Archviz artist Peter Guthrie will be teaching an advanced 5-day masterclass at the SOA Academy in July. More on SOA Academy's website.

Steve Holmes has posted a great article on 3DArtist outlining 24 tips that artists can use to enhance and improve their 3d lighting skills. You can read the full list over at the 3DArtist website.

California-based GoPro, developers of compact cameras for action video photography, have acquired Kolor, authors of image and video stitching software. According to GoPro's website, the companies will be joining forces to help video producers deliver spherical content (i.e. 360° video and immersive media). Kolor's reflection on its 10 years of existence and how society has changed is worth checking out, the company points out the "dominant use of imaging, everywhere". More on Kolor's website.

A great short by four students from Italy-based Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, with a fun portrait of bureaucracy. Directed by Salvatore Centoducati. Watch it on Filmnosis.

Synfig is an open source vector-based 2D animation software that offers features such as HDR support, pen tablet-friendly tools, bones deformations, sound layer for syncing animation with a soundtrack, etc. Originally conceived by Robert Qattlebaum in 2002, the code was released as open source in 2005 and has continued to be developed for the last 10 years. More on Synfig's website.

After going through a beta testing phase, Janos Hunyadi from Creative Case has released his commercial shell modifier plugin for Maya, which allows to create beveled edges and provides control over the bevel profile, level of subdivisions, etc. Watch a video on Vimeo and purchase the plugin on Gumroad.

A team of researchers from US-based Northwestern University have developed an inexpensive 3D camera that improves upon Kinect's original design, bringing higher quality images and outdoors 3D capturing capabilities. More on Northwestern University's website.

Australia-based Constructive Media has posted a video showing their latest experiments with VR for Archviz and subaquatic experiences. Watch it on Vimeo.