Maxon Upgrades Moves by Maxon App, Completes Acquisition of Pixologic

Maxon has an updated version of the Moves by Maxon app. In addition, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Pixologic, the creators of the Academy Award-winning sculpting and painting software ZBrush.

Moves by Maxon
When Apple first introduced its Object Capture API at WWDC back in June, Cinema 4D and Moves by Maxon were featured as the first professional 3D workflow to take advantage of the new photogrammetry tools. With Object Capture in Moves by Maxon, users can turn a series of pictures taken on an iPhone or iPad into a textured 3D model. With the public release of this toolkit in macOS Monterey, Maxon is pleased to publish an updated version of the Moves by Maxon app. Now users on macOS can easily capture their own objects and bring them into Cinema 4D.

“Every day, artists are challenged with either finding the 3D models they need in online markets or having to create them from scratch,” comments David McGavran, CEO of Maxon. “Now, bringing real-world objects into Cinema 4D is easier than ever with Moves and the power of macOS.”

The workflow is intuitive and simple. Artists only need to take pictures of an object from every angle; making sure to get ample coverage. In the Moves by Maxon iOS app, a globe graphic helps ensure proper object coverage by illustrating the angles from which images have been taken. Moves by Maxon makes it easy to connect the iPhone or iPad to an open instance of Cinema 4D and transfer the images. Once images are transferred, artists simply choose Compute Object from the context menu to create a 3D object from captures. Objects are instantly stored in Cinema 4D’s Asset Browser and assigned keywords from the Vision framework. Captured objects can then be dragged from the Asset Browser into the 3D environment and manipulated using C4D’s placement tools.

This feature makes use of an exclusive API available in MacOS Monterey and requires Cinema 4D R25 SP1 (25.11x). Users also need any Apple Silicon Mac, or an Intel Mac with 16GB RAM and an AMD GPU with at least 4GB VRAM.

Pixologic
The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary regulatory approval and closing conditions. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently. Upon close, Pixologic founder and CEO Ofer Alon and his team will join Maxon. More details related to the transaction will be disclosed after closing.

“ZBrush is an industry leading 3D sculpting and painting solution for the most respected companies and artists in the world. By combining our world-class tools and people, we hope to delight creative artists with an ever expanding and powerful toolset for their needs,” saysMcGavran.

ZBrush is used by respected film studios, game developers, designers, advertisers, illustrators, and scientists around the world. The industry’s top creatives have employed ZBrush for nearly every major franchise including Dune, Star Wars, Avatar, the Marvel Universe, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and more. Its versatility has also made it an integral part of animated features such as Frozen, Tangled, Zootopia, Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto. ZBrush has also been used extensively in Triple A games including Fortnite, the God of War Franchise, Uncharted Franchise, Assassin’s Creed Franchise, Far Cry Franchise, The Division Franchise, and more. And, together Maxon and Pixologic build the tools that populate and make the metaverse beautiful.

“ZBrush has been my passion for over two decades. I can think of no better home for the future of ZBrush and its community,” says Alon. “I am looking forward to collaborating with Maxon’s innovative development team to further revolutionize ZBrush for many years to come. There’s never been a better time for artists to add ZBrush to their creative arsenal.”