Graphics Pkg. Handles VRML Out, 3D & More
ersion 4.1 of Ray Dream Studio for Macintosh supports Apple’s QuickDraw 3D standard, GIF and JPEG file formats for Web page creation, and sports a direct VRML (3D on the Web) export filter. Other enhancements to this comprehensive graphics and animation package include visible motion paths, hardware acceleration for better user productivity, plus three levels of anti-aliasing that relate to the targeted venue (hi-rez stills, multimedia or Web). The higher-quality previews can include texture maps and lighting, for finer control of object placement and more accurate depiction of a 3D scene’s lighting. VRML 2.0 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) export means interactive 3D environments can be created within Ray Dream Studio. Available for an extra cost is SuperMesh, an extension that takes a bitmap image or movie and creates a mesh based on the brightness of each pixel. Users can then map that geometry around a cylinder, sphere or plane then adjust many parameters of the mesh object -- even animate the geometry of the mesh itself. Fractal Design Corp., Aptos, CA, (800) 846-0111, www.fractal.com/.
This article originally appeared in the 11/01/1996 issue of THE Journal.