Sony Pictures Imageworks used Maxons BodyPaint 3D and Cinema 4D software in the development of Warner Bros.' THE POLAR EXPRESS. The grand landscapes, the beautiful digital environments and scenery were created utilizing Maxon's award-winning 3D programs.
THE POLAR EXPRESS is the first full-length CG feature film in which Maxon and its 3D graphics packages were directly involved. Since its first introduction nearly two years ago, BodyPaint 3D software has become the tool of choice for the texture-mapping artists at Imageworks. Cinema 4D is a more recent addition, being used by the Imageworks matte painters earlier this year, specifically for its fast and easy workflow for creating photorealistic 3D virtual worlds.
Ivo Horvat, matte painting supervisor for THE POLAR EXPRESS, said, "Maxon is serious about its artist-oriented philosophy, and they have completely transformed our workflow for 2 1/2D and 3D matte paintings as a result. While the 3D option has always been one we have used in the past, we are now able to output complex shots with a speed I had never seen previously in my experience."
The combination of Cinema 4D and BodyPaint 3D is fast becoming the premiere choice of top production studios for creating animated digital matte paintings, 3D environments and more.
Maxon Computer (www.maxon.net) is the developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions. Its award-winning products have been used extensively in film, television, science, architecture, engineering and other industries. Maxon products have been showcased most recently in HERO, VAN HELSING, KING ARTHUR and SPIDER-MAN 2. Maxon has offices in Friedrichsdorf (Germany), Newbury Park (California), Bedford (U.K.) and Tokyo (Japan).
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
