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OTOY 3D Rendering Software Now Free for Students

Students can now download OTOY's OctaneRender 3D rendering software, including OctaneRender plugins for Blender and Autodesk's 3ds MAX (and, shortly, Maya), for free. The cloud graphics company is providing the software at no cost to anyone with a .edu e-mail address.

Features of OctaneRender include:

  • Unbiased rendering: OctaneRender simulates light as an electromagnetic wave to produce precise representations of light interactions real life.
  • Parallel processing: The software uses the processing power of modern graphics processors, or GPUs, rather than serial computer processors (CPUs). According to the company, that means it can produce final images 10 to 50 times faster than comparable CPU-based rendering engines.
  • Real-time results: The WYSIWYG rendering environment displays changes to materials and lighting in real time.
  • Multiple plugins available: OctaneRender plugins support a variety of 3D modeling suites, including Graphisoft's ArchiCAD; Blender; Daz 3D's DAZ Studio; NewTek's LightWave; SmithMicro Software's Poser; Robert McNeel & Associates' Rhinocerus; The Foundry's MODO; Maxon's Cinema 4D; and Autodesk titles 3ds MAX, AutoCAD, Inventor, Maya, Revit and Softimage. Support for Daz 3D's Carrara and Trimble's SketchUp is on the horizon. Additionally, community-developed exporter scripts are available for a wide range of programs.

For more information, visit the OTOY site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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