scaling can now be stacked inside a unified container. The workflow reduces the complexity of particle setups and improves clarity in scenes that rely on multiple behavioural adjustments. Several modifiers receive technical refinements. nxDirection gains more precise control for stream shaping and vortex behaviour. nxFollowGeo adds multi spline support and new guide and force modes that improve geometry following in both smooth and turbulent contexts.

Jidou Brings Procedural Animation

Fused 2025.4 introduces Jidou, a procedural animation toolkit designed for clones, hierarchies and technical setups. jdAniMate manages start and end PSR states with detailed timing adjustments. jdDriver links arbitrary parameters to create dependency based rigs. jdFlowCam generates structured camera paths with holds and timed motions. jdGeoFlow creates procedural curves that can drive object deformation or placement. jdGeoRoll simulates rolling behaviour with gravity and collision handling for mechanical or motion graphic tasks. Jidou serves as a parallel system to simulation work, covering the areas where predictable procedural motion is required.

Production Considerations

NeXus simulations continue to run on a single GPU. Distributed or team rendering cannot offload simulation data because the processing remains tied to the local GPU. Systems running Windows may require TDR timeout adjustments during long simulation sessions to prevent GPU resets. NeXus requires a GPU with Vulkan support and a minimum of 4 GB VRAM. Performance scales with newer GPU architectures and should be evaluated in context of scene complexity.

P.S. On their site, you’ll find the 4K Wallpapers gallery – https://insydium.ltd/community/4k-wallpapers/ , and I’ve been using the “Flip Particles” for a while on my PC. Worth a look!

The post INSYDIUM Fused 2025.4: Faster NeXus, New GPU Sims, And a Procedural Animation Toolkit first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The release of Corona 14 by Chaos introduces a broad set of enhancements for artists working with 3ds Max and Cinema 4D. According to the official “What’s New” overview from Chaos, the update emphasises three areas: smarter AI-assisted workflows, advanced procedural materials and greater environmental and scene-context realism.

Gaussian Splats

One of the standout additions is support for Gaussian Splats, a novel method for scene reconstruction designed to accelerate the placement of buildings and objects within realistic contexts. Chaos describes this feature as enabling memory-efficient “splats” derived from real-world environments, which provide smoother surfaces, richer volumetric detail—meaning more accurate light and particle interactions with depth and atmosphere—and a more natural sense of depth in renderings.

Nighty-Night!

In the domain of night-time and atmospheric visualisation, Corona 14 expands its Sky system with the Night Sky feature. Artists can specify location, date and time to simulate moonlight, stars and the Milky Way, or manually adjust celestial elements for artistic control. The feature is fully animatable, offering potential benefits for time-lapses or cinematic render sequences without relying on external HDRIs (high dynamic range images).

Materials

Procedural material creation receives a boost with the Fabric Material, enabling the creation of realistic textiles via native control over weave structure, threads, opacity, bump and displacement without the need for external bitmap textures or complex node graphs. A set of presets is provided for rapid deployment.

On the AI-tooling front, Corona 14 introduces an AI Material Generator that takes a photo of a real surface and transforms it into a fully render-ready PBR (physically based rendering) material. The goal is to expedite creation of secondary materials that need little artistic input. An AI Image Enhancer improves detail and texture in supporting scene elements such as vegetation, people or terrain while preserving the core design; this tool supports sending LightMix results (lighting scenario composites) directly into the enhancer. An AI Upscaler enables conversion of low-resolution drafts into high-quality presentation imagery, potentially saving render time while maintaining crisp output. Users may toggle AI features on or off, giving full control for studios with strict AI policies.

And more ….

Performance and workflow refinements accompany these major features. Volume sampling for render-intensive volumetric effects such as fog, light rays or smoke is optimised. A new option enables rendering at double resolution and automatic downscaling on save, which, according to Chaos, may allow higher noise levels or fewer passes and thus reduce render time. The UI has begun a rewrite using Qt (initial phase), starting with the Physical Material interface.

The Virtual Frame Buffer (VFB 2) has been updated with a cleaner, more compact interface, simplified navigation and clearer icons; the Corona Image Editor now mirrors the VFB 2 look and feel, enabling tone mapping, LightMix variants and other post adjustments outside the host DCC (digital content creation) tool. Additional workflow improvements include triplanar controls inside the Corona Bitmap (no separate node setup required), multiple-camera export to Chaos Vantage (initial implementation) and docking of the VFB window in 3ds Max.

Corona 14 is listed as compatible with Autodesk 3ds Max versions 2018–2026 (64-bit) on Windows and with Maxon Cinema 4D R17–2026 on Windows and macOS. Subscription licensing is offered on monthly or yearly payment terms.

Get your Corona here

However, the true impact of features such as Gaussian Splats and the AI modules will depend on how they perform in real-world production environments. Testing before deployment remains essential.

The post Corona 14: Gaussian Splats, Night Sky & fabric-material first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Cinema 4D represents a decisive break with its legacy colour system. New projects now default to OCIO (OpenColorIO) with ACEScg as the working render space. Instead of juggling Redshift’s OCIO workflow and Standard/Physical’s ICC-based linear workflow, artists now work under a unified model.

The new pipeline enforces a three-stage structure: input, working, and view. Every texture, material colour, and data map must be explicitly tagged with its source colour space. Rendering calculations occur in wide-gamut ACEScg, which is linear by definition. At output, results are mapped to a display space via a view transform, typically the ACES tone mapper, though OCIO configurations allow alternatives such as AgX or Filmic.

The advantages are clear. Lighting and shading now behave consistently across renderers, with greater fidelity in highlights and shadows, and predictable desaturation in overbrights. But adoption requires care. Legacy projects will not automatically match the new defaults, and asset libraries must be properly colour-managed. Maxon provides templates in the Asset Browser, but the burden falls on studios to test, calibrate, and align their pipelines.

Liquids, UDIMs, and AI in Cinema 4D

Beyond colour, Cinema 4D deepens its Unified Simulation Framework with GPU-accelerated liquid dynamics. Fluids can be spawned from a dedicated Liquid Fill Emitter, or converted from particles using a Liquify Modifier. Once active, fluids respect viscosity, surface tension, and collisions with rigid bodies. Artists can shape results with forces already present in the simulation system. For render, a Liquid Mesher object converts the fluid particles into polygonal geometry.

The system is optimised for speed and art-direction rather than exhaustive physics. It excels in motion graphics and short-form production where controllability outweighs realism. Large-scale fluid behaviour such as foam or spray remains outside its remit, but the system is fast enough to support iterative design directly in the viewport.

Cinema 4D also addresses long-standing UV workflow gaps with UDIM support and texel density tools. UV shells can be freely arranged across UDIM tiles, textures can be packed efficiently, and texel density can be standardised with presets for different production contexts, from game assets to cinematic props. For texturing artists, this means Cinema 4D finally integrates more smoothly with Substance Painter, Mari, and other UDIM-centric applications.

On the organisational side, the Asset Browser gains an AI search engine. It scans the visual content of assets rather than relying solely on metadata, and it runs entirely locally. This ensures that data never leaves the user’s machine, addressing privacy concerns while enabling faster retrieval across large studio libraries.

Redshift: Atmosphere and Efficiency

The bundled renderer, Redshift 2025.0, focuses on both atmosphere and interactivity. Its new Procedural Clouds system integrates with the existing Sun & Sky rig, allowing artists to generate volumetric skies without heavy voxel caches or external plugins. The system balances plausibility with art-directable controls, enabling environments ranging from photorealistic to stylised.

Redshift’s handling of displacement has also been upgraded. Artists can now preview and adjust displaced geometry interactively, with less reliance on dense subdivision. This shortens iteration cycles and lowers memory requirements for complex shaders.

A further improvement is the adoption of Scene Units. Shaders and materials now scale relative to the project’s world units, ensuring that displacement, noise, and procedural textures behave consistently across different projects. This eliminates one of the more persistent sources of unpredictability in cross-scene rendering.

Together, these refinements push Redshift closer to the expectations of large-scale production, particularly for architectural visualisation, cinematic environments, and real-time look-development.

ZBrush: Python Scripting and iPad Parity

ZBrush continues to expand in both desktop automation and mobile parity. On desktop, the arrival of Python scripting allows studios to build automation layers, connect ZBrush to asset management systems, or develop custom batch operations. For technical artists, this is a long-awaited way to make ZBrush play more predictably within pipeline automation.

Surface detail workflows have also been upgraded. The Surface Noise system now supports per-noise resets, alpha transforms, and undo/redo functionality. These refinements make it easier to layer and adjust procedural detail without destructive editing.

On the mobile side, ZBrush for iPad now supports 3D printing export, giving portable sculpting workflows a direct path to prototyping. The interface has been optimised for touch, with a repositionable bottom bar, customisable modifier wheel, and savable UI layouts. These features allow artists to adapt ZBrush to personal working styles, even on a compact device. Upcoming releases promise UV editing and hard-surface modelling tools on iPad, which would push it further toward full production parity with desktop.

Maxon Studio and Cineware for Unreal

Maxon Studio builds on its Capsule system, enabling editors and colourists to embed assets directly into templates. Capsules can now be reused across multiple projects, preserving brand consistency while cutting setup times. This supports large-scale editorial workflows where repeatability and visual consistency matter as much as flexibility.

For real-time pipelines, Cineware for Unreal Engine has been expanded. The bridge now respects Cinema 4D modifiers, creates material instances automatically, and enhances texture tag handling. The aim is to reduce the amount of re-authoring required when transferring assets between Cinema 4D and Unreal, a critical bottleneck in virtual production and interactive environments.

A New Identity for a Unified Ecosystem

All of this comes wrapped in Maxon’s new brand identity. Each tool now has a modular geometric logo, designed to echo the honeycomb motif of Maxon One. Colours and typography have been standardised to emphasise the sense of a single family of applications, rather than a loose collection. Maxon argues that this signals its evolution into a cohesive ecosystem, both visually and technically.

A Word of Caution

Cinema 4D 2026, Redshift , and ZBrush’s expanded toolset bring real technical progress, particularly in colour science, simulation, and automation. But adoption is not trivial. As always: validate before deployment.

The post Maxon Autumn Release: New Colour Science, Liquids, Clouds and a Logo first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Two 3D veterans join forces

KitBash3D and Greyscalegorilla have announced a merger. The companies, long known in VFX, broadcast and realtime pipelines, will operate as one entity. KitBash3D specialises in 3D asset kits and its Cargo platform, while Greyscalegorilla is best known for motion design plugins, training and materials.

Both founders remain in charge. KitBash3D’s Maxx Burman and Banks Boutté will act as co-CEOs. Greyscalegorilla’s Nick Campbell becomes chief innovation officer, directing product development for platforms including Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine and Blender. Drew Little, co-founder of Red Giant, joins as board chairman.

No disruption, just expansion

The companies state that pricing and customer support will remain unchanged. Both user bases should see a steady continuation of service through existing channels. Future development will focus on faster research and development, expanded asset libraries, and cross-platform tools intended for both freelancers and studio pipelines.

Context from the industry

KitBash3D, founded in 2017, reports serving over 250,000 creators and 2,000 studios worldwide, including Marvel, Netflix, Epic Games and NASA. Its Cargo platform supplies 3D kits for environment building.

Greyscalegorilla, launched in 2009, built its reputation in the Cinema 4D ecosystem with plugins, photorealistic materials and training, used by broadcasters such as NBC and ESPN and brands including Google and Nike.

Sebastien Deguy, founder of Substance (now Adobe 3D), commented that fragmented tool vendors have slowed innovation, and described this merger as a chance to accelerate development for 3D creators.

What users can expect

The new organisation promises more integrated workflows and greater compatibility across major DCC platforms. Exact release timelines for new tools or library expansions were not specified. As always, Digital Production reminds readers: developments and new offers should be tested in controlled environments before being deployed in active production.

The post KitBash3D and Greyscalegorilla merge first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.