At SIGGRAPH 2002, Discreet announced and demonstrated for the first time its character studio 4, the latest extension to Discreet's 3ds max animation software. character studio 4 includes significant enhancements designed to provide animators an easy-to-use system. Additions such as a non-linear animation mixer, an animation analyzer and fixer and Quaternion Function Curves were implemented to help expand users' character animation techniques and capabilities. "The memorable characters in movies like CATS AND DOGS or in animated television commercials show how advanced character animation has become," said Chris Ford, animation product line manager, Discreet. "The new release of character studio 4 will enable animators an even greater palette of precision tools to fluid, lifelike and memorable animation." In addition, Discreet has announced it is now shipping the latest version of 3ds max, which was also unveiled at SIGGRAPH. Discreet has added key new features in 3ds max 5 software including enhanced lighting methods, soft and hard-body dynamics software and new texture mapping capabilities to marry image data to mesh models accurately. For more information about Discreet's products visit www.discreet.com.
