To lead off the new release, Luxion has added a number of new lighting presets to its KeyShot arsenal, making it even easier to achieve quality renders in the blink of an eye. In addition to those presets, KeyShot 6 comes equipped with a real-time region renderer and a material animation feature that gives users the option to switch materials through the duration of an animation.
In my opinion, however, the most critical addition to KeyShot 6 is the ability to export multi-layer files—making it even easier to composite images in powerful programs such as After Effects and Cinema4D. For motion graphics experts and marketing folks alike, that type of functionality is critical.
When it comes to more advanced rendering settings, KeyShot 6 also welcomes a geometry splitting mode that makes it possible to apply two separate materials to a part by simply splitting a mesh and dropping separate materials on the desired regions. Add to that a Material Graph that makes it easier for a user to tune materials on the fly and the ability to apply materials to logos.
Other highlighted features include:
· Animation features now include path, DOF and panorama animations
· KeyShotVR is now optimized for interior VRs and responsive website design
In the end, KeyShot 6 adds new functionality that should improve workflows and cut the time it takes to get a quality image out to clients. Will those improvements be enough to net a new generation of adopters? Only time will tell.
Currently, KeyShot 6 is available as a private Beta. If you’re interested in testing out the KeyShot 6 Beta release, email beta@luxion.com for a license. For those of you willing to wait a bit, a full version of KeyShot 6 will be available as a free upgrade to KeyShot 5 later this summer.