Get updated on this week's latest animation and motion graphics news.

Wacom announces Pro Pen 3D - three-button stylus for greater control

Wacom has announced the Pro Pen 3D - a digital, three-button stylus that promises to give designers and artists greater control.

The pen's new button provides additional ways to manipulate and speed up the design process when sculpting within 3D software applications. For example, its default settings control tumbling and rotation.

"We created the Pro Pen 3D for our customers who expressed a need for a three-button stylus, and we’re excited to share it with our community in the creative world," says Ed Neumann, senior vice president of marketing for Wacom's Creative Business Unit.

Autodesk SketchBook 4.0 for Android includes UI improvements and GPU acceleration

Autodesk has made its painting and drawing app Sketchbook 4.0 available for Android users on Google Play.

Enhancements include a redesigned rendering and drawing engine, an update to the UI featuring "two-hand" mode, 60 brand-new default brushes, and smart assistive technologies.

"We’re the drawing app of choice for Android, and this new release is going to definitely solidify that," says Theodore Davies III, Autodesk.

The importance of short film according to Eoin Duffy

In an interview with Motionographer, director Eoin Duffy discusses why short film is great for broadening your creative horizons, referencing his latest production "I AM HERE."

Award-winning Duffy goes into detail about his late arrival to the animation game, as well as funding and distribution advice for short films.

"I encourage everyone to produce a large scale personal project," notes Duffy. "Play around in an unshackled environment. Expand your skillset. Push your style into new directions. Grow your creative voice. Increase your audience. Attract worthy clients. Repeat."

Red Giant Universe 2.2 includes 11 new transitions and updates to two effects

Red Giant has announced the arrival of Universe 2.2, which offers 11 new transitions, updates to two existing plugins, and added support for Avid Media Composer.

Standout transitions include the effect of changing channels on an old CRT TV, and an authentic film strip using real scans from 16mm and 8mm film.

“The Red Giant Universe tools make it easy to quickly turn stories into something that is visually amazing,” says Red Giant CEO Chad Bechert. “We’ve heard non-stop from editors that they need faster and more interesting transitions, and we wanted to deliver to them in a big way.”

Jumbla Academy welcomes Open Day attendees

We would like to say thanks to everyone who attended the first Jumbla Academy Open Day at our South Melbourne studio. We hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did!

It was great to see so much enthusiasm for animation and motion graphics. Professor Lahiru was particularly impressed at the questions you guys asked too.  

But because it was the biggest turnout we've ever had, places for next semester are expected to go quickly. So, don't forget to download your infopack and apply ASAP!