Computer Graphics World

approaches, and they're looking at diff er- ent points in the workfl ow. In fact, many of these rendering companies are hoping to insert themselves into points in the work- fl ow where they have never been before. Luxology has worked directly with Solid- Works (a subsidiary of Dassault) and Bent- ley to create modules that work within the SolidWorks and MicroStation products, respectively, allowing engineers, architects, and designers to see and communicate design ideas with the push of a button. Luxology comes from the entertainment world. e use of its products have grown quickly in a few short years because the product is attractively priced, it's powerful, and the Luxology development team has attracted a loyal following over the years. ( e company's founders, Stuart Ferguson, Allen Hastings, and Brad Peebler, were also developers of NewTek's LightWave.) Peebler, Luxology's CEO, reports suc- cess as he branches out into new fi elds. e Luxology rendering modules are in- cluded for free in the professional versions of Micro Station and Luxology, and Peebler reports hearing that CAD users are giving these tools a try because they're available, they're fast, and they're easy to use. Peebler says he's been told repeatedly that the ability to create a quick render with materials and lights is something people are trying out because it's there, and as a re- sult of being able to render quickly, they're better able to sell an idea or identify a prob- lem. e point is that these are people who wouldn't normally render a model; it's just not in their workfl ow. Bunkspeed was among the fi rst to off er the world a fast, relatively low-cost renderer with its HyperShot raytracing visualization tool. Like Luxology, Bunkspeed also re- ports fast growth over the few years it has off ered HyperShot, and at last year's SIG- GRAPH, the company introduced Hyper- Move, an animation tool that adds phys- ics and lets users add realistic motion to a 3D scene. And of course, Autodesk off ers Showcase, for preparing, processing, and presenting 3D CAD data. More recently, Autodesk has beefed up the product with raytracing technology from Swedish com- pany Opticore following the purchase of the company's assets two years ago. August 2009 25 Rendering ■ ■ ■ ■

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