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Foundry releases Mari 8.0 in open beta
Updated for Beta 2: 3D texture painting software gets new Tri-Planar Tiled and Hex Tile nodes, plus support for A/B comparisons.
Otoy releases OctaneRender 2027.1 in alpha
Updated for Alpha 3: next major version of the GPU renderer can now bake SDFs to meshes, to use as proxy geometry in simulations.
Check out Vine FX’s VFX breakdown for Alice and Steve
Watch the studio's breakdown of a blazing building, with simulated fire, smoke and particles, from the finale of the Disney+ 'wrong-com'.
Adobe acquires Topaz Labs
Adobe buys pioneering developer of AI image enhancement and upscaling tools. Read our FAQs on what the deal means for CG artists.
See Image Engine’s breakdown for Avatar: The Last Airbender S2
Check out the studio's VFX breakdown for the spectacular elemental duels from Season 2 of the fantasy action-adventure series.
New CG software you may have missed: 20 September 2026
Check out the week's other updates to CG tools, like animation library builder Animcraft, game engine Unigine, and OctaneRender.
See the speakers for the 2026 Digital Storytelling conference
20th anniversary edition of the cool, chic Oslo-based VFX festival features sessions on the making of Sinners and Project Hail Mary.
Free tutorial: Painting a Battle-Worn Titan in Photoshop
Master professional concept art and illustration techniques with The Gnomon Workshop's free half-hour video tutorial.,
See Alchemy 24’s VFX breakdown for Michael Jackson biopic Michael
Check out the Montréal studio's making-of for its invisible effects for Antoine Fuqua's santized, but box office record-breaking, music biopic.
Check out free Maya animation productivity toolset KeyFlow
Games animator Sebastian Jaksan's handy free add-on also comes with KeyFlow Studio, a lightweight, standalone shot review tool.
See Wwwind Studio’s making-of for horror series Bloody Smart
Check out the Taiwanese studio's varied, visceral VFX breakdown for the live-action adaptation of Junji Ito's cult horror manga.
Canva releases Affinity 3.3 as part of the Canva ProSuite
Major update to the free image editing and vector design software adds scores of new features, new AI models, and a new scripting system.
VFX portfolio and recruitment site Zerply is closing later this month
Well-regarded VFX and animation industry resource shuts down on 28 September. Redirect your URL and retrieve your assets before then.
See making-ofs for Gnomon’s Best of Term Award-winning projects
Watch tech breakdowns of award-winning projects from students at the leading CG school, like this Alien: Romulus-inspired Houdini simulation.
New CG software you may have missed: 13 September 2026
Check out the week's other updates to CG tools, like HDR Light Studio, free Maya rigging toolset mGear, and SwitchX, Beeble's VFX AI model.
Tutorial: Concept Art & Matte Painting for Film
Master professional techniques in Photoshop and Maya with ILM Art Director Igor Staritsin's masterclass for The Gnomon Workshop.
SuperSplat Editor 3.0 is a huge performance update
Big update to the free online tool for viewing and editing 3D Gaussian Splats lets you visualize tens of millions of Gaussians smoothly.
Maxon releases Redshift 2026.9
Check out the new features in the GPU production renderer, including updates to new real-time render engine Redshift Live.
Discover Future Associate’s VFX and postvis for Mortal Kombat II
Discover the studio's EmberGen-augmented postvis and final VFX for the martial arts movie's Red Throne Room and Netherworld sequences.
Adobe releases After Effects 26.5, plus experimental new AI Assistant
Check out the new features in compositing and motion graphics app, including the new agentic AI Assistant in the current beta build.
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