Kickstand Unveils StretchMesh 1.5 for Advanced Character Animation in Autodesk Maya Software

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--
Character animation research and development company Kickstand today announced
new features in StretchMesh 1.5, an innovative surface deformation plug-in that
streamlines the creation of realistic character animation in Autodesk Maya
software.

Designed for animators and technical directors working in feature film,
broadcast, and game development, StretchMesh 1.5 incorporates a fast algorithm
for relational vertex knowledge, which shares polygonal knowledge with
neighboring vertices to speed the process of creating smooth character
deformations in Maya.

"StretchMesh 1.5 completely reinvents the character deformation pipeline," said
Daniel Dawson, director of Character Technology, Kickstand. "Character skin is
very elastic and difficult to animate. By giving polygonal meshes an inherent
`stretchy` characteristic, StretchMesh removes the time-intensive process of
manually tweaking skin weights to streamline rigging of complex body and facial
movements."

With StretchMesh 1.5, the existing feature-set has been improved to offer
substantial new features, including a major speed enhancement via
multi-threading in Maya 2009. Other new features include:

* Improved flexibility animating collisions using primitive sphere and primitive
curve colliders. Primitive sphere colliders behave like mesh sphere colliders,
but with far more robust performance. Primitive curve colliders provide an array
of radius values along the length of a curve to define a collision tube or
capsule, offering significantly better performance than equivalent mesh
colliders.
* The influence of a collision object can now be painted, giving users
per-vertex control over a collision and impact.
* Curve attractors provide the ability to pull vertices toward the closest point
on a curve. This technique is useful in facial rigging, for example, where the
vertices of an eyebrow need to be pulled toward a target curve.
* A new "Scale Safe" mode allows users to scale a mesh and safely preserve its
initial shape.

Purchase StretchMesh and receive a free upgrade to StretchMesh 1.5 upon
availability, summer 2009. StretchMesh is priced at $249 per seat; educational
pricing is also available. StretchMesh supports Autodesk Maya version 8.5 or
higher on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. For more details, please
visit www.kickstandlabs.com/tools or call 1-888-KCK-STND (1-888-525-7863).

About Kickstand

Kickstand LLC is a research and development studio committed to delivering
innovative character animation and game production technology. Founded by
experts with backgrounds in feature animation, video game development,
television, and commercial production, the company`s mission is to bring
sophisticated tools and character technology to the forefront. Kickstand
specializes in commercial and custom software development for 3D modeling and
animation programs, and works with studios to solve complex problems, create
technical assets, and develop specialized tools. For more information about
Kickstand, please visit www.kickstandlabs.com or call 1-888-KCK-STND
(1-888-525-7863).

Kickstand LLC
Rob O`Neill, 888-525-7863
rob@kickstandlabs.com
or
Media Contact:
Kelly Dove, 512-394-8789
kdove@kgkdpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009