Articles from Cgw.com

Review

By: George Maestri — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Next Limit’s Maxwell Render.

Myth Labs

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

A number of visual effects companies, with Digital Domain and MPC at the lead, conjure up digital magic, including mythical creatures such as a multi-headed fire-breathing Hydra, a winged Fury, a towering Minotaur, vicious hellhounds, and the evil Hades, in addition to extraordinary locales, from the heights of Mount Olympus to the depths of Hades’ underworld.

Editor’s Note

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Singapore, a country that prides itself on economic achievement, has emerged as a leading world market in a number of areas. Most recently it has set its sights on the digital media sector, working hard to become a force in the film, gaming, and visual effects industry.

Back Products

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Recent software and hardware releases.

A Nightmare, Wide-Awake

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Remedy Entertainment takes gameplay down a different track with Alan Wake, which contains a deeply literary plot that is augmented by noir lighting and POV shots that resemble those used in movies rather than games.

Art History

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Savannah College of Art and Design, along with Georgia Institute of Technology, delve into the subject of art history in games.

Sound Effects

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Harmonix re-creates the rock ’n roll world of The Beatles, which comes to life in the latest Rock Band title.

Spotlight

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Products HP’s Z200 Workstation, ZR22w and ZR24w Performance Displays, EliteBook 8540w and 8440w. Autodesk Smoke 2010 for Mac OS X.

The New Dawn of HPC

By: Kathleen Maher — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

A long time ago, mainframes ruled the world of high-performance computing, but a revolution occurred, and a new breed of PCs and workstations assumed that all-important role—with, of course, a lot of help from highly evolved CPUs and GPUs.

Unreal Power

By: David Cohn — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

How Epic Games remains “Unreal.”

Viewpoint

By: Ken Pimentel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Rendering Revolution.

Education

By: Ken McGorry — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

As competition heats up and tools grow both more sophisticated and less costly, executives in the business of instructing new and veteran pros stress: “Education drives the job market!”

Spotlight

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Dell continued to push the boundaries of mobile performance by announcing the world’s most powerful mobile workstation, the Precision M6500. Shown publicly at Autodesk University recently, the Dell Precision M6500 delivers performan

Viewpoint

By: Gergely Vass — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The most basic pitfall of creating shaders or materials for 3D renderings is the use of too clean, too perfect textures. In reality, every singe object, surface, or material is worn, dirty, or naturally imperfect to some extent. By photographing or scanning real textures, we get these patterns for free, which helps to “sell” the final 3D image. While procedural textures, g

Playing the Open-Eyed Dream

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

“It’s all about the storytelling, and this, right here,” James Cameron has stated, pointing two fingers directly at his eternally impassioned, turquoise eyes. The legendary director is stressing the importance of adhering strictly to a character’s point of view during filmmaking, forcing the audience to look through their eyes.

Taking Flight

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

On April 25, 2004, at 3:42 pm central daylight time, in the Bayou de View area of Arkansas’ Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, while riding in a
canoe, researcher David Luneau videotaped a bird many believed to be extinct: an ivory-billed woodpecker. Or, did he?

The Tradition Lives On

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

When Walt Disney Animation Studios quit making 2D animated features in favor of films made with 3D computer graphics, it signaled, for many people, the death of that traditional medium. Ironically, directors Ron Clements and John Musker—who were the first directors at Disney to use 3D computer graphics in a film (for the clockworks climax in The Great Mouse Detective), and the first to use CAPS, a computer-aided production system developed by Pixar and Disney for 2D films (for the next to last shot in The Little Mermaid)—have become the first directors to bring traditional animation back to Disney.

Editor’s Note

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

This past fall, Disney/Pixar released a special stereoscopic version of the groundbreaking computer-generated animated films Toy Story and Toy Story 2, taking us back in time to when CGI was in its infancy (see “Stereo Twice Over,” October 2009). We were re-introduced to Buzz, Woody, and the toy gang—the first characters to star in an

Real Illusion

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

When singer/actor Frank Sinatra died in May 1998, fans the world over mourned his passing. Born to Italian immigrants, this kid from the blue-collar, working-class city of Hoboken, New Jersey, eventually would turn into a superstar whose nicknames included The Chairman of the Board, The Voice, and ’Ol Blue Eyes. A member of the so-called Rat Pack, Sinatra became a quintessential legend of radio and Hollywood.

One Step at a Time

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Of the five animated features nominated for Golden Globe awards this season, two—Coraline and The Fantastic Mr. Fox—used stop motion, one of the oldest animation techniques. Even so, for Mr. Fox, as with most animated films these days, computer graphics played a role. CG artists working on the film, though, found few similarities to hand-drawn or CG films.

Back Products

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

NEC Display Solutions of America has announced three new desktop monitors in its AccuSync Series. The two widescreen displays and one standard-aspect display are well suited to small- to medium-size businesses. The energy-efficient, 19-inch AS191 and AS191WM and 22-inch AS221WM monitors boast up to 48 percent less energy consumption

CG In Another World

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Weta Digital helps James Cameron achieve his long-awaited vision, Avatar, pushing digital filmmaking into new worlds.

Creating A Dynasty

By: Debra Kaufman — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Studios from around the globe contribute CG effects to the Chinese epic Red Cliff.

Hair-raiser

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Could werewolves become the new “IT” creatures? For New Moon, Tippett created realistic shape-shifting CG wolves that steal the scene.

Open for Business

By: Kathleen Maher — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The Khronos organization rolls out a new OpenGL release. Find out what this means for the industry.