EMERYVILLE, CA – Pixar Animation Studios has released version 20 of its Academy Award-winning RenderMan software, introducing innovations allowing cinematic-quality imagery to be created more easily and faster than previously possible.
Highlights include a noise reduction technology that directly addresses the problem of image artifacts associated with physically based raytracers.
RenderMan 20 also includes a physical camera, a Visualizer for navigating and inspecting large scenes interactively, expanded shader libraries and presets, and new volume rendering features. A new Marschner hair shader represents the first time Pixar has shipped shading technology specifically developed for use in its feature films, making available Pixar-quality hair and fur.
In addition, RenderMan’s advanced customization is emphasized through a new light filter API. Rendering shots for dailies is also faster with new enhancements to RenderMan’s noted image checkpointing, allowing entire shots to be quickly previewed nearly immediately and at full resolution.
Free Non-Commercial RenderMan is now upgraded to version 20, as well.