3D World issue 73

IN THE MAGAZINE

Behind the scenes on King Kong
We speak exclusively to Weta Digital about the legendary studio’s most hair-raising VFX challenge yet: a 25-foot virtual actor without a single line of dialogue, but 5.5 million strands of fur! Plus: Ubisoft on porting Kong from cinema to game console

Realistic fur
And once you’ve seen the state of the art, why not create your own virtual primate with our step-by-step guide to simulating photorealistic fur in Maya Unlimited

Top five CG job problems solved!
The problems come from a poll of leading VFX artists: the answers come from a top employment lawyer. If you’re having trouble with the boss, you need to read this now

Tips and tutorials
Create martial arts animation in MotionBuilder with the mo-cap data on our CD; render perfect automotive imagery; mimic real-world exterior lighting; plus tips for 3ds Max, Bryce, Cinema 4D, LightWave, MatchMover Pro, Maya, Shake and XSI

On test this issue
Every 3D artist needs storage, and we’ve got five of the best internal hard drives on test. Software reviews include Shade 8 Pro, BodyPaint 3D 2.5, SyFlex 3.5 and CAT2. Plus the new 3D Buzz DVDs: the best Maya training currently available?

Plus…
The future of 3D graphics hardware; Chris Cunningham and The Mill get together for the new Sony PSP ad; the unlikely conclusion to our series of production diaries from 24: The Game - and possibly the funniest student short ever made…

ON THE CD

DX Studio 1.24 Standard: as sold for £205
Turn your 3D models into interactive animations for the Web or DVD with this full copy of Worldweaver’s popular real-time 3D package

3D models worth $705
Seven high-quality models of cars, planes and weapons created by talented artist Patrik Marek, and supplied in MAX and 3DS formats

Over two hours of 3D Buzz video training
Get to grips with networks in Maya with this series of tutorials recorded by the celebrated video training company

And much more!
Other disc contents include the Personal Learning Edition of MotionBuilder 7, mo-cap data supplied by the Centroid 3D Group, and 22 free photographic textures