Santa's world: 3D image used for NORAD's Santa tracker websiteNORAD Santa Tracker, which follows Santa Claus on his worldwide Christmas Eve journey, is now live at – www.noradsanta.org.

For the CG artists among our readers, they will be happy to know that the 3D models of Santa were created in Smith Micro’s Poser software, and three 3D models Toon Santa, Toon Reindeer and Santa’s Sleigh are all used on the NORAD Tracks Santa website and its official gear site, I Tracked Santa™.

Toon Santa, 2013All three models are also available on Content Paradise. Toon Santa 2013 includes eight versions of Toon Santa, with the current 2013 release featuring a master chef Santa who not only comes equipped with props such as Christmas cakes, pizza trays and utensils, but also poses including chopping with a knife, stirring the pot, tasting and more.

“It’s great to see the various ways that Poser has been utilized in the NORAD Santa Tracker campaigns,” said Steve Yatson, vice president of operations for Smith Micro Software, Productivity and Graphics group. “Meshbox Design has brought Santa Claus, his sleigh and reindeer to life with Poser. Users can not only purchase their favorite themed Toon Santa content but also create their own unique characters for the holiday season.”

Poser enables users of all skill levels to easily create full 3D scenes with digital humans, animals and props. In addition to an extensive library of pre-loaded characters and content, Poser offers advanced features such as Subdivision Surfaces for improved bending fidelity and Bullet Physics for adding increased realism to animation.

To visit the NORAD Tracks Santa site go to www.noradsanta.org. Visit the I Tracked Santa official gear site at http://itrackedsanta.com/.