Skymatter Announces Free Trial of Mudbox 1.0.4

Toronto, ON (PRWeb) February 14, 2007 -- Skymatter Limited, a high-end provider of 3D software tools, today announced the immediate availability of a free trial of Mudbox™ 1.0.4, the company's advanced 3D sculpting software. The free trial offers all the capabilities of the professional version and can be downloaded at www.mudbox3d.com/downloadTrial.html.

Mudbox is a next-generation, high-resolution, brush-based 3D sculpting software application designed for the professional digital sculptor. Since its public beta debut in December 2005 and official release in December 2006, Mudbox has become a primary tool at top visual effects and game development companies, and recently received the highest ranking of any software on CG Society's prestigious retrospective top 20 list for 2006. (Editors' note: Mudbox images are available at: http://www.mudbox3d.com/gallery/index.html)

According to Skymatter co-founders, Andrew Camenisch, Tibor Madjar and Dave Cardwell, all professional CG artists formerly with Weta Digital, their work on projects such as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy highlighted the need for better 3D sculpting. The result is Mudbox.

"As production professionals, we're committed to setting a new quality standard in digital sculpting," says Camenisch. "Mudbox frees artists to realize their creative potential, quickly and affordably. This free trial will allow artists to experience the depth of the toolset and the ease-of-use, together with its ability to breathe life into digital sculpture."

"We're exhilarated by the interest expressed in Mudbox from artists requiring production tools that improve workflow, speed and integration," added Madjar. "We're more motivated and committed than ever to providing digital tools that transform the way professionals and consumers create and interact with digital content."

"Mudbox is a brilliantly designed, brush-based modeling package," said Sven Jensen, senior character modeler at Academy Award®-winning Tippett Studio, in Berkeley, CA. "The addition of Adobe Photoshop® style layering for displacements is nothing short of genius. The amazing brushes, stencils, and mirroring capabilities make for a powerhouse program."

About Mudbox
Mudbox is the first advanced, high resolution, brush-based 3D sculpting software specifically designed for the professional digital sculptor. The Mudbox toolkit integrates seamlessly with applications such as Autodesk® Maya® and SOFTIMAGE|XSI®, fusing an intuitive user interface, a consistent structure, and revolutionary new tools into a uniquely purpose-built solution.

Key features and capabilities include:
• Intuitive, user-friendly interface.
• Powerful 3D layering delivers the industry's first true production-tested 3D layers. Sculpt nondestructively, and store different detail passes, diverse design directions or libraries of morph targets on multiple layers, blending them with multiplier sliders and layer masks.
• Innovative level streaming technology and local subdivision allows for an increase of mesh resolution limits, even on ordinary 32 bit machines.
• True 3D camera delivers perspective and orthographic views. Create, import and delete multiple cameras and camera bookmarks.
• "Tangent Space" symmetry enables symmetrical sculpting on asymmetrical models. An industry first, this unique capability saves time and offers a production-tested technique for working efficiently on posed or asymmetrical models.
• Fast high-quality 3D brushes, including the Mudbox Scratch brush, enable artists to sculpt sharp forms on dense models at any speed without blobby stamping.
• High quality texture baking generates high quality normal and displacement maps between multiple arbitrary meshes.

Industry Accolades for Mudbox
Mudbox recently received the highest ranking of any software on CG Society's Top 20 list for 2006 . The list, featured in "CG Retrospective 2006" and published in December 2006 at www.cgsociety.org, ranks the most significant products of 2006 as recognized by CG Society members. Mudbox ranked higher than Autodesk Maya 8 64-bit, Autodesk® 3ds Max® 64-bit, Chaos V-Ray ®1.5, Newtek LightWave® v9, SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6, and other industry heavyweights.
"We're honored that Mudbox is already being recognized as a technology innovation," said Dave Cardwell, Skymatter co-founder. "We wish to acknowledge the awesome community of professionals using Mudbox and their feedback to our development team which will help us continue to push the boundaries of our future efforts."

Pricing and Availability
Mudbox software is available for purchase directly from Skymatter at www.mudbox3d.com. Mudbox Professional pricing starts at US $649. Floating (network) seats and Gold Support options are also available. A non-commercial version, Mudbox Basic, is available for US $299. For additional product and download information, please visit, www.mudbox3d.com.

About Skymatter Limited
Skymatter Limited is a 3D software company committed to providing real-world solutions for the high-end visual effects, game development, and design industries. The company co-founders, Tibor Madjar, Andrew Camenisch, and Dave Cardwell, are professional CG artists formerly with Weta Digital. Skymatter's flagship product, Mudbox, is a groundbreaking 3D sculpting solution that is helping to redefine the world of digital content creation. Mudbox is a primary tool at many of the most notable film studios and production facilities, including Weta Digital, Blur Studio, Cinesite, Naughty Dog (a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment), Tippett Studio, Epic Studios, The Orphanage, Radical Entertainment, and many others. Additional information about Skymatter Limited or Mudbox can be obtained at: http://www.mudbox3d.com/contactUs.html.

Mudbox is a trademark of Skymatter Limited. Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems. LightWave is a registered trademark of NewTek. Autodesk, Maya and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. V-Ray is a registered trademark of Chaos Software Ltd. in Bulgaria and/or other countries. SOFTIMAGE and XSI are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact
Vicky Gray-Clark/Ambient Public Relations
408-629-8842,

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