2006: Getting Into Character

Softimage Co.
20 Years of Character Animation Innovation
Founded in 1986, Softimage has always been the company that character
animators look to for intuitive tools that allow them to work artistically.
Our founding principles are rooted in the idea that, regardless of its
technological underpinnings, 3D content creation is a fundamentally
artistic pursuit – that technology should empower artists, not restrict
them. For the last twenty years Softimage has set a breakneck pace of
innovation that has driven the 3D industry forward.

1988 Softimage launches Creative Environment 1.0 at SIGGRAPH. For the first time
ever, all 3D content creation processes are integrated in a single application. This heralds
a new approach to 3D content creation – one where animator-focused 3D tools take the
place of more traditional, CAD oriented concepts.

1991 Softimage introduces Inverse Kinematics, Envelopes, and Constraints in Creative
Environment’s Actor module. Combined with traditional techniques, such as editing and
keyframing, these technologies allow artists to create realistic CG character motion for
the first time.

Actor module technology goes on to win an Award from the Academy of Motion Picure
Arts and Sciences.

1992 Channels performance capture technology adds motion capture to the character
animator’s arsenal, allowing real-world actor movement to drive 3D characters.

1993 With lifelike character animation a reality, increasingly complex projects demand
realistic lighting, rendering and effects technologies. Softimage integrates mental ray®
rendering technology, making sophisticated effects and distributed rendering technology
available in a 3D content creation package for the first time.

1995 The SOFTIMAGE® Sega Design Toolkit is released, representing the first ever
3D content pipeline for 3D game characters.

1998 Softimage introduces the Animation Sequencer: the world’s first high-level
clip-based animation editing tool. This is the precursor of the powerful SOFTIMAGE|XSI®
Animation Mixer.

2001 Softimage introduces powerful new tools for character creators:

• Animation tools, like Bridge transitions, High-Level Editing tools and IK/FK blending
  make it easier for artists to create and tune realistic animations.
• The industry’s fastest high-end subdivision surface modeler, and advanced Hair tools
  are key innovations for creating organic characters.
• Realtime Shaders provide game developers with the first truly programmable
  display pipeline in a 3D content creation tool, making it possible to prototype,
  visualize and preview in-game effects without exporting to an on-target viewer.

2005 Non-destructive character setup tools allow modeling, texturing, and even
rigging changes to be made to fully rigged and animated characters. GATOR (the
Generalized Attribute Transfer Operator) allows artists to easily transfer any surface
properties – from textures to weight maps to shape animation and more – between
models of any complexity or topology. Artists no longer have to start from scratch
when building a character.

Ultimapper generates and transfers cinematic quality normal and other surface attribute
maps. This allows game artists to easily bake high levels of surface detail into low-resolution, engine-friendly models.

2006 Softimage releases SOFTIMAGE®|FACE ROBOT™ 1.0, a groundbreaking face
animation toolset that drastically reduces the time required to prepare a face for animation.
Face Robot represents a completely new way of preparing and animating realistic and
lifelike faces.