Autodesk Media & Ent.s new community portal, Area (www.the-area.com), is now live. The site is intended to be a centralized repository of content created using Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max animation, modeling and rendering software; Autodesk MotionBuilder character animation software; or Autodesk VIZ 3D modeling, rendering and presentation software. To foster collaboration and networking within the industry, content on the Area is intended to be generated by the community, and supported by Autodesk. The site features tips and tutorials, discussion forums, blogs, downloads, galleries, member portfolios and feature stories on artists and developers. Membership is free.
Michel Besner, Autodesk Media & Ent. senior director of product management, said, "We have been looking forward to today's launch of Area, because it enables Autodesk to further support its media and entertainment 3D user community. Through Area, the 3D community can support its own growth as the industry addresses the next-generation production challenges of increasingly complex games, television and film effects, and design visualizations."
Area was announced on July 31 at the Autodesk user group meeting at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston. Rick Pumphrey of Blake Studios was enthusiastic about joining the Area community. "After learning about the upcoming Area site, I have been eagerly waiting to see it go live. The forums have the potential to put artists in contact with others who may be facing similar challenges on their projects. Additionally, Area is unique because users can dialog directly with Autodesk's 3D product management in an open forum. I expect this community portal will help users get a better understanding of the people behind the world's leading projects and the products they use to make them."
Autodesk Inc. (www.autodesk.com) is a Fortune 1000 company. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the manufacturing, building, infrastructure, wireless data services and media and entertainment fields. Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
