HOME | DD

willienoel — Softimage|3D on Pixar Image Computer

#donbluth #softimage #pixarimagecomputer
Published: 2023-10-04 23:15:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 1134; Favourites: 4; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description Softimage|3D continued to be used in the future Disney films, including "The Little Mermaid" (1989). This was also the last film to use the method of hand-painted cel animation. CGI involves the creation of 3D images through the use of computer software.
Softimage 3D is a discontinued high-end 3D graphics application developed by Softimage, Co., which was used predominantly in the film, broadcasting, gaming, and advertising industries for the production of 3D animation. It was superseded by Softimage XSI in 2000.
In 1986, National Film Board of Canada filmmaker Daniel Langlois, in partnership with software engineers Richard Mercille and Laurent Lauzon, began developing an integrated 3D modeling, animation, and rendering package with a graphical interface targeted at visual artists. The software was initially demonstrated at SIGGRAPH in 1988 and was released for Silicon Graphics workstations the following year as the Softimage|3D.

Software created by Pixar in the first few years (or expanded from that developed at the ILM division) included the ChapReyes renderer, Computer Animation Production System (developed for Disney), Marionette, an animation software system that allowed animators to model and animate characters and add lighting effects, and Ringmaster, which was production management software that scheduled, coordinated, and tracked a computer animation project. The film recording technology mastered by David DeFrancisco was incorporated into a new laser film recorder called PixarVision.
deGraf/Wahrman was founded in 1987 by former Robert Abel & Associates employee Michael Wahrman and former Digital Productions director Brad deGraf after the folding of DOA. Tom McMahon of Symbolics Graphics Division helped finance the company and provided equipment and software, including a Symbolics 3600 and the suite of Silicon Graphics software. Brad deGraf studied architecture at Princeton and Mathematics at the University of California at San Diego. He started his career as lead software designer and programmer at SAIC for the US Army National Training Center, and became Head of Technical Direction at Digital Productions before opening deGraf/Wahrman and serving as Director of Production. After deGraf/Wahrman, from 1992 through 1994, he was Director of Digital Media at Colossal Pictures, which he and his partners spun off to create Protozoa. deGraf/Wahrman created Mike Normal, or “Mike the Talking Head”, the first live performance of a virtual character. It was shown live at the Electronic Theater at SIGGRAPH 88 in Atlanta. deGraf also created “Moxy” on the Cartoon Network, the first virtual character for television, and Peter Gabriel’s Grammy award-winning video, “Steam”.
Related content
Comments: 1

willienoel [2023-10-04 23:16:34 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0