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Arnold 7.0, the latest version of the visualisation tool, has received the integration of Open Image Denoise (OIDN), a CPU-based noise reduction infrastructure trained by Intel artificial intelligence. It is provided in parallel with the old Arnold CPU-based noise reduction and Nvidia Optix GPU-based noise reduction. Both OIDN and OptiX noise reduction can use the new Arnold 7.0 Noise_albedo_noisy AOV, which adds mirror reflections and refractions

In ZBrush 2021.7.1, the new BevelArc brush is now compatible with Sculptris Pro, ZBrush's dynamic tessellation system. Other changes include the ability to use the arrow keys to control IMM brushes and the timeline, and the "Save As" operation now remembers the original file location, independent of any other imported file. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG5Q6sWqEkg[/embed] A bug with 3D layers that could lead to an inability to load a

Toolbag Library Drop 02 is a new set with 135 materials. The update, which includes 28 Smart Materials and 107 standard materials, focuses on realistic fabrics. The previous release, which was in April 2021, added over a hundred materials and textures. Library Drop expands on the redesigned pre-made materials library introduced in Toolbag 4.0, last year's major update to real-time texture rendering and baking software. Preview

3ds Max 2022.2 has received a number of improvements to the UVY workflow, including the integration of the Unfold3D algorithm into the Unwrap UVW modifier for peeling, packing and relaxing UV areas. Unfold3D algorithms have been used in Maya, a sister application to 3ds Max, since 2014, but the standalone tool on which it is based has not been updated for several years. [gif-player id="2801"] The

Blender Baker Bystedt is a free add-on for Bender to simplify the process of baking PBR texture maps and lighting within Blender. The add-in introduces workflow features not available in Blender itself, allowing faster baking of data from high-resolution source models for use in low-resolution versions in games and real-time workflows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kos3AWkR5ZU&feature=emb_logo   Among the unusual features is Channel Transfer, which allows combining individual RGB colour

With the introduction of Silhouette 2021.5, layout options have been enhanced, introducing a new four-way colour correction interface with controls for shadows, midtones, highlights and the entire image. Users also get 89 colour correction presets "from Oscar-nominated films". In addition, the Math Composite node in Silhouette now supports 22 overlay modes. The list should be familiar to users of other image editing and compositing applications and

Amazing Hollywood VFX. So well done in fact that most of the time we don’t actually see it, at all! But pretty much everything we see in the movies has a whole ton of CGI behind it, enhancing it into the polished scenes we’ve grown to love. For the Desolation of Smaug, Benedict Cumberbatch not only recorded the voice of Smaug, but also had a camera

V-Ray for Unreal is Chaos' answer to Unreal Engine's own Datasmith toolkit, which allows you to export scenes created in other versions of V-Ray in .vrscene Chaos format and import them into Unreall Engine. This process automatically converts V-Ray light sources and materials into their real-time equivalents. The user can either generate a real-time rendering using the game engine, or make changes to the scene within

The free RenderMan plug-in for Substance Painter can now export Substance materials for use in other DCC applications in a format compatible with RenderMan's Lama layering system. Update 24.1 itself does not add any important features. Most of the changes are workflow and performance improvements, particularly improvements to the NPR Stylized Looks shading system and the RenderMan XPU heterogeneous rendering engine. The update moves XPU, which