Autodesk announced Toxik 2008 — and the big news is that it will now be offered as a standalone app without the database. This is hugely welcome news, as it brings Toxik to the same type of app as Nuke, Fusion, and Shake. It would be one thing if it used a database and as an artist you didn’t know it. But this wasn’t the case with the app, as Oracle added to the apps complexity and requirements. Now it can be judged on its merits as a compositing tool without being burdened by the database.
The price was also reduced as well…single versions are available….and bicubics. We’ll have coverage about this news from Siggraph next week on fxguidetv, but until then you can read the press release by clicking the read more link….
The press release follows:
Autodesk Launches Autodesk Toxik 2008 Software for Feature Film Visual Effects
Addresses Growing Need to Bridge 2D and 3D Workflows in Visual Effects Pipelines
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Aug.1, 2007 Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), today launched Autodesk Toxik 2008, the latest version of its desktop software for feature film procedural compositing. Toxik has shaped numerous blockbuster films, including Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Apocalypto and The Fountain. Designed for visual effects artists, Toxik 2008 combines an extensive creative toolset with real-time, interactive compositing of high-dynamic-range imagery (HDRI).
Toxik 2008 is available as a stand-alone product on both the Windows and Linux operating systems. It offers greater interoperability with Autodesk Maya 3D modeling, animation and rendering software, thereby helping artists combine 2D and 3D techniques to solve complex production problems,
“The growing scale and complexity of computer-generated imagery in visual effects work is driving convergence between 2D and 3D pipelines,†said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “Transferring camera and rendering information from Maya to Toxik allows artists to make creative decisions in an interactive environment; in the context of live-action footage or computer-generated elements. This gives artists more freedom to experiment and allows them to quickly achieve the shot they want for their client.â€Â
With the latest technology in HDRI, Toxik 2008 gives users a greater dynamic range of exposures than traditional digital imaging techniques, accurately representing a wide range of intensity levels, ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows. With the combination of real-time, interactive compositing of 2K, 4K and higher-resolution imagery, and a deep creative toolset, Toxik 2008 allows users to combine computer-generated and live-action footage to create compelling content for today’s high-end films and television shows.
“During Pirates of the Caribbean: at World’s End, we used Toxik extensively alongside Flame for both prep work and full compositing of shots,†said Phil Brennan, Head of Production at Asylum. “Toxik’s Python scripting and Wiretap interface enabled the two products to work seamlessly together, greatly increasing the efficiency of our compositing pipeline.”
Key New Features in Toxik 2008
- Bicubic Warping: Allows users to manipulate image distortion and perspective to create photo-realistic composites
- Interoperability with Maya: the Maya render layers, cameras, locators, axis and world space information load directly into Toxik, allowing users to add live-action elements or 3D post techniques like depth-of-field and motion blur.
- Versioning Tool: Allows users to manage multiple iterations and outputs with support for multi-channel open EXR import.
For a complete feature listing and to learn more about Toxik 2008 visit www.autodesk.com/toxik.
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that Toxik 2008 (Windows and Linux) will be available worldwide fall 2007. North American suggested retail pricing for one Toxik creative seat is US $3,485*. Toxik 2008 will be demonstrated on August 6, 2007 at Autodesk’s San Diego User Group Event and will also be showcased at the SIGGRAPH 2007 conference in San Diego, California from August 7-9, 2007 at Autodesk Booth #703.
*International pricing may vary.
The previous product version, Toxik 2007, is available on both Windows and Linux operating systems, featuring a fully integrated, high-performance Oracle database that offers transparent metadata management, multi-user collaboration and advanced version tracking for film pipelines.
Sounds like the end of Combustion to me.
Why just Windows and Linux? Where is the version for Mac?
shouldn’t the headline read “SAY GOODBYE TO COMBUSTION”?
Say kaboom to Combustion, so clunky.
why loosing the database is good news? sure having the app without it as an option is great, for most users now. But is a great not having to save… 😉 what does combustion has to do with anything?.. merge the good things of C into Toxik, nothing to lose ..
No, it’s no big deal except that this company has zero skills at Customer Relationship Management. I bought Combustion in March ’04 over After Effects thinking that Discreet/Autodesk was committed to this application. It turns out that Adobe was more committed than that former. Yes, Toxik sounds nice but I bought Combustion for a 1k and was expecting that upgrades to take me into the future with this application. Now, I’m beginning to feel the sting of what some of the Discreet Edit people have said of this company with regard to how they end products with no warning.
The only thing I can say is that I hope that if Combustion is dead that they offer a decent upgrade pricing opportunity to us Combustion user. And, I really mean decent. Otherwise, they can get on down the road. I’m using Final Cut Studio more and more anyway. Maybe the new Shake (whenever it surfaces will solve my problems).
i followed the development of toxik since beta 1.0 and i think it is the right step to gain more users. i think it is one of the main isues to push in a market. and the db won ´t be gone. in a real production enviroment with more then 3-5 useres it definitely makes sense. i manly work i feature film pipelines and was allways trying to get shake connected to dbs (it works, no doubt), but that is exactly why i followed toxik. and it is so intuitiv!
cause everybody is talking about combustion: i ´m a cmb user for a long time and i kinda love it. but its time has come and to all of you cmbs out there: if you see toxik you will definitely find alot you allready know plus some cool more stuff.
as coming from combustion and iff but now focused on shakei would say it is a cool union of all three.not in every point but in general.
i think nuke and hopefully toxik will be the future in at least feature film compositing.
my 2 cents
nanuk
I’m not at all concerned about the future of Combustion. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear an announcement about Combustion2008 before the end of the year.
You should also note that the announcement says “bicubic warping”, NOT “extended bicubics”. i.e. The bicbics are not extended.
From the specs, it appears eyon Fusion has more tools, like a built in particle system.
Maybe I missed something?
But Toxic 2008 is a lot less expensive, surprising for an Autodesk app, hehehe.
they are coming out with another upgrade for combustion. im a student so i got combustion and maya 8 for 300$
yep, the next one to go is autodesk viz, its been replaced by the new version of max 2009. no more viz folks, sorry, its been announced – just very quitely in an autodesk back forum somewhere, lol.