The ZBrush was one of the technical highlights of 2003. Dave Cardwell, digital modeler for Weta, used the latest Beta version of the software to create the images above. All Pixologic images © Pixologic Inc.

As technology continues to shift and evolve, it is becoming much more apparent in today’s mainstream print, broadcast, film and gaming industries, to name but a few, that the tools are much more cost efficient and also much easier to wield due to the increasing intuitiveness given to the talent behind the scenes. As more and more directors and even executives outside of our industry begin to take a serious second look at not only the eye candy today’s tools can create, they’re also beginning to see the trend of accomplishing more at a lower cost while giving them ultimate creative control over their projects. As the tools of the trade continue to grow in impressive leaps and bounds in 3D animation software along with the hardware that sustains it, we have seen quite a few advancements in all aspects of technology in the past few years, most notably in 2003. Although beginning as a relatively slow first half, 2003 held some significant software advancements such as Weta’s Massive and Pixologic’s ZBrush to the unparallel performance from hardware counterparts such as NVIDIA’s Geforce Quadro FX series of graphic cards along with the new sporty AMD 64 chipset. But what was even more apparent was the fact that 2003 was really a year for the artist.

The Geforce Quadro FX series of graphic cards from NVIDIA represented a major advancement in hardware this past year.© 2003 NVIDIA Corp. All rights reserved.

As an artist myself, I know how tough it can be at times to keep up and stay ahead of the game, but with many software and hardware prices beginning to drastically drop as fast as the industry is growing, what better time to hold on and not let go. With our constant demand and requirements for faster and more stable performance growing everyday, we’re not only keeping the many software developers and engineers on their toes, but all the other developers out in the market today – producing just want we need with better results.

“Massive” Needs are Required as We Push Forward
With our need to continuously raise the bar to the next level and beyond, you might be wondering how exactly companies such as Weta Digital and directing moguls such as Peter Jackson are responding to their creative prowess. One shining example is of Weta Digital’s software Massive, a stand-alone 3D animation system developed for the purpose of generating crowd-related visual effects for film and television. What began as a very simple concept involving a digital agent navigating itself throughout a maze, has now become a revolutionary solution for crowd control in today’s market that not only gives its users impressive control over elements such as terrain adaptation and weapon aiming in each of the thousands of generated agents, but also ease of use so that a sequence of the complexity of the Battle at Helm’s Deep (from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) for example, can be pulled off by a handful of artists.