Autodesk, Inc. announced the availability of its Autodesk BIM (Building Information Modeling) Deployment Plan: A Practical Framework for Implementing BIM, a new web-accessible resource for building industry professionals. Aimed at all AEC stake-holders, including owners architects, engineers and contractors, the free guide includes support materials and a framework based on real-world applications of BIM. Tools offered include templates to help manage multi-discipline communications within a BIM project, as well as suggestions for the roles and responsibilities of each party in a BIM process-based project, best business process examples and suggested software to support an effective BIM environment.

Autodesk, Inc. announced Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 software the latest version of its modeling, animation, rendering and compositing application. A new node-based material editor, innovative hardware renderer and full-featured compositor are new features offered in the 2011 release to help accelerate the creation of compelling imagery and entertainment content. Key New Features in Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 Software are Slate, a new node-based material editor that enables artists to more easily visualize and edit material component relationships, Quicksilver hardware renderer, a new multithreaded rendering engine that uses both the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), and can achieve up to 10 times faster rendering than traditional techniques on common graphics cards, Ability to view many 3ds Max texture maps and materials in the viewport to help develop and refine scenes in a higher-fidelity interactive display environment without the constant need to re-render, Extended Graphite modeling and Viewport Canvas toolsets for 3D and 2D painting of textures directly in the viewport, along with the ability to paint with object brushes to help create geometry within a scene, Ability to non-destructively layer local edits on top of referenced content, helping artists to collaborate more efficiently, 3ds Max Composite, a full-featured, high dynamic range (HDR) capable compositor, based on technology from Autodesk Toxik software. Autodesk anticipates that 3ds Max 2011 will be available in English in April 2010. Autodesk expects to announce Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2011 software in late-March 2010. The Autodesk suggested retail price for an Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 stand-alone license is $3,495. The SRP to upgrade from either 3ds Max 2010 or 3ds Max Design 2010 stand-alone to 3ds Max 2011 stand-alone is $1,745. Autodesk Subscription is available for purchase simultaneously with the product or upgrade purchase for $495 SRP per year. Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 will also be available as part of the Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite 2011. The Suite offer customers 3ds Max 2011, together with Autodesk Mudbox 2011 and Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011 software. Artists and production facilities have access to a range of powerful creative tools at more than 35% cost savings, compared to purchasing each product separately.

Autodesk, Inc. announced Autodesk Maya 2011 software the latest version of its Academy Award winning 3D animation software. A new user interface (UI), 3D editorial capability and enhanced skinning workflow help provide computer graphics (CG) artists with an end-to-end creative workflow at an exceptional value. Autodesk Maya software has been used on countless games as well as every Oscar-winning movie for Best Visual Effects since 2001. Key New Features in Autodesk Maya 2011 Software are Maya 2011 has a fresh new look and feel. Based on Nokia Qt, the new UI is simpler to customize, featuring dockable UI elements and improved editors. Maya 2011 features a completely redesigned graphics pipeline that helps deliver new levels of performance for complex scenes while improving the quality of the viewport feedback. Mac OS X users can access considerably more memory to handle larger and more complex scenes with the new 64-bit executable. Autodesk anticipates that Maya 2011 will be available in English and Japanese in April 2010. The Autodesk suggested retail price (SRP) for an Autodesk Maya 2011 stand-alone license is $3,495. The SRP to upgrade from Maya 2010 stand-alone to Maya 2011 stand-alone is $1,745. Autodesk Subscription is available for purchase simultaneously with the product or upgrade purchase for $595 SRP per year. Autodesk Maya 2011 will also be available as part of the Autodesk Maya Entertainment Creation Suite 2011. The Suite offers customers Maya 2011 together with Autodesk Mudbox 2011 and Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011 software. Artists and production facilities have access to a range of powerful creative tools at more than 35% cost savings.