Toon Boom Technologies has teamed with Electric Rain to extend its support for 3D animation. These new plug-ins will feature a special edition that outputs in the USAnimation format, allowing USAnimation users to import 3D animation created with 3D Studio MAX, LightWave or XSI into the 2D world. Electric Rain is a leading developer and supplier of 3D to vector solutions with Swift 3D MAX, Swift 3D LW and Swift 3D XSI. "Toon Boom is pleased to offer its customers the option to integrate 3D animation created with the leading 3D animation software.

Xara has launched its new desktop graphics software - the online 3D Heading Maker. The 3D Heading Maker allows potential customers to test-drive Xara's 3D desktop software, Xara3D, in real-time on the Xara Website, without downloads or any required installations. Users can create, customize and save text-based 3D graphics live on the Web page. Content can then be embedded in any third-party Website with all the same functionality.

Kaydara Inc. announced the release of FiLMBOX 3.0, the latest release of the company's real-time 3D content authoring and delivery tool. FiLMBOX 3.0 brings real-time mixed-media authoring capabilities to Apple computers, with support for Mac OS X. Enhancements made to the new edition include improvements to the Control Sets feature, enabling 3D artists to animate CG characters without having to program complex IK rigs and constraints as is usually required by this type of advanced feature.

Digimation, Inc. has shipped FaceGen, an all-purpose head generator for 3ds max 3 and 4. FaceGen is built around a series of published anatomical metrics for real-life male and female heads. With the software, users receive full control over each feature independently. FaceGen also offers a complete set of Custom Mesh components so that after users create their preferred head style, they can add a skeletal structure beneath that will fit perfectly.

Alias|Wavefront, an SGI company, has announced that its Maya Complete software for Mac OS X is scheduled to ship on or before September 25, 2001. Beta tester and 3D artist, Kevin Baille, said, "All of us here at The Orphanage are ecstatic about the progress Alias|Wavefront has been making with the OS X implementation of Maya. Being a completely Mac-based visual effects and production studio, we are extremely impressed by how easily Maya for OS X fits into and enhances our existing production pipeline.

Caligari Corporation, a provider of 3D authoring technologies, has announced that its 3D modeling and animation package trueSpace 5.1 now supports Macromedia Flash. This is in addition to Caligari's existing support for Macromedia Shockwave3D, Director8.5 and Viewpoint Experience Technology. Web developers can now convert their trueSpace5.1 objects (including NURBS) and scenes to Flash format, including all trueSpace geometry, materials, lights, views and even advanced animation techniques such as script animations, bones and key-frame animations.

Toon Boom Technologies, a leading supplier of 2D animation software, announced the commercial release of Toon Boom Studio v1.0 for Mac and PC. Toon Boom Studio increases productivity for digital animators with improved drawing accuracy, an automatic lip-sync feature, 3D scene planning and compact Flash-compatible file rendering for greater scene complexity. The software package also incorporates the feel of traditional animation with a rotating light table, "X" sheet visual representation of the work and a "flip-book" feature.

Macromedia, Inc. has teamed with Intel Corporation to optimize the Macromedia Flash Player for the Intel XScale microarchitecture utilizing the Intel Integrated Performance Primitives (IPP). As a result of this partnership, users will be able to experience high quality MP3 audio when playing Macromedia Flash content on devices built using Intel applications processors. The optimized code will be available to device manufacturers for use with the Macromedia Flash Player Software Development Kit (SDK) later this year.

Alias|Wavefront has shipped StudioTools 9.7, the company's latest upgrade to its CAID (computer-aided industrial design) family. Through a new filleting tool, StudioTools speeds the process and adds modeling power for rounding edges between adjoining surfaces in the model. By combining this function with StudioTools advanced evaluation tools, such as reflection maps, curvature maps, draft angle evaluation and cross-sections, designers can interactively manipulate the fillet and evaluate results immediately.

Discreet has posted a downloadable update to version 4.2 for 3ds max. This update includes enhancements across the entire product that will ensure quality, workflow, performance and stability. Some of these enhancements include overall memory efficiency; performance increases in TrackView, TrackBar, Particles, RPF and ActiveShade; workflow enhancements in Skin, Custom Attributes, Render Elements, Subdivision Surfaces (HSDS, Meshsmooth), Parameter Wiring, Groups, ActiveShade and PolyObjects. The 3ds max update is downloadable from the Discreet Web site at www.discreet.com.