Platform
Cross-platform support for Mac & Windows
64-bit architecture
Outstanding stability
OpenGL 3.0 support
Extensive API: C++, Python, C.O.F.F.E.E.
Interface & Workflow
Context-sensitive, fully-searchable HTML help
Multiple projects open at once
Customizable toolbars / layouts / menus
Light and dark interface schemes
Unlimited view windows
Head-up display
Custom pop-up menu
Non-modal tools with realtime feedback
Collapsible Managers & Palettes
Selection / display filters
Custom User Data per object
Doodle viewport annotation tool
Layer system for object & material management
XRef external instancing / referencing system
Tablet support for Wacom and other pen tablets
3dconnexion 3DMouse support
Data Exchange / Format Support
Quicktime support
AVI support (Windows only)
Image formats - float with layers: PSD, TIFF
Image formats - float: HDR, DPX, RLA, RPF, OpenEXR
Image formats: BMP, IFF, JPG, PICT, PNG, TARGA
Quicktime VR object, panorama
After Effects compositing exchange with 3D data
Apple Motion compositing exchange with 3D data
Apple Final Cut Pro compositing exchange (Mac only)
Combustion compositing exchange
Digital Fusion compositing exchange (Win only)
Shake compositing exchange
Support of DXF, DWG, 3DS, DAE, FBX, DEM, LWS, SRL, VRML2, OBJ formats
IGES importer
CAD file import via optional Okino PolyTrans
BodyPaint 3D exchange - 3ds Max
BodyPaint 3D exchange - Maya
BodyPaint 3D exchange - Softimage
odyPaint 3D exchange - LightWave 3D
Modeling Tools
Parametric object primitives
Parametric spline primitives
Extrude, Lathe, Loft, Sweep NURBS
Polygonal modeling tools with N-gon support
HyperNURBs subdivision surfaces
Modeling Generators: Metaball, Boolean, Symmetry, Array, Atom Array, Instance, Connect
Deformers: Bend, Twist, Bulge, Shear, Taper, FFD, Formula, Wind, Explosion, Melt, Shatter, Wrap, Polygon Reduction, Spherify, Spline Rail, Spline Deformer
Displacement Deformer
Camera Deformer
Smoothing Deformer
Spline Wrap Deformer
Shrinkwrap Deformer
UV Editing
UV editor
Interactive UV mapping by projection types
Optimal UV mapping to automatically remove seams
LSCM unwrapping and relaxing
ABF unwrapping and relaxing
Materials & Texturing
14 standard material channels: Color, Diffusion, Luminance, Transparency, Reflection, Environment, Fog, Bump, Normal, Alpha, Specular, Specular Color, Glow, Displacement
Transparency with absorption, total internal reflections, exit reflections
Blurry reflections and transparencies
Normal Maps: tangent, object or world
Displacement: intensity (centered), red/green and RGB
Choose Photoshop PSD layers per usage
Animated textures (MOV, AVI, sequence) with viewport preview
Selectable viewport resolution and channel display per material
Shading Models: Phong, Blinn, Oren-Nayer
Fresnel Procedural Shader
Noise Procedural Shader with 32 different noise algorithms
Layer Shader
Proximity-based Proximal Shader
Procedural surface shaders
Texture baking: surface color, illumination, ambient occlusion, normals, displacement and more
Sub-polygon displacement
Sub-surface scattering
Enhanced Brick Shader
Pavement Shader
Sketch & Toon Art Shader
Sketch & Toon Hatch Shader
Sketch & Toon Spots (Halftone) Shader
3D Painting with layers, all blend modes and Photoshop file compatibility
Multibrush painting of multiple material channels in single stroke
Raybrush painting directly onto rendered result
Projection painting
Exchange projections with Photoshop
Camera mapping
ProjectionMan camera mapping workflow tool
Lighting
Light Types: Omni, Spot, Infinite, Area, Square Spot, Parallel Spot, Square Parallel Spot
Hard, Soft, Area Shadows
Visible, Volumetric and Inverse Volumetric Lighting
Noise within light illumination or visibility
Include/exclude light diffusion, specular, shadow per object
Custom lens flares
Caustics
Colortemperature in Kelvin
Photometric brightness setting in Candela and lumen
Support of IES light data
Rendering
Render up to 16,000 pixels square / 32 bits per pixel
Bucket rendering
Render Instances
Color profile support
Camera White Balance
Linear Workflow
Adaptive anti-aliasing
Multi-Pass output
Object buffers - specify unique alpha channels per object
Ambient Occlusion
Global Illumination (IR, QMC, Mixed)
Depth of Field post effect
Vector Motion Blur post effect
CineMan Renderman-compliant bridge
Sketch and Toon non-photorealistic rendering
Pyrocluster volumetric particle rendering
Physical Sky - realistic sky shading with 2D and 3D clouds, accurate sun and star positions, fog and atmosphere effects
3D Sound Rendering
Picture Viewer with RAM playback (including sound), history, AB compare, histogram, layer view, color correction, full screen mode
Render Queue batch rendering system
Up to 3 Network Rendering clients
Unlimited Network rendering clients
Animation
Easy one-click record button to keyframe Position, Scale, Rotation, Point Level animation and user-defined parameters
Record-dot animation of all animatable parameters
Automatic keyframing
Cappucino - realtime keyframing
PowerSlider animation toolbar for playback and keyframe manipulation
Up to four timelines windows with customizable track display and dopesheet or F-Curve view modes
F-Curve Snapshots and Reduced Modification Curves
Constant Velocity option per track
Keyframe reduction
Keyframe baking
ASCII animation import
Non-linear animation / motion mixing system
Constraints: PSR, Up-Vector, Clamp, Mirror, Parent, Aim, Spring
Driver tag
XPresso - node based expression editor
Virtual Walkthrough tool - first-person scene navigation and animation
Dynamic Animation
Basic particle system
Thinking Particles node-based particle system
Rigid Body dynamics (limited to MoGraph objects)
Thinking Particles node-based particle system
Rigid Body Dynamics
Joints, Springs, Motors
Soft Body Dynamics
Cloth dynamics & dressing functions
Hair dynamics
Spline dynamics
MoGraph Tools
Cloner object
Fracture object
Matrix object
Instance object
Text object
Tracer object
Spline Mask object
MoSpline parametric spline generator with L-system functionality
Effect Position, Scale, Rotation, Color, Time via Falloff, Shader, Random, Formula, Delay, C.O.F.F.E.E., Inheritance, Sound, Spline, Step, Target, Time or Volume
PolyFX polygon fracture deformer
MoGraph Selection tag
Beat Shader
Multi-shader - affect texture based on clone color
Extrude Deformer
Character Animation Tools
Joints with full dynamic IK
Skin Deformer supporting linear, spherical and blended deformation based on joints
Weighting Manager and tools
PoseMorph morphing and hierarchical mixing system
Mirror tool
Naming tool
Paint tool
Weight Effector
VAMP tool for translating weights, morphs, selection, textures, Uvs and vertex maps between different geometry
Cluster Deformer
Morph Deformer
Jiggle Deformer
Tension tag
Quaternion tag
Point Cache tag
Point Cache Deformer
Correction Deformer
Surface Deformer
Mesh Deformer
Squash & Stretch Deformer
Visual Selector
Hair Simulation and Rendering
Guide-based Hair system
Hair instancing
Feather object
Fur system
Hair styling tools: Move, Scale, Rotate, Brush, Comb, Clump, Curl, Cut, Push, Straighten, Add Guides, Mirror, Set Roots
Hair dynamics
Hair shading system with multiple speculars, texture-defined root and tip colors, and variable transparency, thickness, length, scale, frizz, kink, density, clump, tighten, displace, bend, curl, twist, wave, straighten
Content
Essential presets and demo scenes
Advanced presets and demo scenes
Broadcast Library incl. materials, cameras and objects
Visualization Library incl. materials, presets and architectural objects