Chaos Group, authors of the Phoenix and SimCloth plugins, and Dimension Design Animation Group, well known
for their Shag:Hair and Shag:Fur plugins, are preparing to launch a new website together. Already on offer is a time-bombed beta version of a plugin called f-Edge (the plugin formerly known as EdgeSmooth which has now been extended with more capabilities, resembling Lightwave's EdgeFX plugin). The site officially opens May 1st, and can be found at www.chaoticdimension.com.

will offer free introductory workshops in Santa Monica and San Francisco. Additional Houdini courses at a more advanced level will also be made available. available at Side Effect's site. (more...)

A list of Maya 4's new features (mainly aimed at game developers) has surfaced on the web. Maya 4 is still in early beta testing, though, so the list is subject to change.

Check out the new Brazil renderings being posted at Blurbeta's webboard!

VFXPro reviews 3ds max from a game artist's perspective.
Max 3D reviews Cebas' Ghostpainter.
Computer Creative takes a quick look at After Effects 5.

According to a recent forecast published by Computer Graphics World magazine, 3D plugin revenues are expected to experience a 37% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next five years, compared to a 15.8% CAGR for professional 3D packages which could translate into revenues from plugins outrunning proceeds from 3D packages by 2005. 3D tools *and* plugin revenues are expected to grow from $384 million in 2000 to $1 billion by 2005. The whole industry is expected to experience a healthy growth in the next years following the steady increase in demand for 3D content. Will the inclusion of 3D features in Flash (including Havok's physics capabilities) affect this figures? Is the web ready for more complex 3D animation? Tune in same day next year to find out the answers to these questions. :-)

A new trailer has been released for the PDI/DreamWorks animated film, Shrek.

REZN8 visual effects studio created part of the opening sequence for the 73rd Annual Academy Awards aired Sunday, March 25. REZN8 used Max to create all the 3D elements of the detailed two-minute video segment that introduced Oscar host Steve Martin.