Posted by Torgeir Holm on 30.5.2012 | Category: Related news
This free update adds support for 3ds Max 2013, as well as other improvements.
New Features:
Improved Mask Generation for Objects:
The Separated Objects Output of psd-manager that is used to create masks for specific objects was further improved to simplify ease of use. The new command "Add Selected" allows to quickly add all selected objects in the scene to the list of objects to generate PSD layers/channels for.
For still images psd-manager now automatically filters out objects that do not actually appear in the image, like objects that are hidden, outside the field of view or even ones occluded by other objects. This unlocks a new 'lazy' workflow, where artists may simply pick a large amount of objects for mask generation and then for example render multiple views using the same PSD setup. Each rendered PSD file will then only contain layers/channels for those objects appearing in the respective view.
UI Improvements:
Descriptive icons were added to all PSD layer and channel channel output types to simplify choosing among them, especially for new users. Icons have also been added to the common Move Up/Down operations for organizing layers and channels.
Support for 3ds Max 2013 & 3ds Max 2013 Design:
psd-manager now supports Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 and 3ds Max Design 2013. The new Unicode support in 3ds Max 2013 extends to the PSD file format itself. Different languages, symbols and other special characters can now be used freely as part of PSD file, layer and channel names and also anywhere in the user interface. Combining mutiple psd-manager render effects with State Sets allows for a very flexible render output. PSD output options can either be setup per render pass or shared among multiple passes this way.
PSD Filesize reduction:
The support of a new compression algorithm for 16 bit PSD files can reduce the filesize significantly, especially of PSD files with many channels. In addition new compatibility options allow to suppress saving the compsoite image (an additional flattened embedded copy) to reduce the PSD filesize. If the composite image is saved, After Effects now imports these PSD files faster as "merged layers" thanks to a new marker in the PSD file indicating the presence of the composite image.
Free Trial & After Effects Plug-in:
A free trial version of psd-manager 3.2 for 3ds Max can now be downloaded from the psd-manager website. A free After Effects plug-in providing 3D -camera and point helper animation transfer from 3ds Max to After Effects is also included.
Bug Fix:
A single bug was fixed, which prevented the render and render elements gamma correction to be configured independently.
