Bauhaus Software Inc. has announced it has begun shipping Mirage 1.0, a unified environment for creating animated graphics and special effects. The Mirage environment provides a diverse toolset and a centralized workflow for animated graphics, 2D animation and special effects creation. It was designed for projects of any resolution, ranging from HDTV and film to Web video.
Dan Kraus, ceo of Bauhaus, said, "Bauhaus has worked closely with its top clients and professional beta team to develop and deliver this first version of Mirage. Our early adopters are immensely pleased with this product. Mirage is already helping artists take their digital creativity to a new level."
Mirage integrates realtime video paint, animation and effects functionalities. Broadcasters will benefit from the speed and ease with which motion graphics can be created, animated and deployed. Cartoon and 2D animators can use Mirage as a unified paint and effects solution, allowing them to sidestep traditional scan/ink/paint workflows.
Bauhaus Software provides a free LightWave Viewer plug-in for Mirage 1.0. This allows users to access object texture surfaces and UV maps via the LightWave Hub, and view them as overlays directly in the Mirage Project Window. The overlays serve as a reference for painting or modifying texture images. More 3D software support is planned for the future.
Mirage also includes an integrated particle system with fully animatable parameters and 2D alpha collision detection; and a volumetric lighting system, which allows users to create and animate realistic volumetric effects quickly and easily in 2D. Mirage provides proxy loading of incoming clips, making them instantly available.
Bauhaus Mirage is available for $895 on Windows XP/2000 and will be available on Macintosh OS/X operating system in late 2003. A demo version of Mirage 1.0 will be available through the Bauhaus Software Website on October 27, 2003.
Based in San Antonio, Texas, Bauhaus Software provides professional digital artists with the tools for producing next-generation animated graphics and special effects. For more information, visit http://www.bauhaussoftware.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
