Electric Image Animation System 3D Rendering and Animation Software for Macintosh and Windows

New in EIAS v7.0

Multi-Layer Rendering

A new plug-in shader system has been added for post processing which gives you the ability to create multi-layer output files in the PSD and RPF file formats. This means you can render the different material properties of your scene on to different layers of a Photoshop file directly. You can render the diffuse on to one layer, the specular highlights on to another, the reflections on to another, etc.

EIAS layer system is organized as a set of modules (Layer Shaders), it’s opened for third party developers and future expansion. Three basic Layer Shadera are included in the 7.0 release.

1. EI_Layers.shl Render out the scene to a layered Photoshop file
2. RPF Saver.shl Render out data to an RPF file. This format is used by a variety of applications.
3. DOF.shl This layer shader provides dof effects directly at sub-pixels level without multiframe rendering.

The layer interface in Animator is very easy to use. Any Layer Shader can be applied to a whole scene and/or to any sets of objects. The name of the set will be used as the folder name in the Photoshop Layers window. The new "pseudo-transparency" feature allows a layered render of objects even they are obscured by others in a scene. With EI_Layers you can also render front and back sides of phong transparent objects on separated layers.

The layer system is fully supported by Renderama. When you render using the layer shaders a completed image file will be created along with a sequence of .psd or .rpf files. Renderama will return all of the files to the host. The files are stitched for strip network render.

Dynamics (Physics Engine)

Dynamics (Physics Engine), created by ramjac Software, is a high-performance physics system for simulating rigid body dynamics. It is based on the full-featured, stable, mature Open Dynamics Engine. The system is ideal for simulating articulated rigid body systems. Examples include falling objects, legged creatures, and stacks (or collections) of objects. There is a hard body collision detection engine built into the system for accurate and fast body-to-body collisions. Set-up is easy and solutions are computed very quickly allowing real-time preview in Animator and no impact on Rendering time. Dynamics works entirely within Animator, creating its own animation channels and writing its data to the Camera control file. This makes Dynamics fully compatible with Renderama.

Image-Based Lighting (IBL)

This powerful new feature creates lighting and shadows based on Global Illumination Sky map image. It allows you to match the lighting between a photograph and your render or to save time by using a photograph itself as the source of lights' color and intensity. The IBL is fully integrated into EI GI system. All you need is to assign a desired Sky map (typically HDRI but any texture can be used as well) and select “Adaptive Sky Map” mode in GI Sky panel.

HDR Support

Animator and Camera now allow .hdr files to be used wherever textures are supported. You can use the whole range of the HDR image or clamp it to any desired value and/or modulate/adjust it as you need.

Xpressionist 3.5

Xpressionist 3.5 is the advanced scripting engine from ramjac Software for the Electric Image Animation System (EIAS). It enables the user to script every animatable parameter that is available in the EIAS Animator. Uses range from basic object parameter linking-like advanced constraints or set driven keys to the creation of custom interfaces, controller objects for your animation needs or custom programming of entire animation software modules for the most demanding animation and simulation needs. It uses ENOCH as an expression language. ENOCH was designed as a flavour of C and was designed to be easy to understand an to learn. As a unique feature in the industry Xpressionist offers direct compiling of ENOCH scripts. The animator can bypass the bottleneck of a file translation of his script by the interpreter of Xpressionist, but instead compile an executable program, that will do the same task in a fraction of the time other systems require. That allows for the programming of custom runtime applications and makes Xpressionist a complete and full featured software development environment. Xpressionist comes with an additional Plugin "Kontrolleur". Kontrolleur gives users a basic but fully customizable interface to drive their scripted animation. Xpressionist 3.5 also offers an SDK for 3rd party plugin developers, who want to use or better communicate with Xpressionist. Xpresssionist gets used all over the world in day to day animation production.

New Raytrace Sky Maps

The World Info window's Raytrace tab now contains both: raytrace reflection sky maps and raytrace refraction sky maps. If a ray is cast and does not hit any objects, these maps can be used to assign a color to the ray for reflected and refracted rays respectively. Effectively, you can use these maps as skydomes environments around your raytraced scenes.

New Mapping Types

Three new mapping projection types have been added in order to allow you to work with the large number of existing HDR files on the web. These include: SkyDome, LightProbe, and VertCross. These options appear automatically in the Texture Info window for any Reflection or Sky map.

GI Glossy

In addition to diffuse lighting, GI now can perform a fast highlights calculation based on the Sky map color and intensity. It’s a huge time saver for GI scenes. Instead of “manualyl” creating numerous auxiliary lights to add speculars to your scene, you can derive the highlight directly from the brightest points in the sky map.

System Requirements

Macintosh: OS 10.4 or newer, Mac G5 or Intel processor, 1GB RAM, 32-bit 3D Graphics card with at least 256MB of memory,USB Port

Windows: Win XP/Vista, 1GHz or faster processor, 1GB of RAM, 32-bit 3D Graphics card with at least 256MB of memory, USB Port

Why EIAS?

EIAS 7.0 is a suite of high-end applications giving you the power, quality, and sophistication you expect from a 3D software program. These applications include Animator, Camera, Renderama, and Radiosity. This suite of applications continues its legacy of creating breathtaking character animations, building new worlds with 3D matte painting, and designing sophisticated product concepts. Not only is EIAS the fastest renderer on Earth, it is clearly one of the easiest and most intuitive 3D software applications to learn. Let EIAS 7.0 deliver the technology you need for only US $795. You will be creating beautiful images in no time, and you will wonder why anyone uses those other bloat-ware 3D applications.

View Hollywood Style visual effects created with EIAS:

For more than 15 years the Electric Image Animation System has delivered superior 3D graphics at a fraction of the cost of other solutions. If you are looking to create Hollywood-style 3D visual effects at an affordable price you don’t have to look any further. The Electric Image Animation System has been used to create some of the most lavish Blockbuster Films in history while delivering the speed you need to get your work done ON time and UNDER budget! View our list of Production credits.

Features

EIAS 7.0 is equipped with many features including FBX Support, improved OpenGL (with transparencies), a built-in scripting tool (Xpressionist 3.5), new Noise Factory shader, and an array of 3D animation capabilities and workflow improvements like the new contextual menus and multiple undos.

The Electric Image Animation System also contains all the features you expect from a professional 3D software product. Within the suite you have a Global Illumination 3D rendering engine, Multi-Processor Support, Match Move, Material Library System, Macromedia Shockwave Support, Unlimited Network Rendering, vast array of Character Animation Tools, Global Illumination, and much more.

Animator 7.0

EIAS Animator 7.0 has all the tools needed to produce your own print-resolution still images or a Blockbuster Film like "Star Wars!" With advanced Character Animation Tools, Global Illumination, Real-Time Camera Mapping, True-To-Life Motion, Blur Previews, and a swarm of other technologies for creating visual effects, Animator is what you need to envision your projects into reality.

EIAS Animator 7.0 takes artists to worlds beyond EI Tech. Group's previous Animation System. Animator has the capability to work with projects that have polygon counts in the millions. So, when other applications choke on the polygons, EIAS Animator will purr like a finely tuned sports car. This ability to deal with insane amounts of polygons has led Electric Image Animation System to be the perfect 3D software application for architectural rendering. So quit wasting time waiting for screen updates and viewing simple wireframes when you can have OpenGL shaded previews (with transparency) and frame rates not seen in packages under $10,000!

Camera 7.0

Now that you have brought your visions to life with Animator it is time to form them into reality! With all the hard work gone into creating your vision why stop short with a poor 3D rendering system that doesn't do justice to your work? Take control of your vision and give it the power, speed, and quality it deserves!  EIAS Camera 7.0 is the answer to your needs. EIAS 7.0 delivers several features, for example: volumetric scattering (also known as subsurface scattering), Global Illumination and Ray trace volume transparency. Camera also supports caustics and large-format, print-resolution images. You have absolutely no limitations on the size and quality of your images.

Hummer Commercial rendered in EIAS Camera:

EIAS’s Camera is a photo realistic 3D raytracing and scanline 3D rendering software system that is seamlessly integrated within the Electric Image Animation System. Camera has proven to be the fastest 3D rendering software in the industry over a span of many years, and now the EI Animation System brings this legacy to new platforms. In fact, Camera's speed is surpassed only by its ability to handle an incredible amount of data and render beautiful imagery.

EIAS and Maya - "Let's work together."

When it comes to the leader of 3D software, everyone has their opinion. However, we can all agree that the fusion of the EIAS' world renowned renderer and Maya's feature packed platform is a force to be reckoned with. Here at EITG, we recognize the endless possibilities of collaboration. As an official Autodesk Developer Partner, EITG has committed to working with Autodesk in making EIAS friendly to our Maya brethren. EI Technology Group continues to develop EIAS Camera and improve interoperability between EIAS and other 3D products, giving you amazing results with breathtaking speed. This EIAS to Maya pipeline is already in use by many customers. Recent VES award winner "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon in 3D" exemplifies the possibilities of this extremely powerful relationship.

Maya to EIAS Pipeline: