3D program adds sky, irradiance, gamma abilities

E Frontier and Mirye Software are teasing features of the next version of Shade, the two companies' 3D rendering, modeling and animation program. The new version, called Shade 13, is accessible through Shade X, an early-access channel for paid subscribers. So far, the companies have offered sneak peeks at three new features: advanced irradiance caching, real-time gamma correction and a sky-generation feature.

Shade X participants are under a Non-Disclosure Agreement not to talk about new features before they are publicly revealed, the company has been slowly unveiling the new features through seminars recorded on UStream (the latest seen below) along with announcements on Facebook and on the Shade website.

Together, the three features publicly revealed demonstrate greater refinement in how the program handles lighting and environmental factors that may affect lighting. Minye plans to reveal more new features in future live seminars, which are recorded and available through UStream for later playback.

Shade comes in three versions starting at $99 for the Basic version, which is available both from Minye as well as the Mac App Store. The Standard and Professional versions are sold through Minye and reseller partners for $350 and $750 respectively. The program is available for both Mac and Windows in 32- and 64-bit editions to cover a wide range of operating system releases.

Customers interested in getting advance copies of the software can sign up for the Shade X early-access channel. The finished version of Shade is expected to be released sometime in early summer. Uses who buy Shade 12 after April 6th will receive the new version at no charge when it is released.

by MacNN Staff