MAXON REVEALS R11 OF CINEMA 4D APP

LOS ANGELES - Maxon Computer (www.maxon.net), a developer of 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, unveiled Cinema 4D Release 11 at the SIGGRAPH show in LA. The update improves ease of use and workflow, as well as integration into production pipelines.

Cinema 4D is a PC and Mac application, and the new release, which is anticipated to ship in September, boasts improved rendering speeds that make it more than twice as fast as the previous version. The all-new Cocoa-based architecture supports 64-bit processing under Mac OS X Leopard, and users can choose between 32- and 64-bit depending on their need.

The application's nonlinear animation features allow users to build animation layers and motion clips, taking animation beyond the time intensive keyframe process. The new global illumination engine takes advantage of the most current algorithms and computer hardware. And new tools have been added for painting rich, detailed textures onto a 3D model.

The Projection Man matte painting system, originally developed by Maxon for Sony Pictures Imageworks, is now included, providing a toolset that enhances workflow and makes it easy to create and patch mattes. Tight integration with Adobe Photoshop and Maxon BodyPaint 3D simplifies editing and manipulating extensive digital mattes and 3D environments.

With CineMan, users can easily render Cinema 4D projects using Pixar's RenderMan Pro Server or other RenderMan-compliant engines, including 3Delight and AIR, through support for the RIB format.

And R11 now supports COLLADA, an open standard XML-based format that facilitates the transfer of 3D assets between applications.