VANCOUVER — LA-based Thinkbox Software (www.thinkboxsoftware.com) has launched a new professional services offering that allows clients to tap the company as outsourced R&D to customize Thinkbox software, integrate it into their pipelines and/or develop custom software tools.
Thinkbox is the developer of Krakatoa, a high-volume particle renderer; Deadline, a render farm management software; and the particle mesher Frost. Its professional services team includes experienced technical directors and developers, which are being led by Borislav Petrov (pictured), a veteran TD and MAXScript developer who recently joined the company full time as a product specialist. The consultative service is available to clients at an hourly rate for development and integration.
Thinkbox recently completed its first professional services projects for animation and visual effects studio Blur. The job included custom development and early access to X-Mesh, a specialized mesh renderer and geometry caching toolset Thinkbox has been developing that supports 3DS Max and Softimage 3D animation software.
“Working with the Thinkbox team was like working with in-house programmers,” notes Blur Studios’ technical director John Kosnik. “They were great at finding solutions that fit our specific needs, iterations were super fast, and communication was effortless. The X-Mesh tool is flexible enough that we can use the same caching format for a multitude of plug-ins and packages. It was easily integrated into our pipeline and makes our delivery systems more dependable and consistent across the board.”