ORBX.js will allow users to stream desktop applications through a standard HTML5 Web page, without requiring any plugins or native code extensions. The companies demonstrated 3DS Max 2014 and other software running entirely through HTML5 on all major browsers. Watch a video on YouTube, read the press release (PDF) and find out more on Otoy’s forum.

(Updated) A petition is being put forward asking Adobe to “eliminate the mandatory ‘creative cloud’ subscription model”. It’s already been signed by over 12,000 people. More on Change.org. Also of note, some competing companies are already taking advantage of the backlash caused by Adobe’s change of policy. Read the recent blog posts by Corel and Pixelmator. [more...]

A tutorial by David Bentley on using various tools in ZBrush for vehicle design sketching. More on the ZBrush Central.

Autodesk is looking for artists interested in teaching classes in AU’s Advanced Visualization track on topics including technical workflows, photography concepts for advanced visualization, best practices for advanced design visualization and film inspired storytelling. More on Autodesk’s site.

A new version full of new features, modified features and bug fixes of the alternate frame buffer plugin VFB+ has been released. The new features are: [more...]

A hot topic of discussion when it comes to physics engines is often which is faster and more stable, PhysX or Bullet. A post on PhysXinfo claims that PhysX has been faster than Bullet for quite some time. According to Pierre Terdiman, senior software engineer at NVIDIA: [more...]

Quixel has released a significant upgrade to DDO, their parametric texturing tool. Version 5.0 introduces IBL rendering using Marmoset Skyshop, high polygon support, improvements in workflow and preview performance, a new post-processing engine, an unlimited-resolution screenshot exporter and a tool for generating presentations of textures. Find out more about these features and a number of other improvements at Quixel.se

Archviz artist Bertrand Benoit has updated his portfolio with some great images inspired by the Parisian interiors of the 1860s, a period during which 60% of the city was rebuilt by civic planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann. More on BBB3viz.

A music visualization video by NYC-based artist Daniel Sierra that is generous in both particles and waves. The music was composed by the artist himself. Watch it on Vimeo. (Note: not created with Max)

Another great SIGGRAPH paper has made its way to the web. This time it’s a paper by Linjie Luo, Hao Li and Szymon Rusinkiewicz on how to recreate hair styles simply by inputting photographs. Check out the video on Youtube.

A nice, CG character oriented, commercial for HBO with VFX done by Pixomondo has been posted for everyone to see. Check it out on Youtube.

USC researcher and HDRI pioneer Paul Debevec gave a talk recently at SIGGRAPH’s Paris chapter. 3DVF has published a summary of the conference plus an interview on current topics, including the situation of the VFX industry. (French|English online translation)