Animation Software delivers real-time cinematic results.

January 29, 2009 - Designed for users of MAXON CINEMA 4D, Craft Director Tools(TM) utilize artificial intelligence and autonomous control systems to condense traditional animation processes. Craft Camera Tools provide real-time camera control for immediate, professional-quality cinematic results, while Craft Vehicles allow artists to create realistic simulations for in-motion vehicles. Craft Accessories add finishing touches to productions by simulating and animating props.

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Fatkat Animation Studios fined for software piracy

Fatkat Animation Studios in Miramichi, N.B., has been fined $36,000 for software piracy.

The commercial animation and graphics studio was among five companies fined under the Canadian Copyright Act after an investigation by the Business Software Alliance.

The alliance conducts investigations into alleged under-licensing of software. That's a form of copyright infringement, which sees a single copy of software used to install a program on multiple computers without proper authorization.

Internal audits revealed Fatkat ran unlicensed copies of Microsoft and Autodesk programs.

Fatkat Animation's founder Gene Fowler said the infringement by his company was due to an oversight.

"Somebody that wasn’t very experienced was perhaps purchasing or installing the software, and they got themselves in the position where they weren’t licensed properly. It does happen," Fowler said Wednesday.

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Houdini 3D animation software comes to the Mac

When Side Effects software first began its public beta of Houdini last month, the company added Mac OS X support. Now the 3D animation software has gone gold and is available for purchase.

According to the company, Houdini was built from the ground up to look and feel like a Mac application. It supports 64-bit Intel Macs running OS X Leopard and has all of the interface features Mac users would expect from an application including drag and drop support and Quicktime support.

“More and more artists are embracing Houdini’s node-based workflow for their animation and visual effects projects,” said Kim Davidson, President and CEO, Side Effects Software. “Houdini for Mac is an important step in bringing Houdini’s renowned power and flexibility to the wider creative community.”

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Flip Boom Software - 2D Mac Animation Tool for Children

Flip Boom is a free-form animation tool designed just for kids of all ages. As such, it is the perfect educational software solution for any beginner animator. Winner of the 2008 Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Flip Boom is a fun and creative choice for developing quality 2D animations quickly.

This software works with QuickTime and the iPod, and runs on Mac OS X. Based on traditional animation principles, Flip Boom sets the imagination free while teaching kids concepts of timing and motion, including the principles of onion-skinning and coloring behind linework.

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Animation software for rugby coaches

Rugby coaches will soon have new software to develop and diagram moves in three dimensions, says Verusco software developer Bryan Mitchell.

Called PlayBuilder, the software features animated rugby players that look much like contemporary computer game characters. Their motion is fluid and natural, and they react as rugby players do turning to face the ball in a lineout, for example.

The animation will replace squiggly lines on chalk boards, giving players a "much better visual of what has to happen," Mitchell says.

In one demonstration, for example, backs were advancing the ball in a traditional style up field, when a player stormed into the line at a sharp angle. The ball carrier popped up a pass, and the new carrier crashed into the defence on an unexpected angle and with impressive pace.

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Chch trio launches animation software

Three Christchurch buddies want to make computer animation accessible to the masses.

Indy Liu and brothers Billy and Tony Chang have created software that people can download to make their own 3D animated video.

The three, aged in their 20s, are targeting the Facebook and YouTube generation of bloggers who write online diaries. Using the software they can make their own animated diary in a movie form.

Tony Chang said computer animation was time-consuming and difficult for the average person to do, but the software gave people with no experience in programming the chance to create their own movies.

The software was launched two weeks ago and has so far been downloaded 100 times, mostly from people in New Zealand, but also in Britain and the United States.

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Pencil 2D animation software

Animation doesn't have to be complicated in the style of Pixar Studios – freehand drawings can be just as effective. Pencil is an open-source animation program that is ideal for anyone who wants to experiment with this style of work.

Pencil takes a simpler approach by sticking with 2D animation. As a freehand drawing program, you need a graphics tablet get the most from it but there are plenty of tools to keep work as efficient as possible.

It is also frustrating that there are no help files included with Pencil, as it is all on the Pencil website. Hopefully this will be changed in later versions.

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More than just Disney: 3-D animation class trains students for lucrative and lively business

Do you think all animators do is Disney movies? If you do, then think again.

Since fall semester of 1999, Santa Barbara City College has offered 3-D animation classes as part of the School of Media Arts.

Mihir Mahapatra is the instructor for the 3-D character animation class, where the students create character design, facial animation, muscle and skeletal systems, and modeling for hands, feet, bodies, and heads using the business standard software Maya.

"Students learn the complexity of the software," Mahapatra said. "Many artists try to go fast when creating, but the best thing you can do is to slow down and take it one step at the time."

Mahapatra said that the resources at SBCC are really good, and that it's a big advantage that they use the same software as the people in the business.

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Argentina becoming animation hot spot

Argentina is becoming a Latin American hot spot for animation, with producers entering the field with projects that fuse local flair with international standards.

Illusion Studios, behind blockbuster "Patoruzito" with Disney-backed Patagonik Film Group, has refashioned its pencil-based production operation into a digital studio with 2-D Toon Boom and Maya 8.5 3-D software.

It gained financial muscle last year with the entrance of the Exxel Group, a Buenos Aires-based private equity fund, as 80% owner. This made it possible to expand its one-feature-a-year capacity to three -- plus content for the Internet, mobile phones, theater, TV and other outlets. Illusion has 120 animation artists in Argentina and this year will open a Mexican house with 25 artists.

"Our aim is to expand the reach of our animated films with U.S. market standards and without leaving behind the essence of the Argentine characters," says Gaston Cami, head of international relations. "They are strong characters for films and TV series."

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Antics Launches Free 3D Animation Software

Antics Technologies has released a free version of its realtime animation software that until now has been the reserve of film professionals such as Jim Rygiel, Oscar-winning vfx supervisor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Now all animation enthusiasts will be able to use Antics V3 to quickly and easily create content-rich, animated stories using this versatile, intuitive and highly flexible animation system.

Alastair Woolley, managing director of Antics, explained: "With this latest version, we're really opening up animation for everyone. Using simple techniques like 'drag and drop' and a simple user interface, anyone with a story to tell or an interest in filmmaking can now bring their ideas to life in real time. We've also taken the hard work and complicated calculations out of animation by using intelligent props that characters can easily interact with through a simple 'point and click' action that moves your character from A to B in a single command. While the software helps make animation more accessible, it is still powerful enough to build complex scenes and add cameras to view the action from whatever angle and positions you want."

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New PowerPoint rival uses 3D animation to slash preparation time

2007-12-06 14:23:50 - Presentations that blend text with 3-D animation can now be created in minutes with Executive Impact - a new low-cost software package from www.wclass.com.

World Class Solutions has just launched a new class of presentation software that combines the advantages of 3D graphics and animation with significantly reduced preparation time. The low-cost package is available from the firm's web site at www.wclass.com.

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Toon Boom Releases its First Animation Software for Kids

Emmy award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the release of Flip Boom, a fun and creative free-form animation tool. Based on traditional animation principles, Flip Boom sets the imagination free while teaching notions of timing and motion.

Easy to use, Flip Boom is intuitive and provides a playful experience.Flip Boom is ideal for kids who want to start creating animation in seconds.

"Seeing the growing interest in animation coming from a younger age group, we decided to develop Flip Boom to cater to their creative needs. Keeping in mind the entertaining value such a tool can bring, we hope Flip Boom will appeal to kids when it comes to create animation" said Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer at Toon Boom.

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The Difference Between Flash and Shockwave

Flash and Shockwave software applications cover a lot of the same ground, and they are produced by the same company, but there are a few significant differences. Most of these are directly related to the origins of the two file formats. Director, the software application used to create Shockwave files, has been around for a long time, longer than the Internet in its current form. It was originally developed to create dynamic content for CD-ROMs, and it is still used for this purpose. As dynamic content has become more popular on the Internet, however, updated versions of Director have included more features that tailor Shockwave files for use on the Web.

Flash, on the other hand, was built from the ground up for use on the Web. Macromedia adapted Flash from Future Splash Animator, a vector art animation program. Macromedia's version was tailored specifically for transmission over phone line connections. So at their heart, Flash and Shockwave have two different specialties. Consequently, they have a number of contrasting strengths and weaknesses:

• Flash files load more quickly than Shockwave files.
  
• Shockwave is more versatile. You can create more complex games, more elaborate interactivity and more detailed animation.
  
• You can use more types of files with Shockwave. You could, for example, import a Flash file into a Shockwave movie, but it doesn't work the other way around.
  
• Flash is more universal. More than 90 percent of Web users have the Flash plug-in installed, while a little less than 60 percent have the Shockwave plug-in.
  
• Flash creation software is cheaper. Director costs a little less than $1,000, while Flash costs about $400.
  
• Flash is an open-source format. Anybody can see how it works and is free to adapt it for their own purposes. Director uses a compiled file format, so it is extremely difficult to modify the program.

With each software update, the two formats move closer and closer together. Shockwave has better Web capability with each version, and Flash gets more versatile. Eventually, the two formats will probably be merged into one comprehensive format that encompasses the best qualities of each.

Source : http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-animation6.htm