Quixel has released a new tutorial in which they deconstruct the render process of Mixer materials, showing you how to make portfolio renders with Marmoset Toolbag 3. Watch it on YouTube.

Autodesk has released 4 new quick tip tutorials for Bifrost or for those that want more in-depth knowledge there are 5 new masterclasses. (more...)

Amazon has announced the release of Lumberyard Beta 1.20, which promised to reduce the time it takes Lumberyard to scan assets by 90% as well as including over  200 more improvements, fixes, and features. Highlights in addition to the scan time improvements include reduced overhead when using the Event Bus (EBus for short) messaging system so game systems and components can send and receive events faster as well as new features and improvements to the animation and audio systems. You can read the full release notes on the Lumberyard documentation site.

The latest version of Verge3D 3DS Max features reworked shadows, screen-space reflection/refraction effects, application templates, and various App Manager improvements, as well as several new Puzzles to make it easier to create web-based interactive apps without coding. Find out more on the Verge3D website.

Eloi Andaluz Fullà has published a recap of SIGGRAPH 2019 including a glimpse of Bifrost board running in 3DS Max, seemingly to create instanced arrays of animated geometry. Eloi also identifies several trends at this year's show including the the rise of RTX, USD adoption including SideFX's Solaris preview and Autodesk's announcement that they are working on USD for 3DS Max. Watch the video on YouTube. 

Unity 2019.2 is out now with over updates to ProBuilder, Shader Graph, 2D Animation, Burst Compiler, UI Elements, and more. Read the full list on the Unity blog. 

Pixar has released a new version of Renderman. Version 22.6 includes PxrCurvature, a new pattern for rendering the resulting curvature of geometry. It can be used for masking and other effects to show wear on edges or outlines. A new material plugin is provided to preview PxrSurface shading while painting in The Foundry's Mari and RenderMan is now integration with Hydra. Read the full list of new features, improvements and fixes on the Renderman website.

SideFX's Scott Keating recently presented a preview of Solaris, Houdini's new unified, node-based USD environment for lighting, lookdev, layout and rendering. Solaris is expected to be released later this year. Watch a recording of the SIGGRAPH presentation on YouTube.