The Foundry releases MARI 1.2; Adds Python Integration

Leading visual effects software company The Foundry announces the latest release of its creative paint and texture tool - MARI 1.2. Now shipping, MARI 1.2 adds Python integration, Fractal Noise Tools, Texture Mirroring and new Shader tools as well as improved detection and support for GPUs.

Support for Python 2.6.5 allows users to produce scripts that seamlessly integrate MARI into their workflow. Texture Mirroring is useful for painting UV assets and, when combined with the two new fractal noise tools, can be used to add natural looking detail quickly and easily.

A new Levels Filter allows you to change the colour levels in paint, and new shader modules have been added for masked bump and improved Normal mapping. MARI Product Manager, Jack Greasley, said, "The Foundry has seen huge interest in MARI and it has had a significant uptake from artists within cutting edge facilities. We have consulted in detail with these users and the new features in MARI 1.2 are a result of our initial consultations and customised engineering solutions. We will continue to develop MARI collaboratively so we can ensure it evolves to meet the needs of textures artists."

Fredrik Sundqvist, CG Supervisor at Baseblack, said, "We were immediately very impressed by how well MARI handles multiples of very big textures. It looks like a piece of software that has actually been designed in close cooperation with artists. We thought at last here‘s a 3D paint package that might do away with the need for Photoshop."

Martin Preston, Framestore, adds, "One of the many reasons that Framestore like Mari is that it allows us to smoothly integrate texture painting into our pipeline. This most recent release of Mari has meant we‘ve been able to place our asset management & publishing tools directly into the UI, so our texture painters lives get easier, and the pipeline gets simpler. Everyone wins!"

MARI continues to follow an aggressive development roadmap into 2011 with support for Ptex to follow this summer.