By Myrna Tobisoo, August 7, 2006
Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., announced Softimage|Face Robot version 1.5 – 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. In addition, significant performance improvements to the software have also been implemented, and support for the new Mova Contour Reality Capture system is now included.
With the new game export pipeline for Face Robot, artists have a scalable solution where they can add and remove detail on demand. Face Robot software transfers acting into runtime information by using standard bones and weight maps
. Wrinkling and facial nuances are transferred by using specialized shaders to blend normal maps through skin stress, offering artists an efficient process to achieve high-quality in-game acting with detailed facial nuances.
Key features of the game export solution include:
· Automatic enveloping: Careful preservation of facial nuances around the mouth, with added focus on the volumetric quality of the lips - even with a minimal number of bones.
· Paint-based exporting: Artists can dictate the level optimization of anything from the number of masks, through to bone locations and influence.
· Tuning of real-time data: Easy adjustment of wrinkle intensity and shading parameters after export.
· Support for custom deformation: It's now possible to add layers of customized rigging, shape and simulation, and then export them.
Softimage|Face Robot version 1.5 software is expected to be available in September 2006 for purchase in the following configurations:
-- Softimage|Face Robot Designer will be available for $94,995 USMSRP, and Designer is a complete environment to prepare, solve and animate faces. Designer includes the tools to define wrinkles and puffing, place tendons and fine-tune the mouth. It also includes all of the functionality of a seat of Animator. In a typical pipeline, a single seat of Designer is used with several seats of Animator.
-- Softimage|Face Robot Animator will be available for $14,995 USMSRP. Animator animates faces prepared using Designer. Animator is a hybrid environment for both keyframe animation and motion capture. It uses a powerful retargeting algorithm that transfers animation and motion capture across faces and offers high-level tuning controls.
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