Last week Luxology and The Foundry announced a merger. The CG/VFX scene was all abuzz and many a product designer head was popping out of cubicle, office windows and coffee shop to see what the craziness was all about. We caught up with Luxology CEO Brad Peebler to get the lowdown on the merger and find out exactly what it means for product designers who use modo.
Modeling meet motion effects
So, the Foundry is mostly known for its software used throughout the Movie VFX industry and most notably for the Nuke CG Composition tool. While the advance version of Nuke can be used to generate simple models, point-clouds and particles, it’s modo that many turn to first for the modeling, animation and rendering bits, then to Nuke for the video effects. Where does modo for product design fit in? Here’s what we asked Brad.
The Merger Q&A talks a little about what this means for design customers, can you elaborate?
I always do elaborate!
Ok, how will the merger and the complimentary products relate to the product design field?
Obviously Luxology focus has been spread across many markets the last several years between design and visualization, games, film and VFX. The merger with The Foundry means we have now close to 200 people working with us. The Foundry team is laser focused on film and VFX and will help take our tech further into that space which provides us more time to focus on the other markets with design as one of the most important. We also plan to nearly double our dev team in the near future. As you can imagine this will be very useful for all modo users.
Also, The Foundry has a product called Mari which I think the design community will find very interesting. Mari is an incredibly high end 3D painting system with a painting toolset rivaling the best 2D paint apps. Since many designers come from the 2D world I believe modo and Mari will make for a nice combo to ease them into 3D.
Does it simply make compositing, shot management, etc more accessible to modo users?
That too but so much more! The Foundry has many tools and technologies. Obviously most people know them for Nuke but they also have afterFX plugins and an advanced research group working on magical new space age technologies. We’d like to get their chocolate in our peanut butter. But I’m getting ahead of myself!
Is there a workflow example or cad, design, architecture firm already realizing the combination? Most feel this relates to media and entertainment, but would love to show how it applies to design!
Until now, The Foundry really has focused entirely on VFX and film. There are examples of companies like idea using their tech but it is more the exception than the rule. However, with our knowledge and contacts in the design space you can bet that will be changing. Designers should have a look at their website. I think you will like what you see and while much of it may not be directly applicable to you I think you’ll immediately see the potential of their tech in the design space.
With modo’s modeling and rigging and the Foundry’s Adobe After Effects plugins and products like Mari, it’s easy to see how each can compliment the other. As Adam Ohern of cadjunkie said, when he saw this, “Any CEO that says the phrase ‘We want their chocolate in our peanut butter’ is okay by me.”
You can see the press release and other info here.
modo Image: Clive Biley www.parkerbiley.com
