THOUSAND OAKS, CA - MAXON Computer is pleased to announce the release of BodyPaint 3D, an advanced 3D-painting program for digital artists. BodyPaint 3D is the ultimate tool for creating high-quality detailed textures catapulting surface editing and painting tools into the third dimension. BodyPaint 3D eliminates the arduous tasks placing textures by guesswork and bringing various material channels into harmony with each other. Now, just as in real life, artists can paint and draw directly onto 3D objects in real time and see the results immediately. BodyPaint 3D is based on the same state-of-the-art, cross-platform architecture as CINEMA 4D XL, MAXON's flagship 3D modeling, animation and rendering package. Hence BodyPaint 3D already boasts award-winning features such as legendary stability and speed, ease-of-use, and a fully configurable interface. An artist can load the objects to texture, then paint on as many as ten material channels concurrently. For example, the rust preset adds a reddish color to the color channel, roughness to the bump and diffusion channels, and dampening to the specular reflections channel - all in one brush stroke! BodyPaint 3D can handle huge geometry and data sets with minimum hardware support. It makes no difference if objects number hundreds of thousands or even millions of polygons - BodyPaint 3D always works in real time. In addition, MAXON's unique RayBrushÅ technology enables users to paint onto a raytraced image in three dimensions in real time! Reflectivity, bump, transparency, specularity and others channels can be painted in real time with direct visual feedback in multiple 3D views. BodyPaint 3D seamlessly integrates into CINEMA 4D XL release 6 offering artists the unprecedented ability to add detail to surfaces at any point during the production process. It can also be used as a standalone application in combination with all popular 3D-software packages - BodyPaint 3D supports all common 3D model formats and saves associated textures. It imports and writes all major image formats including PhotoShop (including layers), TIFF, BMP, PICT, QT, JPG, and more. Countless tools and presets are included so that users can begin working immediately painting rust, dirt, scratches, rivets, hairs, welded joints or veins onto objects in seconds. BodyPaint 3D's multi-channel tools paint to the relevant material channels automatically. Naturally, artists can define their own tools or adapt existing tools as required - no limits are placed on the imagination. Users can even draw their own curves to define how the characteristics of a brush will work. Although BodyPaint 3D can be used with a mouse, its full potential is realized with the Wacom Intuos system. BodyPaint 3D takes full advantage of the advanced features of the new Wacom Intuos intelligent graphics tablet system. Users can map most aspects of brush characteristics to the pressure, tilt and angle of the Wacom pen. "BodyPaint 3D has something for every 3D artist on both Windows and Mac," said Joe Deal, Wacom President. "The amazing feature set combined with extensive Intuos tablet support gives artists unprecedented control for creating detailed textures on 3D objects." BodyPaint 3D can be installed as both an integrated component to CINEMA 4D XL and a standalone application for Windows 95/98/00/NT or Macintosh.The product is scheduled for release in November 2000 for an estimated street price of $595 (North and South America - please inquire for ROW pricing). For purchasing information or to download a demo version visit the company's web site: http://www.maxon.net. MAXON Computer is the developer of CINEMA 4D XL, a fully integrated professional 3D modeling, animation and rendering package. The award-winning software is used extensively in the film, television, science, architecture, engineering and other industries. MAXON has offices in Thousand Oaks, CA and Friedrichsdorf, Germany.