Products: Alias

Help for the Animator

Over the years, Kaydara's Motion-Builder gained a good rep as a fast and relatively easy 3D character performance and animation package. But the small Montreal-based company still faced challenges to find solid footing in a market contested among the big three 3D apps: Maya, 3ds Max, and Softimage XSI.

This past year, Alias, on a push to expand the reach and range of its product line, bought Kaydara. Now, with the recent release of the rebranded Alias MotionBuilder 6, users of the program can now enjoy an app that's starting to benefit from the technology and support Alias can offer.

Alias MotionBuilder 6 delivers improved realtime character animation technology, a more flexible Story Timeline, enhanced keyframing, intelligent character technology (such as auto-rigging with Human IK), support for asset management integration as well as Nvidia CgFX shaders, and a suite of motion editing, motion layering, and story-telling tools. www.alias.com