Anzovin Studio's beta of The Setup Machine, a software tool devoted exclusively to rigging a 3D character is now available for Windows and Macintosh. The Setup Machine is a 3D animation application that installs a high-quality animation rig -- the skeleton that allows control of a 3D character -- into any humanoid model created in Hash Inc.'s Animation:Master software. "A well-rigged character with efficient and accurate skeletal control systems is essential for successful 3D animation," said Steve Anzovin, co-founder of Anzovin Studio. "We want everyone to enjoy the benefits of animating with a good rig. So we've created The Setup Machine." The "Raf" setup, developed by Anzovin Studio's co-founder, Raf Anzovin, is the standard character setup for Animation:Master v. 9. See the biped rig in action in Raf's award-winning short animation Puppet at www.anzovin.com/puppet. The Setup Machine takes the work out of setting up a rig. Pop a pre-made skeleton into your own bipedal character, click, and The Setup Machine installs the latest version of the Raf setup. Anzovin Studio plans to release The Setup Machine for other 3D applications, including Newtek's Lightwave and PMG's Messiah:Studio. The public beta of The Setup Machine for Hash's Animation:Master versions 9 and 8.5 is now available at: www.anzovin.com/setupmachine.html. The beta price for The Setup Machine is US$50. Release 1.0, due in early 2002, will be $75. Beta purchasers will receive a free upgrade to release 1.0.
