FurryBall have realeased and introduced a real-time GPU renderer that fits directly into Autodesks Maya.  The new release has the function to light, rotate or change parameter in real-time in scene that contain textures, bump maps, soft shadows, reflections and dynamic hair.
Sounds good eh! To see it in action check out a couple of thier [...]

Created by Pixel Corps, a worldwide guild of content creators, each podcast will be hosted by Pixel Corps’ founder and Chief Architect, Alex Lindsay, with Pixel Corps digital effects artist McKay Hawkes as the show’s first guest.
The first podcast focuses on realistic rendering and examining the integration of CAD files in modo. Future podcasts will [...]

Nvidia have released a couple of cool video’s, one fluid and one hair, showcasing the PhysX and how smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) fluids run on the upcoming GF100.
Fluid

Hair

Ortery have released the world’s first ‘office photography machine’ – the Photosimile 5000.
The machine enables even non-photographers to take professional still photos and product animations in spherical, hemispherical and 360-degree formats with the click of only a few buttons.
Check out the video below to see it in action.

db&w has announced the release of ShaderMeister v1.1. This is the first free update to shaderMeister, the global shading solution for LightWave 3D. Changes since Version 1.0:

Added Comment Nodes
Added a LightGroup Node that affects upstream nodes connected to it.
Add a node for a single, global LightGroup. This is saved with shaderMeister [...]

The Disney Ptex library is now available to the public community of texture artists, lighters and modelers. The new open source library supports Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces (including quad and non-quad faces), Loop subdivision surfaces and polymeshes (either all-quad or all-triangle). Also, several data types are supported including 8 or 16-bit integer, float, and half-precision float. [...]

Cgsociety recently published a featured article titled “Perfection in Blue” which took an VFX insiders look at the production of James Cameron’s block buster Avatar.
In the article Wayne Stables (VFX Supervisor) discusses the techniques used for lighting the movies scenes:
…And how do you light such an environment, with reflections off the plants and transitions through [...]

RenderStreams recently published article takes an insiders look at how GPU acceleration will affect the computer graphics industry in the future. In this initial article they offer their own insights into want a user can expect as well as interview the Director of Visual Communication Solutions at Autodesk to get his ideas on where GPU [...]

Yesterday after watching Avatar in 3D, I did exactly what any self-respecting CG enthusiast  would do and Google’d “Avatar the Making of….”
The result of which can be found below in a behind the scenes feature, which showcases the revolutionary new technique of performance capture.
It really looks like the VFX guys behind Avatar have hit the [...]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made the announcement for the final seven films running in the Visual Effects category for the 82nd Academy Awards.
The films are:

Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at [...]

Autodesk and Computer Graphics World (CHW) have released a new pdf Whitepaper on the Virtual Movie Making. This 19 page paper is a must read paper for all interested in CG/VFX and movie making in general.
Download the pdf here the_new_art_of_virtual_moviemaking.pdf.

Autodesk, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM visualization software products and related assets. The products were purchased from 3AM Solutions, a UK-based privately owned technology company that develops visualization software for civil infrastructure. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Dynamite VSP and Dynamite SIM technology will help Autodesk [...]

BOXX Technologies, today announced that it has added the newly redesigned Wacom Intuos4 Professional Pen Tablet to its line of workstation accessories.
“Intuos4 allows artists and designers to work pen in hand, naturally and intuitively, but with the benefits of a digital workflow,” said Jim McCartney, Wacom’s Vice President of Sales. “BOXX really understands creative workflows, [...]

3D Buzz is pleased to announce the release of HDRI Shader Development for Mantra, part of the Houdini Technical Director Series. This new 7 hour video set introduces you to a solid workflow for creating a flexible shader that utilizes high dynamic range imagery (HDRI) information and can be used for photorealistic simulation of metal, [...]

Happy holidays from everyone at studiohdrimaps.com and we wish everybody a prosperous 2010.

Today at 4pm PST December 18, Free Realms Senior Artist and Character Animator Floyd Bishop will be presenting a live demonstration on the animation process for video games on the Sony Online USTREAM channel.
The event goes live at 4pm PST, December 18, which is Midnight London time, 11am Sydney time on the 19th December.
In this [...]

According to the Digital Urban blog, this three-dimensional model of London will be released in Jan/Feb 2010 via a company called Skape. A video fly-through of Victoria Street appears to show every building in accurate, coloured detail.
Preview below;

Company Partners with Dell, Intel and Wacom to Provide Opportunity for 3D Artists Worldwide to Connect
Autodesk, Inc., will host its annual 3December event to celebrate 3D computer graphics, and the artists who create them. Running from December 1–10, the event will include live and virtual activities that connect thousands of 3D artists from around the [...]

Whenever Apple apply for new patents its sure to get the rumour mill going as the Mac comity try to get a sneak peak into what Steve Jobs and the Apple researchers have been working on. The latest patent application discovery posted by mac rumors, gives the impression that 3D displays are being looked at. [...]

goHDR, a business start up focusing on video compression technology, has gained access to the world’s first true  High Dynamic Range (HDR) video camera.
The camera is capable of 20 f-stops, full HD (1920 × 1080) resolution at 30 frames per second. Typically the HDR camera captures data at 24 MBytes per frame or 42 Gigabytes [...]

The majority of the team here at studiohDRImaps.com  are members of the cult that is Apple Mac. With that in mind its great to see Autodesk’s growing support of the Mac system with the release of Smoke for OSX
Full press release below:
(Dec. 15, 2009) – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) has announced that it is ready [...]