Training - DIGITAL PRODUCTION

Unity ships Unity Studio for in-browser 3D

Bela Beier — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Unity Studio is now officially released after a beta that started last autumn. The product sits inside a browser and targets teams that want interactive real time 3D outcomes without turning every review cycle into a software install party.

The tool frames itself as a simplified counterpart to the Unity Editor. The split reads like this. Unity Studio focuses on quick creation and sharing of interactive 3D applications in a web-based workspace. The Unity Editor covers advanced development for complex applications.

Unity Studio is designed for people who work with 3D data but do not necessarily live in code all day, including designers, artists, training and marketeers, industrial engineers, and sales teams. That audience definition matters because it shapes almost every feature choice, from visual logic blocks to one click publishing.

The interface aims for familiar, not fearless

The day to day experience centers on a canvas with panels that list project contents and expose settings and controls for building and sharing. The tutorial material breaks the UI down into a Hierarchy panel, a Project panel, a Scene view, and an Inspector panel, plus a Camera Preview for framing the final view.

Navigation and inspection are built in so you can look at scenes, models, and assets from different angles. Lighting controls exist for mood and readability, which helps when you need to communicate intent rather than chase photoreal.

Unity Studio also supports building drafts as an initial working state. Drafts and projects live in the cloud and are accessible within an organization. The asset pipeline stays tightly connected to Unity Asset Manager, which stores uploaded assets, tracks versions of drafts, and keeps a version history you can browse.

Import and formats, with a cloud converter doing extra work

Asset ingest starts with upload and import flows that pass through Unity Asset Manager. The supported formats story splits into two layers.

On the direct import side, Unity Studio supports 3D model file formats including glTF in GLB form, FBX, and OBJ, plus supported image types like PNG and JPEG and supported audio types like WAV, MP3, AIFF, AIF, and OGG.

On the conversion side, the Asset Manager can convert additional formats into supported formats. The conversion list includes CAD oriented extensions such as STEP variants, and it includes OpenUSD variants such as USD, USDA, USDC, and USDZ, plus glTF, GLB, PXZ, and others.

The asset optimization angle hooks into Unity Asset Transformer. The Asset Manager uses that tool to optimize complex industry files, including CAD assets, so you can visualize and interact with them in a web browesr without extra software installs.

There is also a size related behavior worth knowing early. When an asset exceeds 200 MB, Unity Studio uses a preview GLB file instead of the original GLB, OBJ, or FBX file for that content.

Animation and UI, built for explanation

A lot of industrial and training content needs motion because motion explains behavior. Unity Studio includes animation tools that cover individual object animation and more complex sequences. The feature overview material describes an animation director that coordinates movements on a shared timeline using keyframes, with examples like fluid flows or mechanical sequences.

UI authoring sits on a UI canvas so you can place functional interfaces directly over the 3D scene. The feature set explicitly calls out buttons, readouts, and text, and the tutorial content includes creating UI text elements as part of an interaction example. That pairing matters because a lot of review workflows depend on guided UI, not just orbit and zoom.

Material work also shows up in the tutorial path. You can create new materials and edit existing ones, and you can duplicate an imported material into an editable copy so changes apply only to a specific object.

Logic, the no code promise in one word

Interactivity in Unity Studio centers on a visual scripting system called “Logik”, uhm, no. logic. Relax, Flame-Users! The Logic editor uses a node library and a builder area where you drag and connect building blocks. The goal is to create interactive behaviors without writing code.

Publishing is built into the workflow. Unity Studio publishes applications to the web, and web is currently the only available platform option. The publish flow includes selecting Publish, choosing Web, entering a title, and optionally entering a password to restrict access. Publishing generates a Project Web URL you can share.

Sharing a published project is essentially sharing that link. Anyone with the link can access the application. Updating a published application pushes the latest changes to the live version via an Update action. Unpublishing takes the application offline so it is no longer accessible via the web link.

That set of actions lines up neatly with design review reality. You send one link, you iterate, and you do not play whack a mole with new attachments every time a stakeholder asks for a different camera angle.

Use cases: HMI, configurators, simulations, training

The product messaging and documentation focus on industrial and enterprise style scenarios that benefit from fast iteration.

The tool targets HMI prototyping for automotive and industrial dashboards. It targets product configurators where teams adjust colors and swap components in real time. It also targets step by step demonstrations of machine behavior in a browser. Training apps for operators are also in scope, and the product page calls out building 3D training experiences with assets, UI instructions, and live updates.

The docs also describe building configurators, designing HMI layouts, creating step by step training scenarios, and exporting work as a web application for customers or external partners to review. Across those tasks, the common thread stays the same: interactive review, short loops, and fewer handoffs.

Pricing and quotas, with the cloud meter clearly visible

Unity Studio is priced at $799 USD per seat, per year. There is a 30 day free trial with no credit card required.

Each seat includes 120 GB of cloud storage for assets and content in Unity Asset Manager. Each organization also gets 10 GB per month of bandwidth for deployed Studio applications for Studio app hosting. Additional storage can be purchased at $0.75 per GB per month and additional bandwidth at $0.50 per GB per month.

Deployment builds and hosts the application in the company cloud so teams can access it on the web without server management. Hosting uses bandwidth, so treat published links like any other hosted deliverable and keep an eye on how widely they travel.

A production minded reality check

Unity Studio aims to shrink the distance between a 3D idea and a clickable decision. It does that with browser delivery, visual Logic, and built in publishing. Those are strong levers for review and training pipelines where time disappears into coordination rather than creation.

Still, every new tool belongs in a staging lane first. Test it with representative assets, representative reviewers, and the same network conditions you expect in the real world. New tools and innovations should always be tested before use in production.

https://unity.com/products/unity-studio// Requirements and compatibility, browser versions, WebGPU notes, mobile browser limitation

The post Unity ships Unity Studio for in-browser 3D first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

VFX School Closes and Leaves the Lights On

Bela Beier — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

For those who don’t know the school: The VFX School was an online training platform focused primarily on Houdini-based FX simulation workflows. Its courses centred on effects such as destruction, fluids and pyro simulations, sometimes rendered with engines such as Redshift and prepared for compositing. The platform targeted artists learning production-style simulation pipelines.

Closing the classroom

The online training platform The VFX School has announced it is shutting down. Rather than removing its material or quietly archiving it, the platform has released its entire course library for free public access. All courses are currently available to stream without registration or payment. The site also provides downloadable project files and associated assets for the training material.

It is a rare exit strategy in the education business. Instead of locking the archive behind expired subscriptions or abandoned logins, the creators chose to hand the library to the community that supported it. The platform itself states that the release is intended as a thank you to artists who followed and supported the school. In practical terms, this means the full catalogue of courses can now be watched and downloaded without cost.

Videos are currently hosted through Vimeo and embedded on the course pages. Project files and scene assets are distributed as downloadable ZIP archives. According to the website, video access is expected to remain online until March 1, 2027. After that date the Vimeo hosting may be removed. For anyone interested in the material, the polite interpretation is simple. Download first, organise later.

Seven courses, mostly explosions

The publicly available course library comprises seven training courses, centred primarily on Houdini-based FX simulation workflows. The topics follow the usual suspects of production FX work. Destruction simulations, fire and pyro effects, fluids and cinematic-scale simulation setups appear throughout the material.

One of the larger training programmes is titled the Houdini Renascence Program. The course is described as a broad introduction to modern Houdini simulation workflows and FX techniques. Other courses focus on more specific simulation scenarios such as rigid body destruction, bridge collapse simulations and fluid-based commercial effects. Each course combines instructional videos with downloadable Houdini scene files. These files allow users to inspect how the simulations were built and configured. File packages are not small. Some course downloads reach approximately 28 GB, reflecting the inclusion of project assets and rendered simulation data.

Render passes included

One detail that may interest compositors more than simulation artists is the inclusion of rendered FX sequences. The downloadable course packages include multi-layer EXR sequences produced from the Houdini simulations. These sequences contain multiple render passes generated during the rendering process.

For compositing artists working in applications such as Nuke, this type of material is often more valuable than a finished render. Multi-layer EXR files can contain lighting passes, depth passes and simulation layers that allow the shot to be reconstructed during compositing.

Training assets with full render passes are relatively uncommon in publicly distributed course material. Many educational resources provide only flattened footage. Here the render layers allow users to rebuild the shot structure themselves. Lighting contributions can be adjusted, depth information can be used for atmospheric effects and elements can be recombined in different ways. In other words, the files behave more like a miniature production shot than a simple demonstration render.

Simulation topics

The simulation subjects covered in the courses reflect typical Houdini FX work used in film and commercial pipelines. Examples include collapsing bridge simulations, fire and explosion setups, liquid simulations and procedural destruction sequences.

These examples are built using Houdini’s node-based procedural system. Instead of keyframing every action manually, artists assemble networks of operators that control the simulation behaviour.

By including the full scene files, the courses allow users to inspect how these networks were constructed. Solver settings, constraint networks and simulation nodes remain visible inside the scenes. For technical artists or FX TDs this can often be the most instructive part of training material. Watching a tutorial is useful. Opening the scene file is usually more revealing.

A rare kind of shutdown

When subscription education platforms close, the usual result is a disappearing library. Content often vanishes along with the service that hosted it. Access expires, servers are switched off and the training material effectively evaporates.

The VFX School’s decision to release its full archive is therefore notable. It preserves the material and places it in the hands of the community rather than removing it from circulation. It is a quiet gesture, but a generous one. In an industry where learning resources can disappear overnight, leaving the lights on for everyone is a respectable way to exit.

Practical value for artists

From a production perspective the most useful part of the release may be the downloadable assets rather than the videos themselves. Large EXR simulation sequences and structured Houdini project files provide practical training material for both FX and compositing artists.

These assets allow experimentation with lighting passes, volumetric renders and compositing workflows using production-style data. Public FX footage often consists of pre-rendered stock clips with little structural information. The course assets, by contrast, contain layered render data and simulation outputs that can be studied and modified.

For artists learning how simulation renders translate into final composite shots, this kind of material can be extremely instructive. The release therefore functions both as a training library and as a small archive of practice assets.

https://thevfxschool.com/

The post VFX School Closes and Leaves the Lights On first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

GPU, meet Graph Editor: free Unreal motion crash course

Bela Beier — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Jesse Pitela, Unreal Engine-authorised instructor and founder of RedefineFX, has released a free crash course focused on motion design in Unreal Engine 5.7. The course, featured on 80 Level, is available for a limited time and aims to make UE5.7’s procedural motion tools accessible to motion designers and 3D artists familiar with Cinema 4D, Houdini, or After Effects.

Structured around a real GPU commercial visualisation, the training includes 17 video lessons and 10 production scenes recreated from scratch. Pitela walks through the full process of creating a stylised product animation — from modelling and materials to simulation, lighting, and final sequencing.

What the training covers

Across roughly five hours of content, the course covers cloners and effectors, dynamic materials, physics-based particle simulations, and sequencing techniques. Artists learn how to animate mechanical elements such as GPU fans, generate procedural reveals, and control particle-driven forms. Additional lessons focus on lighting and camera setups for product shots, animation timing in Sequencer, and material workflows using Unreal’s latest motion design tools.

The included project scenes allow learners to explore every node and blueprint used in the course. The workflow is presented step-by-step, without reliance on pre-baked assets, giving a clear view of how real-time motion graphics can be achieved directly inside Unreal Engine.

VIDEO 01: Setting up UE Project, Motion Templates and Our Studio Setup
VIDEO 02: GPU Model Import, Materials & Lighting
VIDEO 03: Spinning Fans with Animators & Volume Waves
VIDEO 04: Heatsink Reveal with Multiple Effectors
VIDEO 05: Carbon Surface Reveal: Layering Cloners
VIDEO 06: Spline Follow with Motion Tools Only
VIDEO 07: Fan Airflow Visualization
VIDEO 08: Speed Tunnel with Energy Trails
VIDEO 09: Motion Backgrounds & Trailer Titles
VIDEO 10: Environment Energy Spread
VIDEO 11: GPU Core Power-Up Part 1: Cloner Setup
VIDEO 12: GPU Core Power-Up Part 2: Dynamic Materials
VIDEO 13: Particle Physics, Attraction & Collision
VIDEO 14: Form any Object from Particles
VIDEO 15: Animators: Core Activation
VIDEO 16: Audio-Reactive Cloners
VIDEO 17: Advanced Features Overview

Why it matters for production artists

Epic’s incremental releases of Unreal Engine have expanded beyond game development into motion design, broadcast, and visualisation. The 5.7 update in particular adds new graph-based tools for procedural animation, improved material instancing, and enhanced Sequencer control. For motion designers used to Cinema 4D’s Mograph tools, Unreal’s new capabilities offer comparable flexibility but with real-time rendering and full GPU-accelerated interactivity.

Pitela’s course provides a production-level introduction to these tools without cost. Because it uses a commercial-style GPU project, participants can see directly how Unreal’s features translate to actual client work, including product reveals, branding shots, and short-form commercial sequences. For studios testing Unreal as a motion design platform, this course offers a low-risk way to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses in real-time rendering, animation control, and material management.

Context and availability

The course is hosted on RedefineFX and remains free for an unspecified “limited time.” It includes 15 core videos plus two bonus lessons. RedefineFX notes that all examples are built using Unreal Engine 5.7, which at time of release remains a preview build. Some tools and behaviours may therefore differ from the final release.

RedefineFX Unreal Realtime Motion Design Course

The post GPU, meet Graph Editor: free Unreal motion crash course first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Plasticity 104 – Watch Modeling PT4 – Import into Cinema 4D

Raphael Rau — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 05:04:00 +0000

With the 4th installment of our Plasticity series we are back at our Watch. This time we’re importing the model into Cinema 4D. Beyond that we learn importing different resolutions as well as trouble shooting some errors.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:34 What’s Up!
01:37 Join me on Patreon
02:35 C4D: Import Workflow
03:22 C4D: Import Normal Handling
05:02 C4D: Import Inspection
05:33 Plasticity: Re-Export Case-Back
07:15 Moi: Tessellation
08:20 C4D: Exchanging Imported Parts
09:40 C4D: Aligning Import Object Axis
11:36 Import Error on the Glass / Crystal
11:49 Investigating / Fixing the Glass / Crystal Error
14:44 Verifying the Axis Positions
15:03 Grouping the Watch Parts
15:20 Finishing Import Steps
16:28 Conclusion
15:58 Patreon Thanks
18:00 Famous last Words

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

VIDEO RELATED LINKS: —————————————————
Plasticity Official Website: https://www.plasticity.xyz/
Maxons Official Website: https://www.maxon.net/
Octane C4D Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…
Blender Foundations Official Website: https://www.blender.org/download/
Blender Octane Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…
Blender Octane 2025.1 Beta Version: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtop…

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 Plasticity 104 – Watch Modeling PT4 – Import into Cinema 4D first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Raphael Rau.

Plasticity 103 – Watch Modeling PT3 – Rounding / Filleting / Export

Raphael Rau — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 17:55:00 +0000

This is the 3rd part of our Plasticity series and this video is packed to the brim. It basically contains three separate tutorials: 1 Fixing some mistakes, 2 Rounding / Beveling / Filleting our model, and then finally exporting it to a mesh format to then import into our beloved 3D software as e.g. Cinema 4D or Blender. As always I hope you have fun watching and learn something along the way!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:30 What’s Up!
01:35 Fixing Mistakes: Watchcase Bottom Gap
02:19 Fixing Mistakes: “Shading” Errors on the Crown R Letter
05:53 Filleting the Crown “R”
08:20 Filleting the Crown Front
08:43 Filleting the Crown Back & Fillet Learning Session
11:32 Filleting the Crystal / Glass 1
12:25 Filleting the Bezel, Case-Back, Inner Case-Back
12:54 Filleting the Watchface
13:13 Fixing the Case Back Filleting / Isoparam
18:37 Filleting the Watch-Case
21:35 Export from Plasticity
23:46 Plastictiy Export “Min Width”
24:29 Plastictiy Export “Max Width”
25:03 Plasticity Export Selected Objects
25:42 Exporting STEP from Plasticity for MOI 3D
26:18 What is MOI 3D
27:05 MOI 3D Import / Export
28:11 MOI 3D Export Settings
30:40 Patreon Thanks
31:40 Famous Last Words