Toronto: July 7, 2006 - Side Effects Software, developer
of the award-winning Houdini family of 3D software, today announced the release
of Houdini 8.1. This new version features an animator-friendly Auto Rig, Muscle
System, Character Picker and Pose Library. Enhancements to the Rigid Body and
Wire dynamic solvers and support for the importing of Collada files are also
included in this latest release.
To celebrate Houdini 8.1,
Side Effects Software is offering two great opportunities to save when choosing
to either buy or rent Houdini Master. Through September 30, 2006, up to two
copies of Houdini Master can be purchased at the special price of $9,999 USD, a
savings of over 40 percent, while customers who choose the rental option for at
least 3 months will enjoy one month free.
As a bonus, everyone who takes
advantage of either of these offers will receive a free copy of the book The
Magic of Houdini.
There has never been a
better time to discover Houdini, says Kim Davidson, President and CEO, Side
Effects Software. Whether you create feature films, video game cinematics or
film-quality broadcast, Houdini offers the widest range of animation and visual
effects features to suit every part of the production pipeline.
The highlights of
Houdini 8.1 include character tools like the Auto Rig and Muscle System. With
the Auto Rig, animators can quickly create production-quality biped rigs with
high-level, easy-to-use controls, such as FK/IK switching. Set up as Houdini
Digital Assets, these rigs provide a robust referencing scheme that makes it
easy to propagate changes throughout a production. Proxy geometry can be easily
added to the animation rig and put into production right away while the riggers
work on a separate capture rig to define surface deformations.
Creating a realistic
muscle and skin system is easy with Houdinis new metaball capture and
metaball-based muscle tool. Now
animators can set up skin sliding and muscle deformations without relying on lengthy
simulations. The results work in real time and allow muscles to become an
integral part of the animation process.
These character tools,
along with the Character Picker and Pose Library, are also featured in Houdini
Escape, which is ideal for riggers and animators. Houdini Escape also provides
an excellent platform for lighting, rendering and compositing.
For artists who want to
bring their work from other 3D animation packages into Houdini, Houdini 8.1 includes support for the import of Collada files.
Collada (www.collada.org) is an open digital asset exchange schema for
interactive 3D applications and is quickly being adopted throughout the
industry. Houdini 8.1 supports the import of geometry, lights, cameras,
transformations and keyframe animation through Collada. Animated character rigs
can also be imported as a hierarchy of keyframed null objects that can be used
with Houdini 8.1s new muscle tools.
Houdini 8.1 also
features advancements in Dynamics tools, with a significantly faster Wire
solver and a new Rigid Body auto-freeze feature. Houdinis Dynamics environment
lets users integrate Rigid Body, Cloth and Wire solvers into a single unified
simulation, and includes unique capabilities such as RBD glue. Houdini's
advanced physical simulation technology is consistently used by leading visual effects
houses in the creation of blockbusters like Superman Returns, X-Men: The Last
Stand, Poseidon and many more.
With the savings being
offered this summer, its the perfect time to see what Houdini can do for you,
adds Davidson. Broadcast shops and boutique studios are already taking
advantage of these tools to help create film-quality animation.
If you are visiting
SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston,
you can see Houdini 8.1 in action at booth #1731. In addition to Houdini
demonstrations, several customers, including artists from Framestore-CFC,
Rhythm & Hues, DNA and Sony Pictures Imageworks, will be showcasing their
work at the booth. Side Effects Software is also hosting a Houdini Pub Night to
bring the worldwide Houdini community together. Visit www.sidefx.com for more information.
About Houdini
The Houdini family of
animation software offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power,
flexibility and control based on award-winning technology. The comprehensive feature
set includes modeling, rigging, animation, particle effects, dynamics,
compositing, integrated rendering, and more. All Houdini applications work
together seamlessly and are available for the Windows and Linux operating
systems. Houdini has been used to create stunning digital animation in
blockbuster films, including Superman
Returns, The Wild, The Ant Bully, Poseidon, X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man
(1 & 2), The Polar Express, I,Robot, Chronicles of Riddick, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, Stealth, Sin City, X-Men, X2: X-Men United, the
Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Matrix trilogy.
About Side Effects Software
Established in 1987,
Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D
animation and special effects software for use in film. Side Effects Software
leads the field of procedural animation with its unique, award-winning, Houdini
technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders
including C.O.R.E., Digital Domain, Disney Feature Animation, DNA Productions,
Framestore-CFC, The Orphanage, Rhythm and Hues, and Sony Pictures Imageworks
among others.
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