Luxology Ships modo 401 for 3D Apps
Suggested retail price $995, upgrade available at $395
 SAN
MATEO, CA, Jun 22, 2009 - The rapid evolution of modo took another leap
today as Luxology LLC announced the immediate availability of its latest 3D
content creation software, modo
401. With a focus on rendering and animation enhancements, modo 401
delivers a wealth of new features and innovative workflows, which enable
users to easily model on top of existing geometry, see changes in their
scene immediately from the radically improved Preview renderer and
efficiently re-use assets throughout the content creation process. These new
features benefit customers in a broad array of disciplines such as
architectural visualization, product design, game development and
advertising image production.
Toyota Prius by Chris Kroll in modo
Network rendering in progress in modo
"modo 401 continues our emphasis on making the 3D creative process as
fluid as possible for designers and artists," said Brad Peebler, president
of Luxology. "This new version is packed with improvements and is clearly
our biggest upgrade of modo to date."
Rendering
Rendering enhancements include caustics, dispersion, blurry refraction,
volumetric lighting and Pixar-patented deep shadows. The new Instance
Replicators allow dense amounts of surface detail like welds, rivets, trees
and barnacles to be rendered with trillion polygon detail. Light linking and
support for multiple environments provides precise control over how each
part of a scene is individually lit. modo 401 also supports stereoscopic
rendering and will render on up to 32 cores across a network of 50
workstations.
Animation
Animation improvements in modo 401 include inverse kinematics, dynamic
parenting, channel constraints and modifiers. modo's new animation
capabilities facilitate the creation of sophisticated rigs in modo 401 that
can be driven with a few simple inputs. For example, a tank model can be
rigged to track and turn accurately across undulating terrain while
maintaining realistic tread and wheel movement. Pre-built animation
assemblies provided with modo 401 allow users to apply animation to their
models automatically.
Workflows
Optimized artist workflows are another essential element of modo 401.
Artist feedback during modeling and other operations is enriched with a
deeply threaded Preview renderer that boasts extremely rapid updates and
progressive rendering capability. modo 401 boosts artist productivity by
facilitating the re-use of assets throughout the content creation process.
modo 401 ships with over 1,500 pre-built assets including profile curves,
realistic surface finishes, fur presets, 3D props, vegetation, animated rigs
and professionally designed lighting environments that light a scene in two
mouse clicks.
"These pre-built assets in modo offer us a way to get to final quality
more quickly," said Gary Fitzgerald of Designworks USA. "modo also allows us
to capture and re-use our own design assets for greater efficiency."
modo 401 boasts a wide array of other productivity enhancing
improvements, including:
- Expanded modeling toolset: Most modeling tools in modo now
support per vertex collision with geometry. When paired with modo's new
ability to load static meshes that have a lower memory footprint, users
can now leverage modo to retopologize even the densest meshes into
production ready assets. In addition, new Profile Presets simplify the
modeling of edge-based details like crown molding or complex bevels.
- More realistic materials: The new Fur material enables a
multitude of material appearances from hair, bristles and fur to water
droplets, string, grass and tinsel. Carbon fiber and highly glossy clear
coat surfaces lend realism to consumer product visualizations.
- Data import and export: modo 401 is now even better equipped
to read and write data that can be exchanged with other 2D and 3D
applications. File exchange improvements include COLLADA, FBX, 3DM and a
new SolidWorks 2009 file importer for Windows.
Pricing and Availability
modo 401 is available immediately for the new suggested retail price of
USD $995. Upgrades from any existing version of modo remain at $395. modo
401 runs on Mac and PC platforms, and is newly available for 64 bit Windows.
modo 401 is sold and supported by a network of authorized Luxology resellers
around the globe.
About Luxology
Based in San Mateo, Calif., Luxology LLC is an independent technology
company developing next-generation 3D content creation software that
enhances productivity via artist-friendly tools powered by a modern
underlying architecture called Nexus. Founded in 2002 by Allen Hastings,
Stuart Ferguson and Brad Peebler, Luxology is home to some of the top 3D
engineering expertise in the industry.
For more information, visit
www.luxology.com.
----------
If news like this is important to you, sign up for our TenLinks Daily at www.tenlinks.com/NEWS/sub_unsub.htm.
----------
See Also
Luxology website
Graphics, Animation and Visualization - list by TenLinks.com
Additional News
Nov 24 - Luxology Releases LuxGallery App for iPhone
Jul 21 - 3D Garage.com Ships Luxology modo 401 Training DVD
Jun 30 - Luxology Offers User Content Sharing Site for modo
Jun 22 - Luxology Ships modo 401 for 3D Apps
Feb 10 -Luxology To Show modo 401 at SolidWorks Show
Oct 9 - Luxology Announces Rhino 3DM File Translator for modo
Sep 26 - Luxology Nexus Powers SolidWorks PhotoView 360
Aug 6 - Cogswell Institute Joins Luxology Educational Program
Jul 16 - Luxology Offers Rapid Prototyping with modo Tutorial Series
Source: Material used in press releases is often supplied by external
sources and used as is.
|
