Keyshot 3 Goes to Movie

Luxion Keyshot, which made a name for itself by giving CAD users an easy way to produce rendered still images, is about to move into a new territory: animation clips. The movie-making function in Keyshot 3 is not meant for filmmakers producing feature-length 3D animations like Toy Story or Kung Fu Panda, but it's aimed at an emerging segment: those who want to produce multimedia-driven presentations and instruction manuals using CAD files.

Whereas traditional animators develop their sequence in key frames, Keyshot users can rely on dragging, dropping, pivoting, and rotating objects along points in XYZ axes, similar to how they'd move and position imported objects to set up scenes. The software also offers the option to use an orbiting, inclined camera for dramatic angles and movements.

The animation technology in Keyshot 3 is developed and owned by Luxion. The company has recently filed a patent to protect it, according to Thomas Teger, Luxion's VP of marketing.

Teger, who previewed Keyshot 3 at Siggraph 2011 (August 7-11, Vancouver, Canada), said, "Response has been really overwhelming. People love what they’re seeing. [They reported] being able to use the software without reading documentation, without watching a tutorial, which we do provide. Just by clicking around, they were able to create animation like they’ve never done before."

Luxion plans to make the new function available as an optional add-on for $500. (It's available for Keyshot 3 only, not earlier versions.)

For more, watch the video below, created by Luxion to demonstrate Keyshot2's animation capability.