Graphical Services

We have been working on computer graphics for more than 20 years by now, doing everything from stylized graphics to completely photorealistic scenes. With a solid background in film, commercials, games and visualization we know the demands of each production and always strive to use new technologies as they become available. For a detailed list of software we frequently use and an excerpt of our key work experiences please refer to the section below.

Applications we currently use:

• Maya, Mudbox
• Photoshop, Bodypaint
• Nuke, Fusion, Shake
• Realflow

Key work experience:

• Modelling interactive and highly detailed objects
• Texturing, shading, lighting
• Rendering with Mental Ray
• Particle and fluid simulation
• Character skinning and rigging

Software Development

Custom tool development and being able to extend and add to the functionality of existing commercial software to solve specific project requirements is the base frame of every successful production. At Lightstorm3D programmers have an artistic background and they are using their own tools in production. This results in software that can be easily handled by an artist and resolves time consuming workflow issues. We pay great attention to expandability and easy maintenance of our tools and make sure they integrate smoothly into the host application. We tune our software for best performance making use of multithreading where applicable. The tools are designed for maximum flexibility to cover a broad range of applications and interact with other tools properly. Optionally, we integrate licensing mechanics to protect the investment of our customers. We also provide support during preproduction and pipeline planning stages.

Host applications we currently develop software for:

• Maya
• Mental Ray
• Nuke
• Windows

Programming languages and APIs we use:

• C++
• Python
• MEL
• OpenGL
• DirectX
• HLSL

An excerpt of target applications we worked on:

• Dynamic and procedural particle simulation
• Muscle based skinning with topology independency, relaxing, jiggle, collisions, ...
• Procedural geometry creation and deformation
• Landscape creation
• Liquid surface simulation
• Fur simulation and creation/styling tools
• Cloth simulation tools
• Crowd simulation
• Shader, procedural texture and rendering utilities (Maya, Mental Ray)
• Geometry creation and deformation rendertime
• Modelling tools
• Procedural animation and motion randomization
• Animation and mocap tools
• Universal memory and file caching toolset
• Pipeline tools and common workflow enhancements