SOFTWARE REVIEW

Clarisse 3.0

This latest release of Clarisse enables you to generate all kinds of composites in the speeds users have become accustomed to

PRICE $999 (First nodelocked license), $3,198 (Floating license) | COMPANY Isotropix SAS | WEBSITE www.isotropix.com

Adopted by industry names such as Double Negative and Gameloft Montreal,

Isotropix recently released Clarisse 3.0, its blistering fast, image-centric 2D/3D rendering and animation software

A layer-oriented combination of a CPU-based render engine, compositing and (non-character)animation software, Clarisse fi ts into the niche between KeyShot and Nuke, enabling you to work on work-in-progress shots or fi nal digital mattes, look development and/or VFX and animation.

Everything in the application – even shading, lighting and anti-aliasing – are entirely independent, which in addition to geometries and textures being path-based, gives the application its already famous speed and versatility. In fact, that speed has been boosted even more in Clarisse 3.0, as Isotropix has added PBR

rendering in addition to its already powerful Monte Carlo sampling unidirectional path tracer.

In addition, this release is packed with new features and enhancements, ranging from UI improvements to a freshly minted UV baker, motion-blurred volumes, volumes defi ned by

surfaces, geometry shape controls, fur improvements and viewport enhancements – for example you can now create a camera from your current viewpoint.

While the new feature list isn’t as extensive as version 2.0’s, there

are some standout features: one of them is, of course, the new PBR renderer, bringing with it a state-of-the-art range of lights, volumes and materials to work with; you now get fur, SSS and iridescence.

Controlled at the path tracer level, it’s a bit slower than the original renderer, but the trade-off is better sampling for less. Even though render times will always depend on your hardware and render-setup, I didn’t notice too much of a difference compared toa max-sampled KeyShot 6 render in a simple, low-sample scene.

In addition, a new geometry type has been implemented: Volume Surface enables users to generate volume density from a surface, thereby boosting the improvements that having a physical renderer brings to the new Volume material. OpenVDB Volume fi les also get a little TLC with this release, as they now

It’s so accessible andeasy to modify… Clarisse3.0 is a useful additionto most pipelines

94 3D WORLD October 2016 twitter.com/3DWorldMag

DEVELOPSoftware review

AUTHOR PROFILECirstyn Bech-YagherCirstyn is a freelance CG artist and educator, with over a decade’s experience in 3D, focusing on modelling and texturing. www. twitter.com/cirstyn

TDW212.r_clarisse3.indd 94 22/07/2016 11:59

Clarisse 3.0 comes with a range of new materials to go with its PBR renderer, including hair, SSS, Diff emissive, iridescent, refl ective, layered and transmissive

IN PRACTICE: CLARISSE 3.0TURNS WORK INTO PLAY I enjoyed getting re-acquainted with Clarisse through this new release. I was a little slow in fi guring out how to reduce the noise in renders, but found the quality, sample and other settings easily enough – one of the key reasons this new release impresses is its ease of use and accessibility. I’ve not used Clarisse since version 1.0 but found my footing immediately with this new update. I loved how it invited me to explore and play with the various features (new and old), and even when I’d fi nished reviewing the release, I kept feeling the urge to jump back in and try something new. It’s addictive software.

PRICE $999 (First nodelocked license), $3,198 (Floating license) | COMPANY Isotropix SAS | WEBSITE www.isotropix.com

VERDICT

Fast

Versatile

PBR functionality

New volume functionality

UV-based baking

MAIN FEATURES

support deformation motion blur, something which has also been implemented for Alembic meshes.

UV Baking is another great feature too, enabling you to bake your shaders in various projections, complete with UV edge padding capabilities and a widget for showing UVs and textures. A benefi t of this implementation is that fur now also supports UV maps, and can store multiple colour values and radiuses per curve.

What impressed me most is Clarisse 3.0’s versatility, accessible learning curve (provided you fi gure out where they’ve put things) and how much time it can shave off any pipeline. The fact that everything you’re working with is so accessible and easy to modify – be it heavy production items or generic work stills – makes Clarisse 3.0 a useful addition to most pipelines.

One thing I’d have liked to have seen is more import options, for example FBX support, as Clarisse currently only imports Alembic fi les in addition to .obj and .LWO formats. Isotropix could have given the current importers some attention too, as objects import as a single mesh with shading groups only, making complex objects harder to edit.

It would also have been great to have drag-and-drop texture loading. The incessant File>Import on complex fi les gets really tedious after a while, and it also costs you a little of the creative speed the application provides. It’s also a pity the pricing still hasn’t come down enough for small studios and freelancers yet.

However, these are minor issues with what is a quality, accessible must-have release.

95 3D WORLD October 2016 twitter.com/3DWorldMag

FROM FRANCE WITH LOVE

Another good piece of software to come out of southern France, Clarisse was created by CG artists for CG artists, and it shows in how the workfl ow is set up, and how fast it’s been adopted in the

industry since its fi rst beta, from small studios to big ones like Double Negative and WETA.

TDW212.r_clarisse3.indd 95 22/07/2016 11:59