Here is all of the news we’ve collected about Autodesk, creators of such products as AutoCAD, Maya, 3ds Max, and Mudbox.
Browse around, then check out some other popular software producers like:
If you swing by the NVidia booth at SIGGRAPH you’ll see one major eye catching feat: A single workstation driving 12 full HD displays with uncompressed 1080P video simultaneously, thanks to the NVidia QuadroPlex 7000 and FusionIO.
“Working with Fusion-io, we’ve created an impressive, large-scale visualization technology demonstration at SIGGRAPH for show attendees,” said Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Solutions Group, NVIDIA. “By combining Fusion’s ioMemory technology with our powerful QuadroPlex 7000, we’re demonstrating how to enable real-time color correction and processing of a dozen simultaneous uncompressed HD video streams – without being bottlenecked by disk speeds.”
In addition, you can head over to the Autodesk, Thinkbox, and Tweak booths to see similar demonstrations: Massive datasets being processed real-time thanks to the mind-blowing bandwidth available in the FusionIO SSD system.
All the details after the break.
In a totally unexpected move (unexpected by me anyway), Autodesk has just bought online website Instructables.com for an undisclosed sum. This looks to be a move to further Autodesk’s use in the home CAD industry currently owned by other lower-cost, and typically less feature rich, alternatives.
In today’s press release announcing the purchase, Autodesk says it believes Instructables will introduce its existing customers “to a thriving community of like-minded, smart individuals, with whom they can learn and share their personal inspiration or hobbies.” In turn, it sees existing Instructables members benefiting from (i.e., buying) Autodesk’s wide variety of design tools.
It kinda makes sense, if Autodesk could release something like 3dsMax or Autocad “lite” targeted at these home hobby designers and didn’t cost the hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Busy week in the CAD markets. First off, 3D Systems acquired Alibre design, bringing in their productivity tools to their rapidly growing CAD suites.
“With Alibre in our portfolio we are personalizing and integrating design and manufacturing productivity,” said Abe Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems. “The combined affordability and user friendliness of our expanded 3D content-to-print solutions offer a clear and compelling choice for engineers, designers and makers to create and make instantly, at work and home.”
Then, Autodesk took the surprising step of acquiring web-based image editing company Pixlr. Autodesk has been experimenting with Cloud-based technologies for the last few years (projects like Dragonfly and Photofly), so it’s interesting to see them moving straight into the acquisition space. Apparently Pixlr will be integrating with Autodesk’s Sketchbook product, making it easier to exchange and share images online.
“Lots of people–not just creative professionals—want to express themselves visually,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products at Autodesk. “Combining image editing capabilities with sketching capabilities provides new avenues for rich visual expression. We also intend to marry the Pixlr team’s web development experience with our expertise in mobile app development to help people everywhere be creative on the devices of their choice.”
A bit surprising, but worth keeping an eye on.
Autodesk has released a new low-end modeling software called “Autodesk 123D” that looks perfectly targeted at folks interested in stereolithography machines and “Makerbots”. Resembling Google’s Sketchup software, it combines some of Autodesk’s own “secret sauce” in the form of assemblies and constraints that could make it a great tool for folks interested in the Home Fabrication space.
The software and a slew of free content is available for download, and it exports STL models ready for fabrication.
Autodesk 123D – Free 3D Modeling Software, 3D Models, DIY Projects, Personal Fabrication Tools.
One particularly neat feature of the Autodesk offering is that they offer a type of “inverse” scanning, so that you can stand inside a room and take photos of all the walls, and have the entire room reconstructed. It’s almost like scanning an object inside-out.
Check out their demonstration video below.
Autodesk has posted a pair of videos in The Area detailing the new capabilities of the integrated Real-Time Color Grading in Flame Premium. Showing the effects of volumetric light, 3d cast shadows, lens flares, and the multi-layer timelines, it’s a great way to get a glimpse of what’s available.
In Flame Premium, Total Control in Finishing means Flame Artists now have Real-Time Color Grading as part of their toolset. For Colorists, it’s all about having control over Light in 3D Space. And for Smoke Editors, you get all of the creative tools of Flame you’ve always wanted but with the Timeline workflow you know and love.
Get the second part in The Area.
via Area :: Blogs :: NAB 2011 Flame Premium “Total Control in Finishing”.
You might not think Mudbox is an architectural design tool, but if Mark Gage has his way it could be. Check out his interested uses for the tool in this presentation at Autodesk University.
Hear Yale University Architecture professor Mark Gage describe how he is introducing his students to Autodesk Mudbox. Mark comments on the need for today’s architects to get exposure to what media and entertainment creation software can do for them. Recorded at Autodesk University 2010.
via YouTube – Yale Architecture Students Dig Into Autodesk Mudbox – AU 2010 Special Report.
Autodesk has a big announcement today, the new Entertainment Creation Suite Premium 2012, including new versions of 3dsMax, Maya, Mudbox, and more! The new version a new multi-threaded graphics core, part of the “Project Excalibur” initiative . This gives you not only better performance, but better visuals during interactivity making the whole suite easier to use and faster to get to your desired objective.
“The first time I loaded a scene in 3ds Max 2012 I could see the soft lighting and shadows right in the viewport. This had the biggest impact on me. I suddenly felt more productive; like the barriers to my creativity were falling away,” said Stephen Lebed, 3ds Max beta tester and visual effects supervisor at MECHnology.
3dsMax will be available in April, with 3dsMax Design later this month. Get the full press releases for these products after the break.
Autodesk has just announced their intent to acquire Scaleform Corporation for the tidy sum of $36M USD in Cash. Scaleform creates UI tools and Middleware platforms for lots of platforms, providing cross-platform support across PC, Xbox, PS3, and Wii. We just recently gave you the announcement of their “Scaleform GFx” for Flash, and now it looks like they’re gonna be an even bigger part of the gaming industry going forward.
“Our combined technologies will not only provide game developers with an improved authoring environment and runtime solution, but will also apply to the broader interactive entertainment industry ranging from film to mobile to the web” said Brendan Iribe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scaleform. “We will finally realize our long standing vision of integrating 2D and 3D authoring technology while continuing our commitment to deliver leading-edge real-time graphics solutions to our customers.”
The deal is expected to close in Autodesk’s first quarter of fiscal 2012 (April 30th 2011). Get the full details after the break.
Over at Autodesk’s “The Area” they’ve got an article from Bill Ennis on color grading with Flame, Lustre, and Smoke. The result is almost 90 minutes of background on the entire process of using the tools for a complete product.
I call this series “Something for Everyone” because if you’re thinking about cross-grading to Flame Premium – or just want to know more about how it works, you gotta check these out. I worked with my old friend Marc Hamaker to put the videos together with the goal of introducing the benefits of Flame Premium in familiar terms.
via Area :: Blogs :: Flame Premium – “Something for Everyone”.
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