Includes Tools for Extreme Detailing of Digital Characters and Objects
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"Our goal is to make early stage digital assets resemble their final 'on-screen' forms as closely as possible," said Dave Cardwell, Mudbox product designer at Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Starting with accurate models makes the production process more efficient and provides a higher-quality end result. For example, you'd want to know early on whether a prominent brow will shadow a character's eyes. That's why Autodesk Mudbox 2009 has texture painting tools and on-target display features; these will help artists build and refine better 3D models."
"The introduction of Autodesk Mudbox 2009 sparks a revolution in computer graphics tools, bringing about a paradigm shift in how designers and artists do their work," said Habib Zargarpour, senior art director at Electronic Arts.
Dan Platt, modeler at Disney Animation Studios, said, "Time is money. An Autodesk Mudbox session begins with its artist-friendly, intuitive interface. This is sculpting at the speed of thought with the greatest of fidelity. In a business where new ideas with impossible deadlines are commonplace, Mudbox never lets me down."
New Feature Highlights in Autodesk Mudbox 2009
Texture Painting
A new, production-ready toolset makes it easy for artists to paint multiple diffuse, bump, specular, and reflection textures across multiple high-resolution maps on their models:
-- Users can paint directly on 3D models to add detail precisely where it's required, regardless of UV distortion or surface complexity.
-- Reference images can be painted onto a model from screen space using the new Projection brush.
-- Users can paint multiple maps on multiple UV tiles simultaneously and assign multiple UV tiles on a single mesh.
Performance Enhancements
Recognized for its ability to handle data-heavy models, the latest version of Mudbox offers greater interactivity while working on high-resolution meshes. In particular, camera manipulation and brush speed have been improved, enabling artists to work interactively with 3D models that are fully subdivided into tens of millions of polygons across the entire mesh.
On-Target Display
Mudbox 2009 includes a host of rendering technologies that leverage the power of the OpenGL application programming interface (API) and today's powerful graphics cards. The software offers an accurate, on-target environment for real-time evaluation as the digital asset is manipulated, as well as for enhanced interactive presentations to clients and art directors.
Improved Interoperability with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max
Mudbox 2009 provides enhanced interoperability with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max software through improved matching of normal and displacement maps produced by Maya and 3ds Max.
Artist-Friendly User Interface
Mudbox 2009 continues to deliver a highly intuitive user interface that gives artists the freedom to focus on the art of 3D modeling.
For a complete list of new features and enhancements in Autodesk Mudbox 2009, visit http://www.autodesk.com/pr-mudbox.
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that Mudbox 2009 will be available in October 2008. Mudbox 2009 will be supported on the Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows Vista operating systems. Autodesk suggested retail pricing is $745 USD*.
*International pricing may vary.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit http://www.autodesk.com.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Maya, Mudbox and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
(C) 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contacts: Roohi Saeed, 514-961-7296 / Karen Raz, 310-450-1482
Email: roohi.saeed@autodesk.com / karen@razpr.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/
