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06.03.2026

VFX School Closes and Leaves the Lights On

For those who don’t know the school: The VFX School was an online training platform focused primarily on Houdini-based FX simulation workflows. Its courses centred on effects such as destruction, fluids and pyro simulations, sometimes rendered with engines such as Redshift and prepared for compositing. The platform targeted artists learning production-style simulation pipelines. Closing the classroom The online training platform The VFX School has announced it is shutting down.…

4 minute read

A sleek, diamond-shaped icon with a gradient design, illuminated in shades of teal and green, set against a textured background that features directional light patterns. Text in the top left corner reads 'Pi-Slices Gradient Generator'.

Gradient Generator: free Cinema 4D tool for procedural gradients

Gradient Generator is a small, free helper for Cinema 4D 2025+ that generates gradient-based looks without turning your material editor into a…

A music recording session features a woman singing into a microphone while two people, one playing guitar, are engaged nearby. On the right, a digital audio workstation displays soundwave patterns for various musical elements.

CrumplePop targets baked audio mixes

CrumplePop 2026 adds GPU processing and AI models that split finished mixes into editable stems inside SoundApp.

A whimsical lamb figurine dressed in a beige coat, standing on a wooden pedestal. Behind it, a collection of pottery and decorative items are arranged on shelves, creating an artistic backdrop.

Autodesk adds generative 3D to Flow Studio

Autodesk introduces Wonder 3D inside Flow Studio, enabling text and image prompts to generate editable 3D assets.

tyFlow 2 adds CUDA fluid solver and 20 Infernos

tyFlow 2 integrates a CUDA fluid solver, adds 20 Inferno operators, and expands caching and collision features.

A promotional banner for Fusion Studio 20 featuring bold, 3D-style text reading "FUSION" against a fiery background. The banner highlights new tools for multi-layer workflows and deep image compositing, with a price tag of 5. — Advertisement

A lively woman smiling in a colorful setting, surrounded by video editing software elements. Text highlights features of DaVinci Resolve, emphasizing free download and Hollywood-quality editing tools. — Advertisement

Articles for Subscribers

A person wearing large, reflective goggles that show a fiery orange sky, with their hair gently blowing in the wind against a blue background.

8 minute read

A World Divided: Shaping a Global WWII Epic at Overmind Studios

125 shots, six episodes, and a two-person team. VFX lead Tobias Kummer explained how Overmind Studios delivered geographic transformations, period cleanup, atmospherics, and a nuclear blast for A World Divided, built on disciplined templating and…

A diver in a dark underwater environment, wearing a full-face diving helmet and breathing apparatus. Bubbles rise around him as ambient light filters through the water, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

7 minute read

Grading Kraken: insights from the colour grade

Senior Colourist Dylan Hopkin (Shortcut Oslo) outlines the grading process behind the new sci-fi film Kraken, and how contrast, colour and AI-assisted tools were used to support storytelling.

A 3D animation software interface displaying a sequence of seven humanoid figures in varying poses, with one figure standing in a center position, showcasing character animation progress. The background is black, emphasizing the models.

19 minute read

Cascadeur on physics, AI and control

Cascadeur explains how physics solvers and local AI shape modern keyframe animation. Physics-assisted keyframing and AI-generated Inbetweening sound like shorthand for automation. In practice, they describe a layered system that revolves around…

A person on all fours in a playful costume adorned with colorful balloons, while another person stands behind them wearing a costume with a vibrant pink theme, against a bright green backdrop.

6 minute read

Hawaiki Keyer – for those who don’t trust all the magic of AI

Hawaiki Keyer 5 brings AI tracking and dual-key control to Resolve, handling messy greenscreen shots more reliably than Magic Mask. Or does it?

A tablet, desktop computer, and smartphone displaying various media content on a blue background. The tablet shows a video playback interface, the desktop features a grid of movie thumbnails, and the smartphone outlines a list of titles.

29 minute read

Mnemonica sets out to fix digital cinema memory

Mnemonica Archive addresses digital film by treating preservation as an active, monitored process rather than passive storage.

A person with a distinctive, textured skin expression gazes intently, illuminated by a warm, fiery glow in the background. Their features suggest a serious or intense moment, with shadows enhancing the dramatic effect.

9 minute read

Unreal Reality: Building A New Specimen

Director Dimitri Vallein breaks down the real-time production of his Unreal Engine short film New Specimen, from motion capture to cloth sims.

An expansive, dimly lit room with high ceilings, adorned with chandeliers. A large, bulbous object is positioned in the center, while a figure stands before it, surrounded by ornate decor and flowing curtains.

15 minute read

Infinity Hotel: Endless Rooms, Endless Renders

HFF Munich’s VFX students built Infinity Hotel, a hybrid short film merging live action with CGI, LiDAR scans, and Dolby Atmos sound.

A classic silver muscle car displayed in a studio with professional lighting equipment and a large backdrop showing a highway scene, creating a dynamic setting for a photo shoot.

18 minute read

Virtual Production Without the Disney Budget

A Rhode Island studio proves virtual production isn’t just for sci-fi. Door G’s team talks LEDs, Unreal, and the human side of real-time filmmaking.

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A digital 3D scene in Blender showcasing a futuristic environment with abstract geometric shapes, vibrant pink lighting, and a gun-like object in the foreground. The title "OMNISTEP 2" is prominently displayed at the bottom.

OmniStep 2.0 adds modules and dynamic collisions

OmniStep 2.0 adds a module system, dynamic collisions, and workflow tweaks for interactive animation inside Blender.

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Spline Mesher Pro rewrites Unity splines

Staggart Creations rebuilds Spline Mesher Pro with Jobs, Burst, fill meshes and editor LOD support.

Three silhouetted figures in dynamic poses against a textured yellow background. The figures are predominantly red, with one in the center appearing partially outlined in a rectangular box, creating a sense of movement and interaction.

RenderMan 27.2 adds USD and XPU updates

RenderMan 27.2 ships with USD, XPU and workflow updates aimed at production use.

Cinema 4D plugin for organic line growth hits the web

AlgoMesh releases Differential Line Growth, a free Cinema 4D plugin that iterates splines into organic curves.

A collection of colorful 3D spheres displayed on a flat surface, featuring variations in design and texture names labeled underneath. The foreground highlights an orange sphere with black accents and a shiny finish.

280 free automotive Substrate materials for UE 5.7

Epic’s new Automotive Substrate Materials pack on Fab bundles over 280 vehicle-focused Substrate materials plus templates, setup assets, and calibrated maps, targeting consistent results across Lumen and the Path Tracer in Unreal Engine 5.7.3 and later.

A large, healthy tree with a dense canopy of vibrant green leaves and a thick trunk. The tree stands against a plain gray background, showcasing its natural shape and structure.

The Grove 2.3

The Grove 2.3 adds direct drawing, subdivide and export improvements, Houdini Indie support and huge storage savings.

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TweenFX is your free Friday tween sidequest

TweenFX is a free MIT-licensed tween animation plugin for Godot 4, with a demo release updated on 25 Feb 2026.

A group of people in various poses, with a focus on a woman in white attire, overlayed with the text 'SWITCHX' and the tagline 'SWITCH [ANYTHING]. KEEP WHAT MATTERS.' The scene is set against a beach background at dusk.

Beeble SwitchX focuses on easy background swaps

Beeble launches SwitchX, a cloud video-to-video model built for easy background swaps and relighting in 2K.

A promotional banner for FMX 2026, featuring the text 'The Road Ahead' along with event dates: 'On site May 5-7', 'Online & On Campus May 8', 'On Demand May 9 - June 9'. The background shows a sunset over a cityscape. — Advertisement

Promotional graphic for FMX 2026, featuring a futuristic landscape with floating rocks and a bus. The text highlights the event details, including dates and formats: May 5-7 on-site, May 8 online, May 9-June 9 on demand. — Advertisement

A cute, fluffy blue creature with large eyes is centered in a circular frame. Below it, a message in German states "Your video is being generated..." on a dark background, indicating the video will appear soon.

Adobe adds Quick Cut to Firefly Video Editor

Quick Cut auto-builds a first video draft from text prompts inside Firefly Video Editor. Beta starts now.

Nuke 17.0 rewires 3D and adds Gaussian Splats

Nuke 17.0 brings native splats, USD scene graph control, BigCat ML scaling and core performance gains.

A graphic featuring a stylized face in yellow against a dark background, with text reading "The 24th Annual VES Awards" in bold white and gold letters.

VES Awards 2026 names winners and honours

VES Awards 2026 winners named across 24 categories, with Bruckheimer and Taylor receiving top honours.

A collection of spherical textures representing various foods. Above the spheres is the word "FOOD" in bold letters. Textures include honeycomb, a brown speckled surface, an orange zigzag, a fried egg, a green watermelon slice, a pink and white sphere, a black glossy sphere, and a brown textured sphere.

5000 PBR materials, zero node wrangling

5000 PBR materials packaged for Blender Asset Browser, drag and drop, GPL licensed, priced for indies.

A person in a black cloak stands on a rocky cliff overlooking a vast coastline under an overcast sky. The ocean meets the land in the distance, and dark clouds loom above, creating a dramatic scene.

Revcut launches GDPR first Video-review platform

Revcut launches a European GDPR focused video review platform positioning itself as an alternative to US hosted services.

A 3D-rendered crystal with a faceted surface, exhibiting clear colors and internal reflections, displayed against a dark background. The interface of a 3D modeling software shows various tools and options on the right side.

Druckli Tools V2 expands Cinema 4D nodes

Druckli Tools V2 adds rebuilt Plane Split, new distributions and node utilities for Cinema 4D 2026.1 and later.

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Redshift 2026.3 fixes displacement headaches

Redshift 2026.3 is a stability release focused on texture displacement, Hydra USD updates and host bug fixes.

A collection of medieval weapons displayed against a stone wall, including swords, axes, and wooden staffs, showcasing a historical theme with rustic textures and earthy tones.

Quixel Mixer dead, final offline version released

Quixel Mixer is discontinued. Quixel has published a final, free, unsupported offline build, with optional free asset packs that include 800+ assets.

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Close-up of a rhino's head with digital modeling lines and control points overlaid, indicating customization options for animation or design, on a dark background.

Hive adds joint facial rigs to Maya

Hive Auto Rigger now builds full joint based facial rigs in Maya, priced at 40 dollars for the first month.

A computer screen displaying the Multicam Camera Tagger interface for DaVinci Resolve. The window shows options to select media files, with instructions and buttons for operation, against a vibrant blue background with dynamic light effects.

AFX Camera Tagger sorts your Resolve multicam chaos

Free Resolve script auto-tags camera metadata for clean multicam sync. Studio required.

Three translucent cubes arranged on a reflective surface, featuring one red cube and two blue cubes. The cubes have a geometric design with grid patterns evident on their sides, creating an eye-catching visual contrast against a dark background.

3ds Max gets polite workflow babysitters

Small 3ds Max utilities promise faster camera, render and relink tasks. No revolutions, just fewer clicks.

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DJV 3.3.3 fixes flipped export and adds Escape

DJV 3 brings sequence-aware browsing, expanded shortcuts, OCIO UI updates and flipped export fixes through 3.3.3.

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Free Scene Nodes for C4D by Midlet Dufts

Midlet Dufts packages Cinema 4D Scene Nodes setups into usable assets for procedural scene work.

A woman with long hair stands in a sunlit, industrial space, bathed in golden light. In the foreground, a software interface displays a LUT generator with settings for color grading. Dark shadows and soft highlights create a dramatic atmosphere.

Lutbake adds one-key LUT export to Resolve

Time in Pixels releases Nobe LutBake, a macOS tool for one-key high resolution LUT export from Resolve Studio.

borisfxsyntheyes2026livepreviewgeoh digital production

SynthEyes 2026 Speeds Up

SynthEyes 2026 adds a Mocha-powered affine point tracker, real-time GeoH previews and expanded USD support to cut solve iteration time.

FMX 2026 spotlights fire, fur and pipelines

FMX 2026 adds Wētā FX, Pixar and Illogic Studios sessions, plus new Premium Partners AMCRS, Accenture Song VFX and AYON.

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A promotional image featuring the directors for the 2026 Best Animated Feature Oscar. The background is red with the text 'MEET THE CONTENDERS.' It showcases five animated characters and their respective directors, along with the event details.

Oscar animation directors go live online

Five Oscar nominated animation directors. One free Zoom panel. February 27. Register, log in, ask questions.

A screen displaying video editing software with a landscape of mountains and orange tents. Three people in red jackets are working near the tents, while the user interface shows editing tools and clips below.

Blackmagic Schedules Free Resolve School

Blackmagic runs free live Resolve training from February to April covering edit, Fusion, colour and audio.

Foundry buys Griptape to “orchestrate AI”

Foundry acquires Griptape to add "AI orchestration" to Nuke and broader VFX pipelines.

A close-up view of a brick wall divided into two sections; the left side shows a well-preserved brick texture, while the right side features a distressed and weathered appearance with patches of paint and moss.

RealBlend brings mesh painting back to Unity

New Unity mesh painting tool targets Polybrush users with in editor vertex colour and mesh editing features.

VFX School Closes and Leaves the Lights On

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