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Kickstand Unleashes “Creatures”

Kickstand, an innovator of advanced character animation and custom pipeline technology, today reveals “Kickstand Creatures: Volume One,” a new animated short film highlighting the company’s expertise in 3D modeling, character development, and animation technology. Watch “Kickstand Creatures: Volume One” at http://kickstand.tv/animation/.

Founded by former technical directors for Dreamworks and Charlex, Kickstand offers 3D-character animation and custom software solutions to streamline production pipelines for myriad clients. In the making of “Creatures,” Kickstand artists relied on Autodesk® Maya® software paired with Kickstand StretchMesh 1.5 software to model and animate the film’s lead creature. In addition to showcasing its character animation capabilities, Kickstand created the “Creatures” animated short as a proof of concept for its creature pipeline—a fast, efficient and flexible character pipeline comprised of both off-the-shelf and custom software programs.

“Animated shorts are infiltrating the mainstream as companies look for fresh ways to build buzz and excitement around their brands and products,” said Rob O’Neill, cofounder of Kickstand. “‘Creatures’ highlights our strengths as character animators and storytellers, and demonstrates the capabilities of our StretchMesh software for character rigging and deformation. As a result, several clients have commissioned us to use this powerful medium to tell their story, too.”

STRETCHMESH IN ACTION

Rigged using Kickstand StretchMesh 1.5 software for Autodesk® Maya®, “Creatures” highlights the software’s powerful surface deformation capabilities. By applying a stretchy quality to polygonal geometry, StretchMesh gives artists better quality and control over the movement and skin elasticity of an object or character. 

Implemented as a standard deformer in Maya software, StretchMesh 1.5 features advanced relational vertex and shape preservation technology, offering animators and technical directors working in feature film, broadcast and game development the ability to create smooth character deformations.

StretchMesh 1.5 is priced at $199 (USD) per seat. Educational pricing and site licensing is also available. StretchMesh supports Autodesk Maya version 2008 or higher on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. For more details, please visit http://www.kickstand.tv/tools or call 1-888-KCK-STND (1-888-525-7863).

ABOUT KICKSTAND

Kickstand Industries Inc is an innovative character research and development company producing custom animation and pipeline technology for leading visual effects and film studios worldwide. Founded by experts in feature animation, video game development, television, and commercial production, Kickstand specializes in commercial and custom software development for advanced 3D modeling and animation and offers consultation services to help solve complex production pipeline issues, create technical assets, and develop specialized tools for 3D modeling and animation. For more information about Kickstand, please visit http://www.kickstand.tv or call 1-888-KCK-STND (1-888-525-7863).

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