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MAXON Computer USA, the developers of CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D, have announced that BodyPaint 3D will be the focus of a comprehensive Visual Arts Track at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC), aimed at artists eager to learn how to easily create 3D custom textures for current and next-gen games.

BodyPaint 3D was most recently tapped by artists at Naughty Dog to help create the hit game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Gaming industry veteran Ben Mathis, a contributor on popular game titles such as GUN, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Tony Hawk Project 8 will lead the GDC tutorial, to be held in San Francisco's Moscone Center, Wednesday, February 20, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, Room #3003. Attendees will learn how to capitalize on BodyPaint 3D's myriad capabilities to obtain maximum results and how to easily incorporate the software into various workflows, including Photoshop, Maya, XSI and 3dsmax.

"As games continue to become a dominant entertainment medium, we're excited that Ben Mathis will be delivering the BodyPaint 3D tutorial at this year's GDC," said Paul Babb, president, MAXON Computer USA. "He is intimately aware of the day-to-day challenges game developers face, from both an artistic and workflow perspective, and I've no doubt that attendees will walk away from his session with powerful tips and practical techniques, especially for handling complex data, that will prove invaluable in real-world game studio pipelines."

BodyPaint 3D capabilities deemed especially noteworthy by Naughty Dog developers while creating Uncharted: Drake's Fortune were its seamless integration with Photoshop and distortion-free texture painting. MAXON's award-winning solutions are used extensively by animators and digital artists in the film, broadcast, and video game industries to create top game titles like, NBA Live 06, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos to Life, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, The Euro Mouse - Treasure Hunting in Pirate Country, Viva la Viva Piñata and effects-rich feature films such as The Golden Compass, Beowulf, Spider-Man 3 and Surf's Up.

For additional information and guidance on working with MAXON software, GDC attendees are encouraged to visit Cineversity, MAXON's comprehensive online training and education resource, where they will find over 900 tutorials, including MAXON-specific product training and a multitude of artist-provided video tutorials.

Because it is part of MAXON's leading CINEMA 4D architecture, BodyPaint 3D is a true 3D package, and brings users many workflow advantages, including:

• Enables artists to paint multiple material channels or multiple objects with a single brush stroke while painting directly onto a 3D rendered image.
• Utilizes Photoshop files while preserving layers, masks and blending modes.
• The "Raybrush" feature allows artists to paint on raytraced/rendered imagery with real-time feedback.
• Allows for 32-bit color depth so artists can even paint HDRI (high definition range images).
• Plugs into all major applications, including 3ds max, Maya, XSI and LightWave 3D ensuring the easy exchange of models, textures and UVs.

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