Autodesk Softimage was king of 3D animation software for a long time, and although its popularity has fallen somewhat in the face of strong competitors, it is still one of the best options available to modelers and animators. This software is well integrated into the broadcast television industry, which requires rapid content production. Television programs do not have the time or budget of a movie, but fans still expect quality and realism from every episode. This 3D animation software is our TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award winner because it meets these demands, and the buck does not stop there: Softimage is also capable of cinema-quality animation and lower-poly modeling for use in games.
If you ask veteran Softimage users their favorite part of the software, they are very likely to say ICE. That is an acronym for Interactive Creative Environment, and it is all about giving you a smooth, easy-to-follow workflow for applying special effects to your models. It employs a flow-chart style diagram that gives you easy control over complicated 3D effects and their relative impact on the mesh. ICE allows you to deform your models, rig them for animation and even create particles. Although these features are available in most 3D animation software bundles, Softimage's ICE does all this without requiring scripting, which makes for faster content production. With ICE, you can create realistic effects under a deadline.
The Generalized Attribute Transfer Operator (GATOR) allows for fast production. The magic behind GATOR is an algorithm that compares two models and approximates the corresponding points between them. Once it has performed these calculations, it can transfer attributes, textures and even animation settings from one model to the other. This tool makes the arduous task of texturing high-poly models much easier; just create a UV map for a similar mesh with a lower poly count and use GATOR to transfer the data. GATOR's application extends far beyond mere texturing. It can also transfer texture to high-poly meshes and animate characters much more quickly than doing all of that from scratch with each model you build. Many 3D modeling and animation studios have used GATOR to great effect under pressure from short deadlines. It is one of the many assets that make Softimage great for creating broadcast television content.
You will also fall in love with Lagoa, Softimage's multiphysics engine. It excels in simulating compressible and elastic fluids (such as clouds or blowing air) in addition to incompressible or inelastic fluids (like water or viscous slime.)
Like other Autodesk products, Softimage takes advantage of mental ray software to render light. This process is known as global illumination, and it is well known for producing photorealistic lighting conditions. Mental ray performs calculations that simulate actual rays of light as they bounce around in an environment, producing ambient light the way is looks in real life. Thanks to mental ray, this 3D animation software is capable of rendering beautiful, realistic images.
Softimage XSI's Face Robot is a powerful facial animation tool that provides flexibility even in the later stages of production. You can rig up character faces to show expressions in the eyebrows, eyelids, nose, mouth and pretty much anything else. It is highly customizable, so you will be able to rig different faces in different ways, according to the needs of each character. We especially like the automatic lip-syncing tool included with the Face Robot. It has the amazing ability to animate lips from audio files and even batches of text. This is perfect for animating dialogue on the fly, and makes it extremely easy to redub in other languages. Game studios love Face Robot because the ease of translation opens up the possibility of international releases.
The animation mixer makes the animation process feel like a video-editing process, which is very natural and comfortable. Layered support makes it easy for you to isolate certain aspects of the scene. You can apply motion capture data in the animation mixer environment as well, creating realistic motion for your models.
Softimage will take some work to get used to. Although tools like ICE really improve workflow for experienced users, their functions might not be apparent to beginners. Once you are over the hump and have a good familiarity with Softimage's basic features, you will find the toolset to be useful and very unique.
Autodesk provides online tutorials to help new users familiarize themselves with the software. If you do not have an experienced user on hand to help you learn the ropes, you will find these tutorials invaluable. Additionally, you can seek technical support from Autodesk via email or join the discussion group to learn from the community of Softimage users.
Autodesk Softimage is great for professional use in broadcast television, cinema and game development. Although it can stand alone as a top-notch 3D animation software package, the unique features and tools make it a worthy supplement to any animation studio and can be just the thing to help you wriggle out of time-sensitive situations.
