AI is, putting it mildly, the new Big Thing in technology. Virtually every industry on- and offline is scrambling to find new ways to incorporate it into new and existing products, and VFX is no different.
Case in point: A few news AI-driven render engines demonstrate the potential for saving massive amounts of time from the typically detailed work of creating and editing realistic 3D images. Here are a few of the most noteworthy:
Chaos Next
Next is Chaos’s “AI Lab,” which is intended to be incorporated into and bolster their existing line of 3D visualization tools. Its features in development include generating realistic PBR images from text prompts; a smart scene populator that can place assets within 3D spaces; a material aging simulator, intelligent lighting optimization, and a voice interface.
Chaos states multiple principles intended to underpin its AI-based technology promising to respect user privacy and offer transparency in their algorithms and user data, but has thus far not given any details about its data sources.
Airen 4D
Airen 4D is a yet-to-be-released AI-based render engine for Cinema 4D in development by plugin developer Merk. As shown in the below video, it promises the ability to take simple geometric shapes and convert them into photorealistic images.
Merk promises the plugin will offer “Ai 360 skies, Ai backgrounds, Ai material editor, Seamless Ai textures, and MOOORE[sic].” and will be offered at a $199 price point. The plugin itself is currently in Alpha, so time will tell.
While there are many other AI-driven 3D products in the works, some of the limitations remain consistent, namely the difficulty in creating convincing animation. Most of the examples seen are for creating static images, meaning there’s still a long way to go before the technology is fully mature and viable for wider usage within VFX.
Wondering how to prepare for AI’s impact on your industry? Having concerns about the reliability of AI-based products? Nodal can help! Contact us today.