Digital Production is taking a short end-of-year break. We would happily keep going until the very last calendar page, but the news situation has become impressively sparse and the editorial cat has formally vetoed any further attempts, insisting on a pause. When the cat is right, the cat is right.

Before you disappear into the holidays, one gentle reminder. Back up your data. All of it. And maybe take a moment to sort out the chaos folder. We all have one, were files like “final_really_this_one” quietly acumulate, along notes, software you defintily wanted to test and those meeting notes that were oh-so-important. Cleaning that up may even provide a respectable excuse for postponing visits to THOSE relatives.

Behind the scenes, we are still here. If anything genuinely relevant pops up, we will jump back in. Otherwise, we will see you next year with fresh news, new tools, and the usual mix of things you needed and things you did not know you cared about.

Thank you for reading, supporting Digital Production, and sticking with us through the year. Have a calm end of the year, enjoy the holidays, and see you on the other side.

The post That’s It for This Year: Digital Production Wishes You Happy Holidays first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Godot users can now experience the drama of a boss fight while typing. Ridiculous Coding, a free editor extension by developer John Watson (aka jotson), adds real-time chaos to the script editor: screenshake, fireworks, progress XP bars, and visual effects every time you hit Enter.

The plugin’s only purpose is to make coding “less boring”. When you write code, it rewards progress with particle bursts and celebratory effects. Syntax errors might not yet trigger explosions, but judging from the developer’s sense of humour, it feels inevitable. Watson is also developing The Mailroom, a “cozy horror job simulator” built in Godot, where you process infernal paperwork in a small regional office of Hell, located in Modesto, California. Ridiculous Coding is available now in the Godot Asset Library. As with any experimental editor plugin, artists and developers should test stability before adding it to production pipelines.

Anyone curious how serious Godot development actually works might want to visit Helge Maus on Patreon. His in-depth courses and project breakdowns show Godot at work, without the fireworks.

The post Godot Now Shakes When You Code Badly first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: IDA BEST RETOPO TOOLS by Dmitriy Ismailov is a collection of Python-based add-ons for Blender 4.5 and higher. Built around the Vulkan branch of Blender, these tools provide fast, modular retopology functions inspired by Maya’s Quad Draw system. If your daily routine involves cleaning up dense ZBrush or photogrammetry meshes, these scripts might fit neatly between standard Blender tools and full-blown commercial retopo suites like RetopoFlow or TopoGun.

The News: Vulkan Retopo, the DIY Way

Ismailov’s toolset, IDA BEST RETOPO TOOLS, is a hand-built collection of modular Python add-ons that rethink Blender’s retopology workflow. The author’s motivation was simple: most existing Blender retopo add-ons rely on legacy Python operators originally derived from early tools such as PolyQuilt. While functional, these older scripts become memory-heavy when dealing with multi-million-poly meshes.

The new suite instead uses Blender’s Vulkan rendering backend, introduced experimentally in Blender 4.5, to speed up viewport updates and reduce lag when editing complex models. Each function is distributed as a separate .py add-on rather than a monolithic package, allowing artists to install only the tools they need.

Modular and Explicit Installation

Every Python file in the pack acts as an independent add-on. Users must install them one by one via Install from Disk rather than adding a full folder. After installation, the tools appear in Blender’s N-panel. This modularity allows per-tool debugging and selective updates, at the cost of some setup time.

The Core: Quad-Based Interaction

The heart of the toolkit is a Quad Brush system designed to emulate Maya’s Quad Draw behaviour. With hotkeys such as Ctrl, Shift, and mouse drags, users can place vertices, generate quads, or extrude retopology strokes directly on high-poly geometry. The operator runs in modal mode, reacting to viewport input until manually switched off. Performance considerations are explicitly addressed: undo operations can be unstable when combining reverse and smooth functions, and the author warns users not to press Ctrl Z during some modal interactions. These caveats underline the project’s in-progress nature and its focus on function over polish.

Visual Feedback and Vulkan-Specific Display

The set includes a visual overlay module for highlighting non-manifold geometry and isolated vertices, updating in real time with camera movement. The overlay only works in Vulkan builds and disables itself automatically when switching tools to avoid frame rate drops on heavy meshes. This approach mirrors professional viewport isolation found in Maya or Modo, though it still lacks per-object wireframe isolation. The author notes plans to refine this behaviour later.

Geometry Creation and Snapping

One of the notable features is dynamic snapping to face normals. The Project Along operator reprojects newly created quads onto underlying high-poly geometry, fixing floating polygons common in manual retopo. The process can be triggered manually or bound to custom hotkeys using the PAMenu Editor, a fork of Blender’s abandoned Pie Menu Editor project now maintained by the community.

Additional Operators and Controls

All parameters, including vertex display thickness and overlay colours, can be modified in the N-panel. Several secondary tools extend the base functionality:

The Selection Circle generates loops or cuts across multiple separate objects, aiding hard-surface retopology such as armour pieces or layered clothing.
Smooth Iteration acts as an incremental vertex smoother applied via hotkey S.
Cylinder and Stroke Tools create curved or circular retopo patches with adjustable density using mouse scroll input.
The Flip Normals Script fixes inverted faces, particularly common in imported high-poly ZBrush meshes.

Practical Notes and Warnings

The developer stresses that these tools are designed exclusively for Blender 4.5+ Vulkan builds. Functionality may partially work in earlier versions, but the visualisation layer will not. Users are encouraged to assign custom hotkyes via PAMenu Editor or Blender’s Keymap Preferences for efficient access. Undo behaviour remains limited in modal tools, and certain combinations (Reverse + Smooth) can trigger state loss. The author calls these “known quirks” of the early build.

A Maya-Style Workflow Inside Blender

Functionally, the set delivers a familiar workflow to artists used to Maya’s Quad Draw: click to place vertices, drag to fill quads, Shift to smooth, W to toggle wireframes, and F to flip normals. The result is a more tactile retopology experience than standard Blender’s tools, which still rely on traditional transform operators.

While not as integrated as dedicated commercial solutions, IDA BEST RETOPO TOOLS brings much of the same speed and clarity to Blender’s open ecosystem.

Development Outlook

Ismailov notes that future versions will expand with features akin to Petiq, a now-abandoned Blender retopology tool. The project’s direction remains open and community-driven, with feedback encouraged via Gumroad comments. Given that these tools touch low-level input and viewport operations, users are advised to test them on non-production builds first. Stability, especially under Vulkan, may vary between Blender nightly versions.

Bottom Line

IDA BEST RETOPO TOOLS is not a polished consumer product but a working production hack, a coder-artist’s attempt to make Blender’s retopology as immediate and predictable as Maya’s. For retoop specialists handling multi-million-poly meshes, it is a surprisingly competent and fast addition to the toolkit, as long as you are comfortable installing Python scripts manually and living with occasional visual oddities. Always test such innovations thoroughly before relying on them in live production.

The post Quad Draw Comes to Blender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the event: FMX is Europe’s long-running conference for animation, visual effects, interactive media, games and basically the same topics as Digital Production. It takes place every spring in Stuttgart and online as part of Stuttgart Animated Week. The event is organised by the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and runs alongside the Animation Production Days (APD) market and the International Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart. FMX combines technical talks, case studies, workshops, exhibitions and a marketplace for tools and services. Attendance spans creative professionals, technologists and students.

Early Programme Highlights Confirmed

FMX 2026, themed THE ROAD AHEAD, has confirmed the first sessions focusing on visual effects practice and the impact of artificial intelligence on creative workflows. One confirmed session from Pixomondo VFX Supervisor Max Riess will detail the transformation of human actors into animal characters for the feature Woodwalkers 2, covering on-set supervision, digital blend techniques and rendering strategies used to create authentic animal performances. This is one of the first concrete case studies announced ahead of the conference.

Another confirmed talk will feature Dr Aaron Hertzmann from Adobe Research discussing whether AI algorithms can be considered artists, grounded in parallels to historical art technologies. He argues that while generative AI tools reshape production and the understanding of art, they are unlikely to be recognised as artists themselves in the near term.

Larry Cutler, CTO of Baobab Studios, is scheduled to share industry-wide patterns in reactions to “job-killing” technologies, drawing from his experience with AI-driven character systems. These early confirmations suggest FMX 2026 will combine production insight with reflective debate on emergent technologies.

FMX Forum and Partner Participation

In addition to conference talks, the FMX Forum is open for bookings and planned to include workshops, a marketplace for tools and technologies, recruiting hubs, and university showcases. Partners already confirmed include Abstract, CG Wire, RnDeep and VFX PICK for the marketplace; Artineering and Prism Pipeline for workshop slots; Chaos in the company suite; and several studios and educational institutions in the recruiting and campus spaces. These components aim to give attendees direct access to tools, technology and talent pipelines.

Animation Production Days: Submit by February

The Animation Production Days (APD 2026), the business and co-production market that runs from 5–7 May in Stuttgart as part of Stuttgart Animated Week, has opened submissions for animation projects. APD is the key co-production and financing platform in Germany for feature films, TV series, mobile content, games, cross-media and virtual reality projects, bringing producers into curated one-to-one meetings with broadcasters, streamers, distributors and financing partners. Projects should be in concept or development and demonstrate international co-production potential. Up to 50 projects will be selected and showcased at the event. Project entries are accepted until 4 February 2026.

APD also offers a Talent Programme for emerging European producers and creator teams, providing free accreditation and festival access to selected teams, including accommodation support.

Notes for Production Artists
Attendees and presenters should verify final session details when the full FMX programme is published, as early confirmations may be updated with additional technical specifics closer to the event dates. And there is always a boiit of shift.

P.S: This is your reminder: Book hotels well in advance, or you have to stay somewhere in the Swabian mountains. There be dragons!

The post FMX 2026: First Talks Confirmed and APD Project Submissions Open first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Blackmagic Design develops cameras, broadcast gear, and postproduction software including DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, and Fairlight. The Blackmagic Camera Setup utility keeps their cameras’ firmware up to date, adds new features, and includes the Blackmagic RAW toolset used in Resolve and other DCC workflows.

PYXIS learns to cool itself

Version 10.0 of Blackmagic Camera Setup, released just now, introduces a dynamic fan control system for the Blackmagic PYXIS 12K. The camera now adjusts its cooling behaviour automatically while recording.

Pre-record and expanded audio arrive

Both the PYXIS 6K, PYXIS 12K, and the URSA Broadcast G2 gain a pre-record mode, allowing the capture of a few seconds before the record button is pressed, a practical addition for live and documentary work. All three models also now support four-channel audio recording, mono headphone monitoring, and a 0% opacity option for frame guides, giving operators the ability to clear overlays entirely when composing shots.

API, proxies and lens support updates

The update adds new Camera Control REST API commands, aimed at remote operation and integration with external systems. Blackmagic also adds an option to inhibit proxy recording, which could be useful for locked-down or multi-camera workflows. For the URSA Broadcast G2, 10.0 also improves Blackmagic Cloud integration and B4 lens compatibility. Blackmagic has not detailed the nature of these improvements, and they are not independently verified at press time.

RAW utilities and system requirements

The installer continues to bundle Blackmagic RAW Player, RAW Speed Test, RAW SDK, and RAW plugins for host applications. The update supports macOS 14 (Sonoma) and macOS 15 (Sequoia) on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, as well as Windows 10 and Windows 11 64-bit systems. Blackmagic lists 8 GB RAM as the minimum for macOS.

Updfated PYXIS Manual

At the same time, BMD updated and released a new manual for the PYXISI Camera – geht the full PDF here for free or have a look if you think about getting one of them. https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/BlackmagicPYXISManual.pdf?

Practical reminder

As always, users should verify firmware stability and feature compatibility before deploying updates in active production environments. Never update during production, which we heartily recommend, because yesterday a Windows-Update made this news you are reading a hectic morning duty instead of a relaxed last evening thing. Also: Check yourt backups, while you are at it.

The post Blackmagic Camera 10.0 brings fan brains and pre-record tricks first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.