LONDON — The Foundry (www.thefoundry.co.uk) has launched the latest update to its professional look development and lighting tool. Responding to customer demand, Katana 2.5 will offer support for Windows, putting the tool in front of more artists working in VFX, broadcast and animation. The new port makes Katana’s full toolset available to Windows-based studios, previously unable to take advantage of the famous “lighting recipes.” Additionally, the toolset is easier to install and supports a number of plug-ins including Renderman, V-Ray, Arnold and recently 3Delight.
“The Foundry is constantly striving to help artists be more creative by providing them with the best software solutions in the industry,” says Andy Whitmore, chief product officer, The Foundry. “Launching on Windows and adding support for more industry-standard renderers is a fantastic example of us giving artists more flexibility to work the way they want. Katana is a powerful look development and lighting tool that can offer huge benefits to studios of all sizes, so we’re thrilled to be announcing its Windows launch.”
Equally suited to both short and long-form animation and VFX projects, Katana’s design was created to help artists conquer a notoriously time-consuming process. Used in studios from Industrial Light & Magic and Pixar to Atomic Fiction, Katana allows artists to turn creative lighting setups into “recipes” that can be shared amongst the team, cutting down the time it takes to turn out complicated shots.
Katana 2.5 is now available as a beta release and will be shipping soon; supported platforms are Linux RHEL Centos 6 and Windows 7 64-bit.