Computer Graphics World

O N TH E C OVE R S E E IT I N Out of Africa? Not quite, as the cast from Madagascar discovers while trying to return home after their jungle jam. In the movie Madagascar 2, they—as well as the crew at PDI/DreamWorks— must overcome "plain" problems. • Audio post for today's hottest television series. • What inspires today's compositors? • Jonathan Demme discusses his latest, Rachel Getting Married. Features COVER STORY Home Is Where the Art Is 14 After overcoming the challenges in Madagascar, the zoo crew faces new obstacles on the plains of Africa in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. By Barbara Robertson Evolutionary Chain 20 Will Wright and the game developers at Maxis devise a groundbreaking animation system and a cutting-edge LOD system for Spore. By Bruce Shutan Invaluable Input 26 For many digital content creation professionals, a simple mouse and keyboard just won't do. For them, an optimal input device—whether a 3D mouse, stylus, tablet, or other atypical peripheral—can be worth its weight in gold. By Courtney E. Howard Rogue Actors 34 Tippett Studio shows its animal magnetism by creating two realistic all-CG characters—a furry rat and a scaly iguana—that act alongside real canines (with muzzle replacements) in Beverly Hills Chihuahua. By Barbara Robertson KNOWLEDGE & CAREER Taking the Initiative 40 A nonprofi t enables schools of all kinds, including those with tight budgets, to take full advantage of digital technologies to extend learning experiences beyond the textbook. By Jenny Donelan 14 20 34 October 2008 • Volume 31 • Number 10 I n n o v a t i o n s i n v i s u a l c o m p u t i n g f o r t h e g l o b a l D C C c o m m u n i t y Departments Editor's Note A New Way to Learn 2 Educators are expanding student lessons far beyond the boundaries of the classroom, thanks to the Immersive Education Initiative, which uses computer graphics and multimedia to provide youngsters with a wealth of information in a fun and inviting package. Spotlight 4 NewTek's LightWave 9.5. Luxology's Nexus 4. Procedural's CityEngine. AutoDesSys' BonZai 3D. Autodesk's Maya 2009, 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009, MotionBuilder 2009, and Mudbox 2009. Maxon's Cinema 4D R11. User Focus Preserving World Heritage Sites using 360- degree panoramas assembled with photo-stitching software. Viewpoint: Modeling 10 A look at formal modeling grammars, and how they can be used to generate complex CG structures. Portfolio 38 Still images from projects that appeared in the SIGGRAPH 2008 Computer Animation Festival. Back Products 46 Recent software and hardware releases. 1 October 2008 26

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