Creation Engine Blog

Tips for testing a Flash-based interface

Many people assume that testing a Flash-based interface is simply a matter of applying the same techniques and success criteria they are accustomed to for HTML interfaces. This often results in an interface that works exactly as expected during testing but exhibits buggy behavior when accessed by real-world users.

This article presents four best practices you should follow when testing a Flash-based interface and describes the issues these best practices are designed to expose. If you follow these guidelines faithfully, you can ensure your Flash-based interfaces perform consistently and provide a better user experience for your visitors.

Autodesk 3D Software Drives Next-Generation Gaming Graphics

Autodesk’s 3D Software Drives Next-Generation Gaming Graphics

A number of this season’s most anticipated games have been created with Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya 3D animation, modeling and rendering software products from Autodesk, Inc. Insomniac Games Resistance: Fall of Man and Monolith Productions F.E.A.R. were created with Autodesk software and are expected to become blockbuster games for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3).

Autodesk’s 3D software has also been used to create other hot gaming titles shipping this fall, including: Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Epic Games Gears of War and Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes.

Toon Boom Studio V3.5 Flash Importer

The Toon Boom Studio Importer for Adobe Flash MX, MX 2004 and Flash 8 is now available for V3.5. Import your Toon Boom Studio projects directly into Adobe Flash to add interactivity and create stunning animated greetings, just in time for the holidays!

Click here to download the importer

Creation Engine News 11.16.2006

2007 Adobe Design Achievement Awards

The Adobe Design Achievement Awards celebrate student achievement reflecting the powerful convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition – which showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software – honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, and computer artists from the world’s top institutions of higher education.

International prestige and valuable prizes
The 2007 Adobe Design Achievement Awards competition is open to students at post-secondary institutions in 30 countries throughout the world. First-place winning entries will receive US$5,000, a trip to attend the awards ceremony, valuable Adobe software products, and studio tours.

Show off your talent and creativity. Submit your entry now.

Urban Environment with 3ds max

“Urban Environment” with 3ds max

Stefan Morrell shows us his making of for his 3dsmax scene ‘Urban Environment’.

How to Cook a Turkey Like a Pro

My brother is a chef in San Francisco and this time of year everybody asks him for advice on how to prepare their Thanksgiving Turkey. Here is his recipe as a map. You can export it from MindManager as a Word document and print it out to follow the steps:

Extensis Releases Auto-Activation XTension for its Font Management Products for QuarkXPress 7 on Intel-based Macs

Free XTensions software for Suitcase Fusion, Suitcase Server and Font Reserve Server enable automatic activation in QuarkXPress 7.
(Press Release)
Friday, November 10, 2006 Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today announced free XTensions modules for all Extensis font management products for QuarkXPress 7 on Intel-based Macs. This update allows for auto-activation and adds native support for Intel-based Macintosh and PowerPC systems. The modules extend support to the Suitcase Fusion Single-User, Suitcase Server X1, and Font Reserve Server font management products.

“Extensis Suitcase Fusion and QuarkXPress 7 on Intel-based Macs work seamlessly together to deliver the peak performance our user’s workflow demands,” said Martin Stein, Vice President of Corporate Solutions for Extensis. “This provides our users with the fonts they need on-the-spot, without manually finding and activating them.”

“Quark works closely with premier technology partners like Extensis for flawless font management and performance,” said Scott Allan, Quark Director of Marketing. “We’re thrilled to see the release of this Suitcase Fusion XTension for our QuarkXPress 7 customers using Intel-based Macs and we look forward to working with Extensis in the future.”

The free Suitcase Fusion XTension module for QuarkXPress 7 is available now for download from the Extensis website. The Font Reserve Server Client and Suitcase Server Client XTensions modules for QuarkXPress 7 will be available for QuarkXPress 7 or QuarkXPress Passport 7 and run on Intel-based Macintosh and PowerPC systems. The Extensis font management XTensions software for QuarkXPress 7 is available in English, French and German.

Registered owners of Suitcase Fusion are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website at http://www.extensis.com/suitcase. Font Reserve Server users will be eligible to receive the free upgrade on Monday, November 13 and registered owners of Suitcase Server will be able to receive the free upgrade by the end of November 2006.

For information on where to purchase the Suitcase family of products, visit http://www.extensis.com/suitcase.

About Extensis
Extensis is a software developer that allows creative workgroups and professionals to streamline their workflow and secure their brand by efficiently and effectively managing their creative assets and fonts. Extensis’ award-winning client/server and desktop products are used by hundreds of Fortune 5000 companies and include Suitcase, Suitcase Fusion, and Font Reserve for font management and Portfolio for creative assets management. Extensis was founded in 1993 and is based in Portland, Oregon, and the United Kingdom. Extensis is a division of Celartem Inc., which is wholly owned by Celartem Technology Inc., (Hercules: 4330). For additional information, visit http://www.extensis.com or call 1-800-796-9798.

CGTalk – Meet the Artist: Simon Otto – Flushed Away

Simon Otto began his animation career at the right place, studying the craft at the renowned Les Gobelins in Paris. He lives on the US West Coast and is a native of Switzerland.

Otto previously worked as a supervising animator on the title character Sinbad in ‘Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas’ as well as supervising the animation on two of the members of Sinbad’s crew, the Chinese brothers Jin and Li.

In addition, he worked as an animator on the character Spirit in ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’, and he also supervised the animation of the eagle in the film. Otto began his career at DreamWorks in 1997, as an animator on “The Prince of Egypt” and later animated on “The Road to El Dorado.” Clearly some very nice work in those two features.

Prior to joining DreamWorks, Otto received animation training during an internship with Walt Disney Feature Animation in Paris, France. CGSociety is very happy to have Dreamworks’ cooperation for this very timely ‘Meet the Artist presentation.

Please make welcome, Simon Otto.

Tips for testing a Flash-based interface

Autodesk 3D Software Drives Next-Generation Gaming Graphics

Toon Boom Studio V3.5 Flash Importer

Creation Engine News 11.16.2006

2007 Adobe Design Achievement Awards

Urban Environment with 3ds max

How to Cook a Turkey Like a Pro

Extensis Releases Auto-Activation XTension for its Font Management Products for QuarkXPress 7 on Intel-based Macs

CGTalk – Meet the Artist: Simon Otto – Flushed Away

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