Dave Stewart has posted a video created with Houdini 15 showing a WIP setup to dynamically erode a collision volume with a FLIP simulation. Watch it on Vimeo.

(Updated) A third video with an update is up on Vimeo.
(Updated) A video of a new version of the scene has been posted on Vimeo.
Chaos Group's Ivaylo Katev has posted a new video he created using the Phoenix fluid dynamics plugin in order to test how to create an easy pipeline for stormy simulations. Watch it on Vimeo.

Christoph Schindelar is releasing collections of textures produced from highly-detailed 3D scans of surfaces that offer accurate color and depth information from real locations. All maps are provided with layers for glossiness, roughness, ambient occlusion and more, so they're prepared for physically-based rendering. Normal maps are also provided as a alternative to displacement. Collection one brings 26 surfaces split in 4 categories: gravel (6 surfaces), rocks (3 x wall, 4 x floor), sand (6 surfaces) and soil (7 surfaces). (more...)

Blackmagic Design has announced the public beta of Fusion 8 Studio, its compositing and VFX software, for both Mac OS X and Windows. A public beta of the free version of Fusion 8 was released earlier this year, the new Fusion 8 Studio adds advanced optical flow tools for retiming, image repair, color smoothing and morphing between different images, along with the ability to render at resolutions larger than Ultra HD. (more...)

MIT researchers have devised a new method that uses genetically engineered viruses to significantly boost the efficiency of collecting and transporting light, something that could soon lead to vastly improved solar cells. More on MIT's website.

The Foundry Sessions has published a video that showcases some of the visual effects work completed by Image Engine for Jurassic World. Watch it on Vimeo.

Ephere has posted a brief article about a character recently completed by Italian artist Alessandro Baldasseroni, focusing mostly on the hair work. The character was created using 3DS Max and Ornatrix. More on Ephere's website.

PSOFT has released a sneak preview video of a new modular rigging plugin that is being developed for Modo. There is little information on the PSOFT website regarding this plugin, so we will update this story as we find out more.