The crowdfunding campaign launched last month by the developers of the open source image editing software has resulted in funding of the main goals (performance improvements for handling big canvases, 2D animation tools) as well as nine stretch goals. Krita users can expect significant improvements to the software. More on Kickstarter.

What if the asteroid that changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar plays alternate history (a.k.a. uchronia) in their latest film, scheduled to be released on November 25th. Watch the trailer on YouTube.

An unusual short produced by London-based Weareseventeen that attempts to capture a single moment in time, the cognitive shift experienced by an astronaut when Earth is seen from space for the first time. Created with Cinema 4D, X-Particles, V-Ray and After Effects. Watch the video on Vimeo and find out more on Weareseventeen's website.

Chirality is a short film on the subject of greed produced by students from the University of Hertfordshire. It draws on classic RPG archetypes & game cinematics for inspiration. The film was created with ZBrush, Mari, Maya, Houdini and rendered primarily with Arnold. Watch it on Vimeo.

HQ Plants has released two new collections of detailed 3D models for 3DS Max. HDTrees 7 brings 306 models of realistic shrubs, HDTrees 8 comes with 324 models. They include materials for Corona, V-Ray and Mental Ray and both libraries offer different materials for summer and autumn, as well as integration with the Forest Pack plugin. HDTrees 7 & 8 also include 20 models of thin berberis branches to create decorative trimmed fences. Visit 3DMentor.ru for more.

Tarkan Sarim has posted an interesting video showcasing HairWorks from NVIDIA. HairWorks enables users to simulate and render hair and fur in a game environment. You can watch the video on Tarkan's Vimeo Channel.

Adobe has announced that it has acquired Mixamo, the San Francisco-based company that provides web-based services for 3D character creation, rigging and animation. According to Adobe's announcement: "Our research tells us that one of the most in-demand skills for designers is 3D (...) Today, we’re taking another step toward unlocking the power of 3D for designers by announcing the acquisition of Mixamo". The announcement focuses mostly on expanding the 3D capabilities of Photoshop. More on Adobe's Creative Cloud blog.

A fun short on art and censorship created by students from the Ringling College of Art and Design. Watch it on Filmnosis.