Image Credit: Simon Lavit

Time for creators to demo NVIDIA Omniverse

NVIDIA Omniverse, the 3D content and collaboration platform, revolutionizing the way 3D artists work be it solo or with colleagues, just got an exciting upgrade.

TBH there’s too many exciting Omniverse updates to cover, check out NVIDIA’s blog for a complete list. Here we’ll go over the newest features with the potential to have the biggest impact on your 3D creative workflows.

Next-Level Omniverse App Updates

Omniverse apps, the foundation of Omniverse, are purpose-built and designed to accelerate different workflows.

Omniverse Create allows artists to interactively assemble full-fidelity scenes by connecting to their favorite creative apps to add lighting, simulate physically accurate scenes and more. The new Create update includes USD support for NURBS curves, a type of curve modeling useful for hair, particles and more. Scenes can now be rendered in passes with arbitrary output variables, or AOVs, delivering more control to artists during the compositing stage.

The Omniverse Machinima beta app provides tools for artists to remix, recreate and redefine animated video game storytelling through immersive visualization, 3D design collaboration and photorealistic rendering. The integration of NVIDIA Maxine’s body pose estimation feature gives users the ability to track and capture motion in real time using a single camera — without requiring a MoCap suit — with live conversion from a 2D camera capture to a 3D model.

Omniverse Showroom enables nontechnical users to experience Omniverse tech demos, allowing 3D artists to enter the Omniverse quicker to experiment with real-time physics and rendering technologies. The latest Showroom version includes seven new scenes, artists can engage with tech demos showcasing PhysX, rigid and soft body dynamics, flow, combustible fluid, smoke and fire, and blast, featuring destruction and fractures.

Omniverse View will enable non-technical project reviewers to collaboratively and interactively review 3D design projects in stunning photorealism. The new markup feature gives artists the ability to add 2D feedback based on their viewpoint, including shapes and scribbles, for 3D feedback in the cloud.

Make New Connections

New Omniverse Connections, think of them as plugins, are expanding the ecosystem and are now available in beta.

The Unreal Engine Omniverse Connector and the Adobe Substance 3D Material Extension, with the Adobe Substance 3D Painter Omniverse Connector releasing shortly, allow users to enjoy seamless, live-edit texture and material workflows.

Maxon’s Cinema4D now supports USD and is compatible with OmniDrive, unlocking Omniverse workflows for visualization specialists.

And did we mention CAD designers can now directly import 26 popular CAD formats into Omniverse USD scenes? Good day to be an architect.

Choose Your Renderer

Artists can now use Pixar HD Storm, Chaos V-Ray, Maxon Redshift and OTOY Octane renderers within the viewport of all Omniverse apps, with Blender Cycles coming soon.

Be it refining 3D scenes or exporting final projects, artists can switch between the lightning-fast Omniverse RTX Renderer, or their preferred renderer with advantageous features.

A Bonus Canvas

Surely you’ve heard of NVIDIA Canvas, the beta app sensation using advanced AI to quickly turn simple brushstrokes into realistic landscape images.

Canvas just added Styles — preset filters that modify the look and feel of the painting — can now be modified in up to 10 different variations.

More style variations enhance artist creativity while providing additional options within the theme of their selected style.

Check out style variations; and if you haven’t already, download Canvas, which is free for RTX and GeForce RTX GPU owners.

Install the NVIDIA Studio Driver

Why? Well it’s free if you have an NVIDIA RTX GPU.

In addition to supporting the latest updates for NVIDIA Omniverse and NVIDIA Canvas, the March Studio Driver also supports a host of other recent creative updates.

Including Blender Cycles, Luxion KeyShot 11 (pay attention 3D artists), GPU Audio Inc. and more.

Win an NVIDIA Studio Laptop

To celebrate these massive updates, NVIDIA is kicking off the #MadeInMachinima contest!

The #MadeInMachinima contest asks participants to build scenes and assets — composed of characters from Squad, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord and Mechwarrior 5 — using Omniverse Machinima.

Legendary Halo Red vs. Blue Studio, Rooster Teeth, produced this magnificent cinematic short in Machinima. Take a look to see what’s possible.

Machinima expertise, while welcome, is not required; this contest is for creators of all levels. Three talented winners will get an NVIDIA Studio laptop, powerful and purpose-built with vivid color displays and blazing-fast memory and storage, to boost future Omniverse sessions.

Studio laptops are tested and validated for maximum performance and reliability. They feature the latest NVIDIA technologies that deliver real-time ray tracing, AI-enhanced features and time-saving rendering capabilities. These laptops have access to the exclusive Studio suite of software — including best-in-class Studio Drivers, NVIDIA Omniverse, Canvas, Broadcast and more.

The contest runs through June 27. Visit the contest landing page for details.

Launch or download Omniverse today.