Hasta La Motion!

Cinema 4D goes subscription with a Redshift bundle option. Learn about the newest features of C4D R21, like a new Caps and Bevel system, Field Force dynamics, and more.

Image from MAXON Computer GmbH / Andres Hildebrandt.

During the Siggraph 2019 show in Los Angeles, Maxon announced the new Cinema 4D R21 with new features, like Field Forces, a Caps and Bevel system, new Mixamo Control Rig, rendering improvements and interface speed enhancements.

The biggest news was that R21 would introduce a single version of Cinema 4D that is available with either a perpetual license, or a new subscription. On top of that, users can now bundle a C4D and Redshift license. Let’s take a look at all the C4D news.

Image from MAXON Computer GmbH / Andres Hildebrandt.

In the company’s press release, Maxon CEO, David McGavran said

With R21, we have overhauled virtually every aspect of how our customers choose, download, purchase, license and manage Cinema 4D. The availability of a unified version of Cinema 4D will allow us to focus on developing one amazing 3D solution. Very attractive subscription pricing options ensure users around the world can easily access the most up-to-date 3D technology.

Now let’s break down the newest features of R21.

One Version of Cinema 4D

R21 will mark the introduction of a single and affordable version of Cinema 4D.

What does that mean for you?

Cinema 4D will no longer be released with several versions (Studio, Broadcast, Bodypaint, etc) but as one R21 version.

Removing the additional development efforts to maintain five different versions of Cinema 4D frees up resources which can be directed towards enhancements or features that will more directly impact your workflow demands. Additionally, multiple editions of the same feature set caused a lot of confusion and made it hard for customers to decide what edition of Cinema 4D they should purchase.

In addition, Maxon is rolling out a new global store, giving you the ability to download R21 immediately from Maxon upon release.

Subscription Pricing

Maxon is doing away with the Cinema 4D MSA (Maxon Service Agreement), and switching to an ongoing subscription. If you want to purchase R21 outright, you still can, but with an ongoing subscription you will get newer releases as well as and option to bundle Redshift for Cinema 4D.

A Cinema 4D subscription comes in at $59.99 USD per month with a 1-year subscription. That’s $719.88 per year, which is nearly identical to the old Cinema 4D MSA.

Maxon told Greyscalegorilla that the MSA program will no longer continue, and that C4D release updates will be managed by the new MyMaxon service.

If your MSA contract extends beyond Sept 1st, you’ll receive Cinema 4D R21 Perpetual in early September. You can convert your license to a Cinema 4D subscription at any time prior to the expiration of your Maxon Service Agreement. When you convert to a subscription, we’ll credit any remaining time on your Maxon Service Agreement in addition to a nice discount.

(If you recently purchased you MSA, don’t hesitate to reach out to Maxon, as they do have plans in place for users wanting to move to subscription even though the just updated their MSA.)

That said, if you want to purchase a perpetual license, you still have the ability to do so. What does that mean? If you purchase a Cinema 4D R21 perpetual license, you will have lifelong access to R21 (you won’t lose Cinema 4D if you unsubscribe from the subscription service.)

That said, a perpetual license does not include future releases, so if you want R22 next year, you would need to buy a new $3,000+ perpetual license. So if you plan on staying up to date with the latest version, the subscription service does make the most sense if you plan to continually update the software.

After acquiring Redshift earlier this year, Maxon has announced a Cinema 4D + Redshift bundle also available through a subscription.

A one year C4D/Redshift subscription comes out to $81.99 per month ($983.88/year).

Now one downside is that the C4D + Redshift bundle is only good for Cinema 4D users. If you want to use Redshift with the other compatible programs (Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, etc) you will still need to purchase the standard Redshift license.

New Cinema 4D R21 Features

Now let’s take a look at the new tools and features announced in the latest version of C4D.

Field Forces

Image from MAXON Computer GmbH / Andres Hildebrandt.

Field Force dynamics allows users to optimize motion graphics workflow with the MoGraph toolset, offering flexibility and power to control dynamic forces in modeling and animation effects.

Caps and Bevel

Image from MAXON Computer GmbH / Andres Hildebrandt.

The new Caps and Bevel system will be integrated on all spline-based objects – lathe, loft, sweep, etc., for unlimited possibilities. Enhancements will include improved constraints and internal bevels, Delaunay cap skinning and new bevel presets.

Mixamo Control Rig

Image from MAXON Computer GmbH / Andres Hildebrandt.

The new Mixamo Control Rig offers quick and customizable way to implement character animation and will give R21 users the ability to adjust Mixamo animations imported into Cinema 4D for a more flexible and powerful workflow.

Intel® Open Image Denoise

R21 integrates Intel Open Image Denoise, a library for high-performance, easy-to-use denoising filter solution to improve visual quality and reduce rendering times via deep learning techniques. This technology is part of Intel® oneAPI Rendering Toolkit, a set of libraries to help create high-performance, high-fidelity, extensible, and cost-effective visual applications and solutions. The solution works and is available with Cinema 4D’s internal rendering solutions as well as ProRender.

Material Nodes 

Numerous additional nodes and UI improvements to accelerate workflow include the new Node Space that defines which material nodes are available to the chosen renderer. Additionally, an API is now available for third-party developers to integrate render engines with the new material node system.

Complete Feature List

For a list of every new feature, check out this R21 reference guide from Maxon.

Availability

Cinema 4D R21 will be released on September 3, 2019 for both macOS and Windows.

Greyscalegorilla Plus

Upcoming series from Zachary Corzine

Also announced at Siggraph was the new subscription training platform, Greyscalegorilla Plus. Subscribers can access top-selling training series like the Greyscalegorilla Guide to X-Particles, Guide to Redshift, Guide to Cinema 4D, and so much more.

Now in one place you can watch the beloved deep-dive series, and you’ll get new R21 training and and project-based series taught by working 3D professionals. You can learn more and sign up to reserve a seat today at greyscalegorilla.com/plus.

The post What to Know About Maxon’s New Cinema 4D + Redshift Subscription appeared first on Greyscalegorilla.

Dr. Stone‘s anime adaptation is setting the Summer 2019 anime season abuzz, and given that Senku has gone beyond his first intense face-off with the mighty Tsukasa, fans are speculating over how the rest of the anime’s first season will be panning out. A smattering of new characters will be making their debut.

Dr Stone

Teasing the new cast of characters entering the rest of the season, Dr. Stone shared a fresh new visual for the anime featuring Senku, teasing the new cast of characters entering the rest of the season

New & Exhilarating Dr. STONE Key Visual introduces exciting new characters! pic.twitter.com/Wb1d266vgB— Dr. STONE (@DrStone_EN) August 5, 2019

The remaining cast of characters for the series also show up when the series releases. After Senku parts ways with Taiju and Yuzuriha, he partners up with a few curious individuals on his mission to restarting civilization with science. The first order for the series is listed at 24 episodes. Several thousand years after a mysterious phenomenon that turns all of humanity to stone, the extraordinarily intelligent, science-driven boy, Senku Ishigami, awakens. Facing a world of stone and the total collapse of civilization, Senku makes up his mind to use science to rebuild the world. Starting with his super strong childhood friend Taiju Oki, who awakened at the same time, they will begin to rebuild civilization from nothing… Depicting two million years of scientific history from the Stone Age to present day, the unprecedented crafting adventure story is about to begin! These new characters also bring new cast members to the anime and include Gen Sato as Chrome, Manami Numakura as Kohaku, Tomoaki Maeno as Kinro, Ayumu Murase as Ginro, Karin Takahashi as Suika, Reina Ueda as Ruri, Kengo Kawanishi as Gen, and Mugihito as Kaseki.Dr. Stone was originally created by Riichiro Inagaki with illustrations provided by Boichi for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 2017. The series follows two boys (initially) as they try and save a world that’s been completely petrified in stone, and has so far been collected into several volumes since it’s release, and Viz Media has licensed the series for an English language release.Dr. Stone streams on Crunchyroll and FunimationNow. “Several thousand years after a mysterious phenomenon that turns all of humanity to stone, the extraordinarily intelligent, science-driven boy, Senku Ishigami, awakens. Facing a world of stone and the total collapse of civilization, Senku makes up his mind to use science to rebuild the world. Starting with his super strong childhood friend Taiju Oki, who awakened at the same time, they will begin to rebuild civilization from nothing… Depicting two million years of scientific history from the Stone Age to present day, the unprecedented crafting adventure story is about to begin!”

The post Dr. Stone new season one poster released appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Gagné posted:

Since starting full time on “The Saga of Rex” on September 4th, 2017, I have created an articulated animatic of the 68-minute film which contains rough layouts, rough poses, rough animation breakdown, rough FX and camera moves, all synchronized to the score. I’ve managed to complete over 10 minutes of finished color footage (including reworking and upgrading 3 minutes from the Kickstarter).

Aside from the adapted screenplay, by my friend, Jesper Moller, and some help on the in-betweens by my pal, Seung Kim, the film has been and remains up to this point, a solo effort. Last year, we didn’t renew the option with Grid Animation (the Belgian company which held the movie rights for the past 5 years), so everything reverted back to me. Now, all options are open. Let’s see where the future takes it.

We shall keep you updated on further development.

The post Michel Gagne Film ‘Saga of Rex’ teaser revealed appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Adobe announced that After Effects has been selected as one of the initial products in the new VFX category of the Netflix’s Post Technology Alliance, a program committed to serving the evolving needs of the post-production community through innovation and support.

Adobe Premiere Pro joined the program when it launched last fall, and remains in the editorial category. After Effects now gets a Post Technology Alliance product designation specifically for VFX, as a leading VFX tool.

“After Effects has won the trust of visual effects artists all over the world, and now, we’re proud that Netflix has officially welcomed it into the VFX category in the Post Technology Alliance,” said Adobe’s senior strategic development manager Van Bedient.

“Through this new designation, we’re excited to continue our work with Netflix to solve creative challenges and optimize workflows for all of the visual effects masters who rely on After Effects to create magic on screen.”

Last fall, After Effects’ founding team was honored with a Scientific and Engineering Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for breaking new ground in the science of filmmaking.

The Netflix Post Technology Alliance is a program for manufacturers of products that generate or manage any kind of sound data, image data, or metadata from production through post. Any product that meets this criterion is a candidate for the Netflix Post Technology Alliance logo.

The post Adobe After Effects selected for the Netflix Post Technology Program’s newly introduced VFX category appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), part of Future Group which was founded in 1967, has appointed entrepreneur Preeti Vyas as the new president.

In 2011, Vyas founded her own publication FunOKPlease, an independent, award-winning company which publishes children’s books on contemporary Indian themes. With her appointment, ACK and FunOkPlease have signed an exclusive licensing deal, according to which, all the books will be published independently by FunOKPlease.

Preeti Vyas

ACK CEO and Future Group business development, strategy, mergers and acquisitions head Anuraag Agarwal said, “We are delighted to welcome Vyas on board our management team at ACK. Her rich experience of over 24 years with children’s content, retail and publishing industries will help fructify and add momentum to the exciting future plans we have for ACK Media. Given their contemporary focus, the titles are a perfect complement to our current offering of mythology and history.”

ACK is famous for stories related to Indian mythology and history like Shiva, Krishna, Ram and Ashoka, while Tinkle has characters like Suppandi, Shikari Shambhu and Kalia the crow who are household names now. Recently ACK launched the first “Alive Centre” in Hyderabad, which is a vibrant space that hosts workshops and classes on Indian themes.

Expressing her gratitude Vyas commented, “I feel deeply honoured to take on the president mantle of such a legendary Indian institution as ACK. I look forward, with great enthusiasm, to help its iconic brands, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle, reach even greater heights as they endear themselves to a new generation of young readers. Furthermore, the FunOKPlease team is excited to associate with ACK. Their strong marketing, sales and distribution network will enable us to take our unique content to many more young readers across the country.”

The post Amar Chitra Katha brings in Preeti Vyas as the new president appeared first on AnimationXpress.