Leading creative software developer, The Foundry has revealed COLORWAY, a brand new application that speeds up and changes the process of iterating on and finalizing an image.
 
COLORWAY accelerates the creative design process, giving users access to a simple environment where they can develop looks of 3D objects and scenes and then share a selection of iterations with clients.
 
The COLORWAY ecosystem also includes COLORWAY Presenter, a free desktop app that lets clients pick the images they prefer and make real-time changes, allowing for instant feedback on designs.
 
A COLORWAY kit for MODO, to let users import and export their COLORWAY files into the main app, is available today. A kit compatible with Maxon’s Cinema4D will be available soon.
 
How does it work?

1. Using the COLORWAY kit, users can export a .DCI file into the main COLORWAY app.
2. Once in COLORWAY they have creative freedom to quickly experiment with their looks and finalise a selection of configurable scenes.
3. They can then send those files over to a client or colleague working in the COLORWAY Presenter app.
4. The COLORWAY Presenter user can tweak to find their favourite variation of the image, before sending their chosen looks back to COLORWAY.
5. All color, texture and light changes stored in the signed-off looks can then be sent directly back from COLORWAY to the source 3D application in the .DCI file for final rendering.

Matt Brealey, COLORWAY Product Manager at The Foundry comments: “The process of creating a final look in 3D can be slow and frustrating for designers and clients. Simple changes involve round tripping back into a 3D application for time consuming re-rendering. With COLORWAY these barriers are removed, enabling artists with the ability to make almost limitless real-time changes to an image.”
 
Why COLORWAY?

• Iterative workflow – Make almost limitless changes to a 3D scene's colors, textures, decals and even lighting set-ups.
• Realtime, GPU powered updates – Make instant changes without the need to re-render. Changes to renderings are stored independently of the source image.
• Virtual lookbook – Save multiple image variations and ‘looks’, enabling clear downstream communication and design review.
• Share ideas – Send desired configurations to the free COLORWAY Presenter app.
• Finalize the image – COLORWAY Presenter lets clients iterate on images choosing from options defined in the full COLORWAY app.

 
Tomasz Lechociński, 3D Designer comments: “COLORWAY will really change the way I work as a designer and make my life so much easier for sure. For me the best thing about it is being able to make live changes to lights, which allows me to test many different lighting scenarios in no time at all. It's so much fun that I spend a lot of time just playing around with different light colors. The instant feedback is amazing.”
 
Lechociński continues: “Changing the colors, textures, and materials is particularly straightforward, which makes it an invaluable app for use at a wide range of companies — both by 2D artists refining their renders and by 3D departments. With COLORWAY Presenter, I can also get rapid feedback from clients, which helps me to quickly understand exactly what they want, and they love it because they get to experiment like artists themselves!”
 
The Foundry’s Brealey continues: “This application is not for one specific industry. It could be used in fashion design to pitch a range of shoe colors and textures to a marketing team, or maybe by an interior designer to show an alternate lighting environment or the grey wall versus the blue. The scene becomes as customizable as you decide to make it when you first render it out of 3D. Once it’s in COLORWAY, the possibilities are endless and lightning fast.”
 
A COLORWAY kit for MODO, to let users import and export their COLORWAY files into the main app, is available today. A kit compatible with Maxon’s Cinema4D will be available soon.
 
Pricing and availability
People keen to try COLORWAY can access a free unrestricted trial today, available until the commercial release later this year.
 
COLORWAY Presenter and the exporter kits for MODO and Cinema4D are free.
 
The COLORWAY family are available on both Windows and Mac OSX, with and iOs version of COLORWAY Presenter coming soon.
 
For further information visit www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/colorway

About The Foundry
The Foundry develops award-winning creative software used globally by leading artists, designers and creative professionals. The portfolio lets users create inspiring and technical high-end visuals across a wide range of industries including product and concept design, marketing & advertising, media & entertainment and game development.
 
In the design world clients include major manufacturers such as Adidas, Honda, Toyota and Trek. In VFX, clients include film studios and post-production houses such as Pixar, ILM, Double Negative, The Moving Picture Company, Walt Disney Animation, Weta Digital, Framestore and Sony Pictures Imageworks.
 
In 2013, The Foundry’s CEO Bill Collis was recognized as the UK Technology winner for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the company made the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 for the fourth consecutive year.
 
© The Foundry, its logo and product names are registered trademarks in the UK, USA and/or other countries. MODO is a registered trademark in the USA and/or other countries.
To find out more visit: www.thefoundry.co.uk/about-us/