Siggraph

Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc. announced that it will demonstrate the new versions of its industry-leading character creation tools - including SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT and SOFTIMAGE|CAT, plus the latest version of SOFTIMAGE|XSI - at the 2006 SIGGRAPH conference from August 1-3. Customer presentations from Softimage clients in the film, post and games industries will be showing samples of their projects, and free training classes from Digital Tutors and Centre NAD will be also offered during the show.

“At Softimage, we are dedicated to helping our customers work together better, animate faster, and focus on their art,” said Marc Stevens, vice president and general manager for Softimage. “With a significant update to Face Robot just several months after its release, our recent acquisition of CAT, and a sneak peek at future solutions during the show, we are continuing our mission to deliver intuitive, production-proven solutions that enable 3D artists to create the world‘s most compelling characters.”

Announced in a separate release, SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT v.1.5 is an update to the industry‘s first software application dedicated to the creation of lifelike facial animation. This release offers a game export solution which allows artists to deliver high quality, in-game acting with detailed facial nuances, with support for all major game platforms.

SOFTIMAGE|CAT version 2.5 is the latest update to the newest member of the Softimage suite of character tools, as part of Avid‘s recent asset acquisition of Character Animation Technologies, Ltd. SOFTIMAGE|CAT v.2.5, a plug-in for Autodesk‘s 3ds Max software, is a complete character animation system that offers artists in game development, film and post industries a unique toolset with which to produce better animations more quickly in a completely flexible environment.

Highlights of SOFTIMAGE|CAT v.2.5 software includes:

• Logical rig components. New in version 2.5, CAT now includes “gizmos” to manipulate CATRigs faster and easier.




• Animation layers. New in 2.5, artists can now quickly copy and paste poses and animation for hubs limbs, hands, feet, and tails, further speeding up the key-framing of CAT characters.




• Unique procedural walk-cycle system. New Walk Modes in CATMotion now include: ‘Walk on spot‘, ‘Walk on Line‘, and ‘Path node.‘ CATMotion also includes controls for gradient and direction, allowing artists to design a broader range of cycles.

Demonstrations of SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.11 software will focus on the unique tools designed to help art teams collaborate and save time on their projects. The groundbreaking GATOR (Generic Attribute Transfer Operator (‘GATOR‘) tool allows artists to automatically transfer any surface property between any two models, saving hours of tedious rework if fundamental changes need to be made to existing assets. In addition, Softimage will be showcasing some exclusive previews of future solutions designed to dramatically increase character animation productivity.

Redefining 3D animation since 1986, Softimage will be celebrating the company‘s 20th anniversary during the show with a special event taking place on Tuesday, August 1st at the Boston Seaport Hotel. In addition, Softimage and Avid will be providing daily updates live from the show via the Avid Student Program at SIGGRAPH. Six students from several Avid academic institutions will be blogging and producing audio and video podcasts. For updates live from the show, please visit www.avid.blogs.com.

For more information about Softimage at SIGGRAPH, please visit: www.softimage.com.