George Maestri tests out the latest edition of Maya from Autodesk to figure out the significance of the new particle systems, layered animation, modeling and stereoscopic image rendering.
Janet Hetherington chats with producer Max Howard about Igor, the new animated feature whose protagonist is as independent as the company that made him.
Andrew Farago reviews five short films: Chainsaw by Dennis Tupicoff, Hot Dog by Bill Plympton, Mammon by Robin Fuller, Styri (Four) by Ivana Sebestová and Vaterschaftstest (Paternity Test) by Katherine Landgrebe.
Ellen Wolff gets deeper into Meet Dave with VFX Supervisor Mark Stetson.
Bryan Hoff tests the new and improved HP xw8600 workstation, now boasting Xeon 3.16 processors.
Eric Post takes us on a ride through some of the summer tools that are setting new standards for vfx excellence.
The former work-for-hire power transitions into a source of proprietary animation for the global market.
In Don Peri's new book, insights abound, but the real Walt Disney remains elusive.
Hey kids! Play the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Drinking Game! It’s easy! It’s fun! You’ll get boozed out of your mind! Here’s how to play…
Johannes Wolters dives into fmx/08, which this year offered an even greater number of stimulating discussions on the state of artistic and technological visual content.
Ryan Lesser tests the new 3ds Max 2009 and is pleasantly surprised at how useful the new tools are, even for a humble game developer.
Karen Raugust reports on how the famed AI-based 3D animation system is being adopted by key VFX/animation schools.
Alain Bielik visits The Ruins with Rising Sun Pictures, which devised a new system for animating the nasty, man-eating vines.
Anupam Das of EA tests Houdini 9.1 and discovers several improvements, including FBX support and new additions to fluid and animation tools.
My first reaction to Kung Fu Panda was, (bored, Droopy voice), whoopee, here we go again: hopeless slob (Jack Black, who else?) makes good in spite of himself, done with that trademark DreamWorks unattractive angular character design.
Mea culpa, friends. I just saw a lengthy promo reel for the film hosted by Ol’ Bullet-head himself, Jeff (nyah-nyah Michael, I’m still a player, what are you doing these days?) Katzenberg – and I am blown away. This is going to turn into an Anton Ego review (end of Ratatouille Anton that is), but here we go.
In this month's "Mind Your Business," Mark Simon touts the benefits of living where the work is.
Bryan Hoff compares HP's new xw8600 workstation with the xw8400. Is it worth the upgrade? Read on.
In the first "Career Coach" of 2008, Pamela Kleibrink Thompson discusses the only constant in life -- change.
Beowulf marks the first vfx-intensive performance capture hybrid, so Jerome Chen offers his perspective on entering it in the Oscar race.
Ellen Wolff discovers the charmed life of Enchanted from Tippett VFX Supervisor Thomas Schelesny.
Tara DiLullo Bennett chats with VFX Supervisor Gary Hutzel about the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica and the challenges and opportunities of doing the vfx in-house.
MPC had numerous challenges to contend with on the more action-oriented Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Alain Bielik reports on the results.
Ryan Lesser tests 3ds Max 2008 and finds great productivity improvements, particularly for those specializing in architectural design, previs and lighting/composition.
Fred Galpern tests Maya 2008 and discovers a significant change to Autodesk's approach to Maya development well worth the investment.
