First graph, first sentence of release should read: MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, congratulates UK-based Framestore for being nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an “Achievement in Visual Effects” Academy Award for its contributions on Warner Bros. blockbuster The Dark Knight (sted MAXON Computer USA).
The corrected release reads:
MAXON CONGRATULATES FRAMESTORE ON ITS VISUAL EFFECTS ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION FOR “THE DARK KNIGHT”
MAXON’s BodyPaint 3D Texture Painting Application Used to Transform Good-Guy Harvey Dent into Villainous “Two-Face”
MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, congratulates UK-based Framestore for being nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an “Achievement in Visual Effects” Academy Award for its contributions on Warner Bros. blockbuster The Dark Knight. A key piece of the Oscar-nominated work involved the shocking transformation of one of the film’s main characters, the honest and upstanding District Attorney Harvey Dent, into the hate-filled villain known as “Two-Face”—a man whose face is ravaged by a terrible explosion, resulting in a visage that is half unblemished and half grotesquely burned. Contributing to the realism behind this wholly computer-generated imagery was MAXON BodyPaint 3D, which was used to create texture maps that seamlessly blended together the gaping hole in Two-Face’s cheek; exposing his jaw bone, teeth, gums and various other hideous aspects of his injury.
Click here to view images: http://www.framestore-cfc.com/#/News/TheDarkKnight,BAFTAOscarNominee
“We congratulate Framestore for being recognized as one of this year’s Visual Effects Academy Award nominees for its outstanding visual effects work on The Dark Knight,” said Paul Babb, President, MAXON Computer USA. “The realism achieved by Framestore in the creation of Two-Face is simply phenomenal and we’re very pleased that BodyPaint 3D remains one of their primary solutions in the development of key characters.”
According to Daren Horley, head of the texture painting team at Framestore, BodyPaint 3D has become the standard 3D application for texture painting at the facility, noting, “This project posed texturing challenges because it necessitated four different texture painters to be involved in a kind of tag-team approach to painting Harvey Dent, one the film’s central characters. BodyPaint 3D enables every artist to very easily pick up where the other has left off, allowing for enhanced cooperation among team members and making the workflow much simpler. The ability to load up multiple objects, view textures on geometry and paint directly onto the surface in 3D and quickly see how textures react to lighting changes is an area where BodyPaint 3D is particularly unmatched.”
Additional BodyPaint 3D capabilities that Framestore found especially useful while working on The Dark Knight imagery included its ability to handle very high-resolution maps (up to around 10k); the Cloning tool, with its ability to alter the size of detail making cloning less obvious; its compatibility with Photoshop, especially in projection painting; and the overall stability of the software when pushed to extremes.
Framestore is no stranger to accolades having won numerous high-profile awards; most notably the Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects in 2008 for its work on The Golden Compass. The studio utilized MAXON’s BodyPaint 3D extensively throughout the creation process to paint texture maps and help bring numerous characters from that film to life, including the armored polar bears that feature prominently in the movie as well as for props, digital doubles and environments.
Liam Stacy, Managing Director, MAXON Computer UK is also excited about Framestore’s Academy Award nomination for the second consecutive year, stating: “As one of Europe’s leading visual effects and computer animation studios, we look forward to seeing how they will continue to push artistic boundaries utilizing BodyPaint 3D through their creative use of the software.”
About BodyPaint 3D R4
New tools for painting rich, detailed textures onto a 3D model as well as an improved workflow are all part of this latest version of MAXON BodyPaint 3D. The improvements facilitate even tighter integration into industry-standard painting pipelines with brush import, WACOM tablet support, PSD format enhancement and more. Artists are now free to take texture painting to the next level with capabilities unmatched by any other 3D application, including real-time results for instantaneous feedback and giving users the ability to paint over multiple objects and material channels with a single brush stroke. Plug-ins to 3ds max, Maya, XSI and LightWave 3D ensure the software is workflow-friendly by enabling easy exchange of models, textures and UV’s. BodyPaint 3D is completely cross-platform for Windows and the Macintosh.
