Demo Reel - July 2026 Shaders and Tools I'm a technical artist who builds production-ready tools and materials, and I occasionally teach how I solved interesting problems. #Blender #UE5 #UnrealEngine #SubstancePainter #SubstanceDesigner #Shaders #Tools #TechnicalArtist #DemoReel #ShowReel #Portfolio

Substance 3D Painter 12.2 is here, bringing a useful upgrade to 3D texturing workflows. The latest update lets artists paint baking cages directly onto their models, giving them more control over mesh baking and helping address common issues with normal maps and other baked textures. This addition can make it easier to fine-tune complex assets, reduce projection errors, and achieve cleaner results without relying entirely on external modeling tools. For 3D artists working on game assets, props, and detailed environments, greater control over baking means a smoother workflow and more time to focus on the creative details that matter. Small workflow improvements can make a big difference in production, especially when precision and consistency are essential. Discover what's new in Substance 3D Painter 12.2 and how the update could improve your texturing pipeline. Read More: 80.lv/articles/substance-3d-… #Substance3DPainter #AdobeSubstance3D #3DArt #Texturing #GameArt #3DModeling #DigitalArt

How do hardware companies like Arm collaborate with game developers to push gaming technology forward? In a new Game Developer Podcast episode, Peter Hodges, Arm’s director of ecosystem strategy for developer platforms, discusses how close collaboration between toolmakers and developers helps optimize performance and improve game development workflows. The conversation explores Arm Neural Technology and how mobile developers can accelerate lighting workflows and support more lights using tools such as Unreal Engine’s MegaLights. It’s a look at how hardware innovation, software tools, and developer feedback come together to unlock new possibilities for real-time graphics, mobile gaming, and more efficient production pipelines. The episode also touches on the creative side of technology, including the short film Lemon from 1969. Discover how toolmakers and game developers work together to shape the future of interactive experiences. Read More: gamedeveloper.com/art/how-to… #GameDevelopment #Arm #UnrealEngine #MobileGaming #RealTimeRendering #GameTech

How is AI changing the value of artists in the creative industry? Ingi Erlingsson, co-founder of Golden Wolf and founder of SYSTMS, explores how AI is reshaping animation, motion design, and the business of creative studios. As AI makes production faster and execution more accessible, the real differentiators may be an artist's taste, storytelling, creative intent, and ability to direct the process. The conversation also tackles creative control, ethical AI training, and what these changes mean for artists' livelihoods. In a world where technology can generate more in less time, what makes human creativity truly valuable? The answer may lie not just in making the work, but in knowing what is worth creating. Read More: schoolofmotion.com/blog/ingi… #ArtificialIntelligence #AIArt #MotionDesign #Animation #CreativeIndustry #DigitalArt #FutureOfWork

Plasticity 2026.2 is here, bringing powerful new features to hard-surface modeling and 3D design workflows. The latest update introduces a new Assets system for creating and sharing reusable component libraries, making repetitive modeling tasks more efficient. Artists also get a Curvature Analysis shader to identify surface imperfections, improved alignment tools, and enhanced snapping and viewport controls. For Studio users, the new surfacing constraints system helps maintain continuity between connected curves and surfaces during edits, offering greater control over complex geometry. Additional improvements include better PolySpline editing, expanded file import support, and workflow refinements designed to make modeling smoother and more precise. Whether you're creating product designs, mechanical components, or detailed concept art, Plasticity 2026.2 delivers useful tools to help streamline your creative process. Read More: cgchannel.com/2026/10/plasti… #Plasticity #3DModeling #3DDesign #HardSurfaceModeling #CAD #DigitalArt #3DArtists

AI is reshaping the world of 3D animation and filmmaking, opening new possibilities for creators at every level. From generating 3D assets and building digital environments to accelerating previsualization and character development, AI is helping artists bring ideas to life faster. But technology alone doesn't make a great film. Artistic vision, storytelling, and human expertise remain essential to creating compelling characters and unforgettable worlds. As AI tools continue to evolve, filmmakers face exciting opportunities alongside important questions about creative ownership, production quality, and the future of artistic work. How can creators embrace these tools while preserving the craft that makes filmmaking unique? Explore how AI is transforming 3D animation and what it could mean for the future of cinema. Read More: filmthreat.com/features/how-… #AI #3DAnimation #Filmmaking #VFX #CGI #DigitalArt #FutureOfFilm

Ready to level up your game development skills? Explore Unreal Engine 5 with a bundle featuring over 24 courses designed to help you build your skills and bring your creative ideas to life. Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your existing workflow, this learning opportunity offers a chance to dive deeper into modern game development, explore powerful tools, and expand your technical and artistic capabilities. From mastering essential techniques to developing more ambitious projects, investing in your skills can help turn your game development goals into reality. Discover the bundle, explore the available courses, and find the resources that fit your learning journey. Start building smarter, creating better, and taking your Unreal Engine 5 projects to the next level. Read More: 80.lv/articles/learn-unreal-… #UnrealEngine5 #GameDevelopment #GameDev #IndieDev #3DArt #LearnGameDev

Ready to take your Unreal Engine skills to the next level? Epic Games is introducing the UEFN Professional Bootcamp, a learning opportunity designed to help creators strengthen their technical skills and prepare for the future of real-time development. The program focuses on Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), offering creators a chance to deepen their understanding of professional workflows, interactive experiences, and the tools used to build immersive digital worlds. The free online bootcamp is aimed at experienced game industry professionals, including artists, programmers, technical artists, designers, and producers. Participants will receive expert guidance, develop gameplay using Verse, and build and publish a playable Fortnite island to strengthen their professional portfolios. Training runs November 30–December 4, 2026, followed by two weeks of independent project development. Applications close November 6, 2026. With Epic bringing Unreal Engine and UEFN together in Unreal Engine 6, this bootcamp offers a practical way to explore emerging workflows and prepare for the next generation of game development. Read More: unrealengine.com/news/uefn-p… #UnrealEngine #UEFN #UE6 #GameDev #Verse #EpicGames #GameDevelopment #IndieDev

Some of the most impressive visual effects are the ones you never notice. In Mother Mary, BeloFX showcases the art of invisible VFX, demonstrating how subtle digital enhancements can support a film’s atmosphere without distracting audiences from the story. From seamless cleanup and environmental adjustments to carefully integrated compositing work, invisible effects help filmmakers maintain visual continuity while preserving the authenticity of each shot. Every detail matters, especially when the goal is to make complex technical work appear completely natural. BeloFX’s work highlights the collaboration between visual effects artists and filmmakers, showing how precision, restraint, and attention to detail can make a significant difference on screen. For compositors, VFX supervisors, and aspiring artists, this breakdown offers a valuable look at the craftsmanship behind effects that blend effortlessly into live-action footage. Discover the hidden artistry behind Mother Mary and see why invisible VFX remains an essential part of modern filmmaking. Read More: artofvfx.com/mother-mary-the… #MotherMary #BeloFX #VFX #VisualEffects #Compositing #Filmmaking #CGI #VFXBreakdown

Maxon has released Redshift 2027.0, bringing significant performance improvements and powerful new rendering features to 3D artists, motion designers, and VFX professionals! One of the biggest additions is a new procedural Fur system that generates realistic fur, fibers, woven textiles, and knitted materials directly at render time. Artists can create detailed surface effects without managing heavy, specialized geometry assets. The update also introduces a redesigned GPU memory architecture, improving resource allocation and memory sharing across GPUs. Multi-GPU systems can now load scenes in parallel, helping artists work more efficiently with complex projects. Redshift for Cinema 4D receives major viewport IPR responsiveness improvements, while Redshift Live gains faster shader compilation, refraction, transparent shadows, and ray-traced depth of field. Additional highlights include NVIDIA RTX Spark support, ACES 2 integration, and expanded compatibility with Houdini 22, Maya, 3ds Max, and Archicad. Ready to upgrade your rendering workflow? Read More: cgchannel.com/2026/10/maxon-… #Redshift #Maxon #3DRendering #VFX #CGI #Cinema4D #3DArt #Rendering

Want to speed up your texturing workflow between Substance 3D Painter and Unreal Engine 5? Meet TexBridge, a tool from Moss3D designed to eliminate repetitive tasks and make texture transfers faster and easier. Instead of manually exporting maps, reimporting textures, and rebuilding material connections, TexBridge automates the process with a simple “Export + Send” workflow. It exports your textures, imports them into Unreal Engine, creates Material Instances for each texture set, and can assign them directly to selected Static Meshes. The tool also handles important technical details, including texture compression, sRGB settings, and OpenGL-to-DirectX normal map conversion. You can even save and share export settings and material mappings as reusable profiles. Compatible with Substance 3D Painter 8.3+ and Unreal Engine 5 on Windows, TexBridge connects through Unreal’s built-in Python Remote Execution, requiring no separate Unreal plugin. A practical workflow upgrade for environment artists and game developers! Read More: 80.lv/articles/this-tool-spe… #Substance3DPainter #UnrealEngine5 #GameDev #3DArt #Texturing #Moss3D #GameDevelopment

Netflix is laying off approximately 1,000 employees, and its animation division is feeling the impact. According to Cartoon Brew, Aaron Davidson, manager of adult animation comedy, and Dan Evans, manager of original animation, are among those losing their jobs in the latest company-wide restructuring. The cuts affect roughly 6% of Netflix’s workforce, marking the company’s largest round of layoffs since 2022. While most reductions reportedly target product, technology, legal, and human resources teams, the full impact on animation production staff remains unclear. The news comes despite Netflix reporting $45.2 billion in revenue and $11 billion in net income for 2025, raising fresh questions about corporate priorities, industry stability, and the future of animation careers. As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, uncertainty remains for the artists and professionals who bring stories to life. Read More: cartoonbrew.com/artist-right… #Netflix #Animation #AnimationIndustry #Layoffs #EntertainmentIndustry #CartoonBrew #CreativeIndustry

Epic Games’ Fab marketplace is expanding with two major additions for game developers: asset bundles and Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) source assets! Bundles let creators purchase curated collections of related digital assets in a single transaction, with potential savings compared to buying items individually. Every included product is added to your Fab library, making it easier to build a comprehensive asset collection for your next project. The bigger game-changer for Fortnite creators is UEFN source assets. These fully editable systems include AI and NPC behaviors, vehicles, weapons, UI, and environments, many built using Verse and Scene Graph. Unlike reference files, they open directly in UEFN, allowing developers to customize existing systems instead of rebuilding everything from scratch. Epic is also offering a free starter kit to help creators explore the new asset category. Could these additions speed up your next game development project? Read More: fab.com/o/news/introducing-b… #Fab #UEFN #UnrealEngine #Fortnite #GameDev #IndieGameDev #EpicGames

How do you bring Appa, the beloved flying bison, to life in live-action? Framestore takes us behind the scenes of its creature work for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, revealing the artistry and technical expertise behind one of the series’ most recognizable characters. From detailed digital modeling and expressive animation to realistic fur, lighting, and seamless compositing, creating Appa requires a careful balance between visual fidelity and emotional performance. Every movement must feel believable while preserving the gentle personality that made the character a fan favorite. The breakdown offers a closer look at how visual effects artists combine sophisticated CG techniques with cinematic storytelling to make a fantastical creature feel tangible and alive. For creature artists, animation enthusiasts, and VFX professionals, this is an exciting opportunity to explore the craft behind a complex digital character. Discover how Framestore makes Appa soar! Read More: beforesandafters.com/2026/10… #VFX #Framestore #AvatarTheLastAirbender #CreatureFX #CGI #Animation #VisualEffects #Netflix

Maxon has released Cinema 4D 2027.0, bringing powerful new tools to 3D artists, motion designers, and VFX professionals! The headline feature is a brand-new procedural Scatter System, making it easier to populate expansive environments with vegetation, rocks, debris, and crowds. Integrated with MoGraph, the Scatter Generator and Scatter Tag offer greater control over distribution, clustering, and object variations. The update also introduces Liquid FX, which automatically generates foam, spray, and bubbles from existing liquid simulations, adding realism to splashes, pours, and waterfalls without complex secondary setups. Artists can now build custom Fields and Effectors visually using Scene Nodes, while expanded CAD import support streamlines architectural visualization and product design workflows. Cinema 4D 2027.0 also ships with Redshift 2027.0, bringing further rendering improvements and new creative capabilities. Ready to upgrade your 3D workflow? Explore the latest features and see what's possible with Cinema 4D 2027.0! Read More: cgchannel.com/2026/10/maxon-… #Cinema4D #Maxon #3DArt #MotionGraphics #VFX #CGI #3DAnimation #Redshift

Great news for indie game developers and pixel artists! Kenney Shape, the tool created by Kenney Vleugels (KenneyNL), is now free forever. The software makes it easy to transform 2D pixel art into extruded 3D models without requiring extensive 3D modeling experience. Artists can draw using shapes and colors, adjust the depth of individual pixels, and generate stylized models ready for use in game development. Kenney Shape supports exports in multiple formats, including OBJ, FBX, glTF, STL, and VOX, making it compatible with popular tools and engines such as Blender, Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot. Whether you're building voxel-inspired environments, creating stylized props, or experimenting with 2.5D visuals, this tool offers a simple way to bring pixel art into three dimensions. Best of all, the tool is now available at no cost, making it an accessible resource for creators of all skill levels. Read More: 80.lv/articles/kenney-shape-… #GameDev #PixelArt #3DModeling #IndieDev #GodotEngine #Blender #Kenney #KenneyShape

What does it take to bring an animated world to life? At VIEW Conference, animation filmmaker Steve Emerson takes audiences behind the scenes of Wildwood, exploring the creative vision, technical challenges, and collaborative artistry behind the highly anticipated stop-motion feature from LAIKA. Known for pushing the boundaries of stop-motion animation, LAIKA combines handcrafted characters, intricate miniature environments, and cutting-edge visual effects to create cinematic worlds filled with personality and detail. Emerson’s presentation offers a closer look at the filmmaking process and the artistic decisions that help transform an ambitious creative vision into a fully realized film. For animation enthusiasts, VFX artists, and aspiring filmmakers, this is an opportunity to discover how traditional craftsmanship and modern technology come together in contemporary feature animation. The project features more than 220 puppets, 142,000 replacement faces, and 2,776 shots, demonstrating the extraordinary scale of LAIKA’s latest production. From intricate physical craftsmanship to sophisticated digital effects, Wildwood showcases how stop-motion continues to evolve while preserving its tactile, handmade appeal. Read More: cartoonbrew.com/events/wildw… #Wildwood #LAIKA #StopMotion #Animation #VFX #VIEWConference #CGI #Filmmaking

Godot Engine 4.8 Beta 1 is here! The popular open-source game engine has entered feature freeze, shifting development toward bug fixes, regression testing, and stability ahead of its next major release. This update brings a host of improvements for game developers, including mip-level texture streaming to help reduce VRAM usage, multi-bounce ambient occlusion for more realistic lighting, animated decals, and the new Trail3D feature for creating dynamic visual effects. The editor also gets a major usability boost with redesigned toolbars, flexible docking, runtime manipulation of 2D objects, improved file searching, and experimental symbol renaming across projects. Developers working on Android games can also benefit from streamlined SDK setup, while visual shader users gain reusable node groups for cleaner, more manageable shader graphs. Godot 4.8 Beta 1 is available now for testing. Since this is a pre-release build, back up your projects before diving in! Read More: godotengine.org/article/dev-… #GodotEngine #Godot4 #GameDev #IndieGameDev #OpenSource #GameDevelopment #GraphicsProgramming

How do you bring mischievous digital gnomes to life on screen? Melbourne-based Chop Shop Post reveals its visual effects work on Gnomes, showcasing the artistry and technical craft behind the series’ fantastical creatures. From individual gnome characters to large groups interacting with their environments, the team created digital performances designed to blend seamlessly into live-action footage. Character creation and animation bring personality to the creatures, while careful integration helps them feel at home in the real world. But the work goes beyond creature animation. Environmental effects, particle simulations, and additional digital elements enhance the action sequences, adding depth, atmosphere, and visual complexity to the series. Discover how Chop Shop Post combines creature work, animation, and compositing to transform these mischievous characters into convincing on-screen performers. Explore the breakdown and get a closer look at the VFX craftsmanship behind Gnomes. Read More: artofvfx.com/gnomes-chop-sho… #VFX #VisualEffects #CGI #CreatureAnimation #ChopShopPost #Gnomes #DigitalCreatures #VFXBreakdown

Maxon has released ZBrush 2027.0 and ZBrush for iPad 2027.0, bringing powerful new tools to digital sculptors, character artists, and 3D professionals. The desktop version introduces a brand-new UV Editor built on the technology behind Cinema 4D, with automatic unwrapping, manual UV editing, improved packing controls, UDIM support, and trim sheet workflows. Selection Sets also make it easier to switch between alternative Polygroup layouts, masks, Polypaint states, UVs, and morph targets. Meanwhile, ZBrush for iPad gains Spotlight projection painting and 3D Layers, expanding its creative capabilities and bringing the tablet experience closer to desktop functionality. Whether you're creating game-ready assets, designing creatures, or sculpting characters for VFX, these updates aim to streamline your workflow and keep more of your work inside ZBrush. Explore what's new in the latest release! Read More: cgchannel.com/2026/10/maxon-… #ZBrush #Maxon #3DArt #DigitalSculpting #CharacterDesign #GameDev #VFX #CGI

Rockstar Games has dropped the official launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI more than a month ahead of its November 19 release, giving fans another glimpse of the chaos awaiting them in Vice City. Captured entirely on PlayStation 5, the 90-second trailer showcases Jason and Lucia navigating robberies, high-speed chases, police confrontations, nightlife, and the vibrant world of Leonida. The footage highlights Rockstar’s impressive environmental detail, lifelike character animations, bustling streets, and densely populated interiors. The trailer also features “Flower in a Hurricane,” a new track from Justice featuring Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. With the final marketing push officially underway, anticipation for one of gaming’s biggest releases continues to build. GTA VI launches November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Are you ready to return to Vice City? Read More: 80.lv/articles/the-gta-6-lau… #GTA6 #GrandTheftAutoVI #RockstarGames #Gaming #PlayStation5 #Xbox