Light ROM 3/Light ROM 3 - Disc 2.iso/tess/tess518.txt

Text File | 1995-06-27 | 19KB | 382 lines

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 T H E   T E S S E L L A T I O N   T I M E S   #518
      Issue #18 of 1995, for Monday, June 26th
====================================================

*The Tessellation Times* (TESS) is Columbine, Inc.'s weekly electronic
publication normally posted Monday evenings as a supplement to 3D ARTIST
magazine.

See Contacts at the end of this file for companies whose products are
mentioned here.
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Published by and (c)Copyright 1995, all rights reserved:
  Columbine, Inc.
  P.O. Box 4787, Santa Fe, NM 87502 USA
  505/982-3532 (voice); 505/820-6929 (fax)
  505/820-6929x3 voice mail
  E-mail: [e-mail]
_____
Staff
Alex Kiriako, Editor, TESS & Sysop, 3dartist.com <[e-mail]>
Bill Allen, Publisher & Pres., Columbine, Inc. <[e-mail]>
Sally Beach, Vice Pres., Columbine, Inc. <[e-mail]>
Carol Williamson, Admin. Asst. <[e-mail]>
________
CONTENTS
518.00 - Heads Up
  518.00.01 - The Fortnight in 3D
  518.00.02 - Upgrades
  518.00.03 - Shows & Exhibitions
  518.00.04 - Classes of Note
518.01 - PolyForm _nee_ Pixel 3D
518.02 - 3D Online
518.03 - 3D Readings
518.04 - 3D User Groups
518.05 - News Wrap
518.06 - What's Up in Santa Fe
  518.06.01 - 3D ARTIST
  518.06.02 - TESS
  518.06.03 - Publisher's Comments
518.07 - Continuing Listings
  518.07.01 - Galleries & Exhibits
  518.07.02 - Artists Call
518.08 - Follow-Ups
518.09 - Contacts

---------

518.00 - Heads Up

Here's the stuff you need to know the soonest...

518.00.01 - The Fortnight in 3D

July 3, Montreal, Canada: Montreal 3D Studio Users Group will meet 7pm at
Dawson College, 4001 De Maisonneuve West, Room 3 G 15 in Montreal. Topics
include Bones, LenZFX, and 3D Meshpaint. Bring samples of your work to show.

518.00.02 - Upgrades

SoftF/X version 2.5 ($695) from Byte by Byte Corp. will be available on June
30th. New features reportedly include OpenGL support and 3D shaded models
with texture maps in realtime previews. Other enhancements are NTSC legal
color limiting, better Bezier drawing, and 8-bit antialiased alpha channels.
  This version is also said to be faster using OpenGL than the already
speedy v2.0. (See an upcoming review and animation how-to for v2.0 in 3D
ARTIST #20.) Improved documentation will be available after July 31.
  Upgrade pricing from v2.0 is $29 plus shipping. There is also competitive
pricing of $429 for owners of many other PC 3D applications. And, in a move
that other software publishers should emulate, this competitive pricing is
extended to users of Byte by Byte's own programs on other platforms. Student
and faculty pricing is also available with ID for $199.50 in the U.S. and
Canada, $250.20 international. Note below in Contacts that Byte by Byte has
a new address.
  Educators should note that this program has the potential to render
students' work before the bell rings.

518.00.03 - Shows & Exhibitions

September 11-13, Bellevue, Wash.: Asymetrix Worldwide 1995 Developers
Conference focuses on the design, development, and delivery of multimedia
content. Also featured are the Video Breakthrough Awards for videos using
Multimedia Toolbook or Compel, Indeo technology, and Video Blaster RT3000.
Registration by 7/1/95 is $695, afterwards $795. Aysmetrix Corp.
800/448-6543, 206/637-1504.

518.00.04 - Classes of Note

The American Film Institute in Los Angeles is a great resource for advancing
your skills as a desktop digital cinematographer. They offer classes in
skills valuable to any type of video storytelling. Classes like
storyboarding, screen and TV writing, interactive media, marketing for
interactive media, directing, selling your ideas to Hollywood, and blue
screening.
  AFI is very strong on the digital side, with classes on applications like
Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Macromedia Director, Equilibrium's
Debabelizer, Electric Image, and Vidi's Presentor Pro. Though primarily Mac
based, PC users can still participate with the Windows version for many of
these programs.
  AFI also offers non-platform specific classes in animation, sound and
music, design, and nonlinear editing. Many classes are offered as one- or
two-day seminars and on weekends so out of towners can also benefit.
  Contact the American Film Institute; 2021 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA
90027; 213/856-7664.

518.01 - PolyForm _nee_ Pixel 3D

Vivid Technologies is carrying forward the Amiga utility and 3D file format
conversion program formerly known as Pixel 3D and Pixel 3D Pro. The new
program, PolyForm, is promised for 3rd quarter 1995 for Windows 3.1/95/NT.
  Pixel 3D was published by Axiom, now reconstituted as Vivid Technologies.
In the 6/12/95 initial product announcement, the Minnesota company also
reported that it will keep its new name following a merger with the
Wisconsin marketing firm Tres J Marketing.
  (There is no connection between Vivid Technologies and the Vivid shareware
raytracer.)--B.A.

518.02 - 3D Online

Virtus Corp. has announced new support for export to VRML in their
interactive 3D products. WalkThrough Special Edition/VRML will first be
available at Siggraph in August and will come bundled with a book on VRML.
  Virtus also plans to release major upgrades of WalkThrough Pro and Virtus
VR by the end of the year that will incorporate VRML export and interactivity.
  Colony, you may remember, was one of the first 3D action games to appear
on desktop. It ran on a Mac SE under 1Mb of RAM and won best-of-awards in
its day. This 1988 technology was later incorporated into Virtus' first
product in 1990.

Mike Little <[e-mail]> sent a message 6/17/95 about AOL's PC
Graphics & Animation Forum, which he helps lead. It's "a great place for 3D
graphics enthusiasts. We have over 17,000 graphics related files in this
forum as well as message boards for members to ask questions and share
opinions. We have online live chats for members to attend every night except
Saturday. I host the Animation Chat every Sunday night at 9:30pm Eastern."

518.03 - 3D Readings

Continuing the TESS#517.02 item about Autodesk Press, a new joint venture of
Autodesk and International Thompson Publishing, we've received more details
about ITP's related publishing efforts. Thanks to former Autodesk PR person,
Andrew Mackles, for this info:
  ITP subsidiary Delmar Publishers has in the works for Winter '95
*Harnessing 3D Studio* by Glenn Hilley and *The Illustrated 3D Studio
Command Reference* by Jay Zirbel and Steve Combs. Both are described as
texts for "high school, community college, and university students as well
as professionals."
  Subsidiary PWS has scheduled for Fall '95 *Mastering 3D Studio* by Jon
Duff and William Ross. "This is a text aimed at community college and
university students."
  And "Thompson Learning Tools is publishing texts by Fred D'Ignazio on both
3D Studio and Animator Pro this winter for middle school to high school
students."
  We didn't include the contact info with the TESS#517 item about Autodesk
Press. You'll find it in "Contacts" below.--B.A.

Check out the current *Byte* magazine (July '95) on your newsstand or at the
library for a bunch of articles about Internet, but especially for a State
of the Art section on 3D graphics, virtual reality, and visualization. John
Foust of Syndesis (publishes Interchange and 3D-ROMs) wrote one of the
pieces, "3-D Steps Forward," about 3D file formats, operating system
support, and acceleration.
  One of the questions we most often hear is "What PC video boards are
best?" Though we have begun a hardware survey among renewing 3D ARTIST
subscribers, TESS and 3DA are not in a position to review commodity
hardware. However, you will find 16 PCI boards reviewed in the June 27th *PC
Magazine*. It's now off newsstands, but can be found in many libraries.--B.A.

518.04 - 3D User Groups
  By Bill Allen <[e-mail]>

User groups are important points of contact for animators of all experience
levels, as a recent San Francisco Siggraph chapter meeting showed. Speakers
Andrew Schmid and Oren Jacob, a lead animator and a technical director with
Pixar, explained tricks for blue screening, animation design strategy, and
motion layering. (This technique builds a character's movements one
component at a time, adding and refining traits in a logical sequence.)
  Like some other groups, this one has a newsletter that carries job offers,
how-to tips, and other info like a list of meetings for the several Bay Area
computer art SIGs. You can contact S.F. Siggraph c/o Hoyt Ng at CIS 73052,624.

If there isn't a user group in your area, and you would like to try starting
one, let TESS and 3D ARTIST help spread the word for you. Don't worry about
all the organizational trappings, like dues and incorporation (most 3D SIGs
avoid that stuff). Just find a time and place, and get the word out locally
to friends, dealers, computer teachers, and anyone such as video producers
and ad agencies that might be interested in hiring computer graphics people.
  Have a VCR and maybe a computer at the meeting for show and tell (but
nothing you can't keep an eye on or nail down). Simple refreshments are nice
but optional. A good first meeting agenda is to have everyone take a set
amount of time (keep it moving) to describe what they're doing with 3D
graphics. Out of this, you will find topics and speakers for subsequent
meetings. You also should find volunteers to help get things done (don't let
yourself get stuck doing everything).
  Once your group decides to meet regularly and picks a name and sets up
contact details (address, phone, etc.), software companies will be eager to
send promotional items. If they get to know your group, they may send
commercial products to award as door prizes, and may assist with finding
speakers.

518.05 - News Wrap

CorelPress is a new collaboration between Corel and Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
Their first book offering will be *The Official Guide to CorelDraw 6 under
Windows 95* due to be released in September or October. (Corel as reported
in TESS#501 and #502 purchased a variety of key 3D technologies from Ray
Dream, Specular, and American Small Business Systems for their upcoming
Corel CAD.)

Diamond Multimedia has announced their first PCI-based Mac video accelerator
product for the new Macintosh 9500. The Javelin Video 3240XL lists for $399
and comes with 2Mb of VRAM upgradable to 4Mb. The 3400XL lists for $569 and
uses 4Mb. Both support 24-bit color up to 1152x870 resolution and refresh
rates to 120MHz. You can also use them with either a Macintosh or PC monitor.
  Other features include support for a variety of CODECs like QuickTime, and
each board comes bundled with KPT Convolver. Availability for Diamond's Mac
boards is set to coincide with Apple's launch of their 604 PCI-based
Macintoshes.
  This is good news for Mac users, as PCI offerings should eventually break
the current high-pricing on Mac video products.

CrystalGraphics Crystal Kaleidoscope bundle is now shipping. It includes
Topas Professional 5.1, Fractal Design Painter 3.1, Kai's Power Tools 2.0
SE, Elastic Reality 1.01, Leadview 3.0, along with Acuris textures, images,
and 3D models.

Calcomp has announced that their Digitizer Division has been renamed as the
Input Technologies Division, befitting a wider variety of input device products.

A/E/C Systems reports that their June 1995 show in Atlanta had 20,435 show
and 3,079 conference attendees. And Advanstar reports that their June
ShowBiz Expo show in Los Angeles had 30,028 attendees and more thant 500
exhibitors.

518.06 - What's Up in Santa Fe

518.06.01 - 3D ARTIST

Deadlines for 3DA#21 are 6/30 for editorial materials and ad space
reservation, and 7/18/95 for ad materials. (New ad rates take effect.)

518.06.02 - TESS

Deadline for TESS#519 will be 1pm MDT (3pm Eastern) Mon., 7/3/95.

518.06.03 - Publisher's Comments
  By Bill Allen <[e-mail]>

We're running light on news for TESS this week. Also we don't have suitable
accompanying pictures, so there won't be a Web Pictorial Section this issue.
A lighter workload is just as well since we're also busy getting most of 3D
ARTIST issue #20 out to the printer today. More about that next time.

We were running tests last week while also getting TESS#517 ready to upload,
but didn't know until the last minute that our mailing list server would
become operational. That means from now on we will be broadcasting TESS much
earlier. It used to go out between 11pm and 3am Mountain Time, but now may
go any time after 5pm.
  Subscribe and unsubscribe messages continue to go to [e-mail].
  The Web version of TESS should be going up shortly after the text-only
broadcast, but our procedures there are still evolving.

Despite the size of this week's TESS, broadcasting via mail server makes it
easier for us to post larger issues. We had been staying under 21Kb, but
will go up to 30Kb now, and possibly a little larger as the Siggraph PR
season swings into full blast. If bigger message sizes will choke your
E-mail system, please change your E-mail address for TESS or cancel your
subscription.

Last week I told you about putting 3D ARTIST's employment ads on the web
(http://www.3dartist.com/ads/jobs.htm). You won't find it there, but you
should know about a long help-wanted message posted 6/7/95 on AOL from the
Feature Animation and Animation Human Resource Divisions of DreamWorks
(Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen). We don't normally publish this kind of
thing, but it is an opportunity for you to get in on a historical ground floor.
  If you are ready to be a big-time 3D animator, programmer, or other team
player, send your resume to <[e-mail]>. Demo reels go to
DreamWorks Animation Technology, P.O. Box 7304 #132, North Hollywood, CA
91603, USA.
  Tell 'em *The Tessellation Times* sent you!

518.07 - Continuing Listings

518.07.01 - Galleries & Exhibits

Through 7/15/95: Heartsong gallery, 934 Lopez, Santa Fe, N.M. Paintings and
computer works by Robert Schrei. 505/982-7244 or 505/983-7213.

518.07.02 - Artists Call

June 30 for the 15th Symposium of Small Computers in the Arts at the
Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, Penn. Contact Misako
Scott 610/664-3418, [e-mail].

June 30 for Graphis New Media Annual 96 for professional design work done
since 7/94 in interactive presentations. $100 fee per entry. Graphis Press,
141 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016; 212/532-9387, 213-3229 fax.

July 3 for the San Francisco ACM Siggraph Animation Contest. See
TESS#512.00.04 or contact S.F. ACM Siggraph, 310 Richland Ave., San
Francisco, CA 94110; 415/642-9605, CIS 73052,624.

July 31 for 3-D Coolness '95 animation contest. See TESS#507.00.04 for more
info (but wrong deadline). Contact World Fusion Software, 5942 Edinger,
#113-718, Huntington Beach, CA 92649; 714/894-4094; [e-mail].

518.08 - Follow-Ups

On 3DA#19 p26 and in TESS#511.00.02, Glen Lewis' E-mail address was listed
as glewis.pcocd2.intel.com. It should be [e-mail].

518.09 - Contacts

Please mention TESS when contacting companies about products reported here!

> Autodesk Press; P.O. Box 15015, Albany, NY 12212; 800/998-7498;
518/464-3500, -0945 fax
> Byte by Byte Corp.; 3925 W. Braker Lane #329, Austin, TX 78759-5321;
512/305-0360, -0371 fax; [e-mail]; http://bytebybyte.com
> Corel Corp.; 1600 Carling Ave., Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R7, Canada; 613/728-8200,
761-9176 fax
> CrystalGraphics, Inc.; 3110 Patrick Henry Dr., CA 95054; 800/867-2733;
408/496-6175, -0970 fax
> Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.; 2880 Junction Ave., San Jose, CA
95134-1922; 800/468-5846; 408/325-7000, -7070 fax; http://www.diamondmm.com/
> Virtus Corp.; 118 MacKenan Dr. #250, Cary, NC 27511; 919/476-9700,
460-4530 fax; [e-mail]; http://www.virtus.com/
> Vivid Technologies; 13000 W. Bluemount Rd. #215, Elm Grove, WI 53122;
800/962-7659; 414/641-0520
__________________
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