Celebrating the Art, Craft and Business of Animation https://www.awn.com/ en-US 15 Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:05:31 -0800 Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:09:19 -0800 https://www.awn.com/news/w-t-fx-amd-partner-develop-next-generation-vfx-tools The 2 giants have signed an MOU to explore the development of new rendering and AI tools aimed at optimizing visual effects production workflows. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/w-t-fx-amd-partner-develop-next-generation-vfx-tools Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:05:31 PST AI https://www.awn.com/news/visual-effects-society-announces-ves-handbook-fourth-edition The newest VES Handbook of Visual Effects edition includes contributions from 30 new VFX experts and covers new topics like AI; releases December 18 from Routledge. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/visual-effects-society-announces-ves-handbook-fourth-edition Mon, 08 Dec 2025 5:34:15 PST AI https://www.awn.com/animationworld/shorts-focus-john-gardners-whats-locked-behind-door Combining rotoscoped public domain footage from the 1962 cult classic ‘The Brain That Wouldn’t Die’ with original 2D/3D animation, the music video presents a surreal meditation on psychological concealment. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/animationworld/shorts-focus-john-gardners-whats-locked-behind-door Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:02:09 PST AI https://www.awn.com/news/w-t-fx-and-aws-develop-ai-tools-vfx-artists Deal calls for the companies to explore 3 specific areas where AI can meaningfully improve visual effects workflow efficiency and creative iteration. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/w-t-fx-and-aws-develop-ai-tools-vfx-artists Fri, 28 Nov 2025 7:32:05 PST AI https://www.awn.com/news/modern-uprising-studios-screenvision-media-announce-frame-forward-animated-ai-festival Submissions are now open for the first international festival for AI-enabled, director-driven animation, which celebrates the future of storytelling. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/modern-uprising-studios-screenvision-media-announce-frame-forward-animated-ai-festival Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:58:09 PST AI https://www.awn.com/news/previs-pro-releases-update-user-requested-refinements Software introduces Pose Mode, Hand Pose presets, and a series of community-suggested workflow mods to make storyboarding and scene creation more expressive and precise. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/previs-pro-releases-update-user-requested-refinements Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:23:44 PST AI https://www.awn.com/news/nvidia-studio-presents-hologram-crowdsourced-music-video Adobe MAX attendees were invited to use AI features in Adobe Premiere or Photoshop to remix and reimagine frames of the original music video by Jordan Sommerlad. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/nvidia-studio-presents-hologram-crowdsourced-music-video Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:21:43 PST AI https://www.awn.com/blog/studio-one How artist-driven AI is rewriting the economics of animation. Kevin Geiger https://www.awn.com/blog/studio-one Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:47:05 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/deemos-launches-groundbreaking-rodin-gen-2-genai-intuitive-3d-creation The pioneering AI 3D research company unveils its most advanced model to date, a 10B-parameter 3D generative AI built on the BANG architecture, geared for professional uses across film, TV and games. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/deemos-launches-groundbreaking-rodin-gen-2-genai-intuitive-3d-creation Thu, 23 Oct 2025 9:39:39 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/jibjab-storybots-creators-launch-spiridellis-bros-studios Investors in Evan and Gregg Spiridellis’ AI-powered animation studio include Polaris Founders Capital, Caruso Ventures, Google’s AI Futures Fund, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, Tim Ferriss, and Katie Stanton. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/jibjab-storybots-creators-launch-spiridellis-bros-studios Mon, 20 Oct 2025 9:04:42 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/fox-entertainment-invests-holywater The equity stake investment in the Ukrainian AI-powered vertical video technology platform signals the studio’s focus on digital storytelling and next-gen creatives; commits to producing over 200 titles in the next 2 years. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/fox-entertainment-invests-holywater Tue, 14 Oct 2025 8:12:54 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/frankenstein-cinematographer-dan-laustsen-set-view-2025 It’s less than one week away… the person behind the camera on Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated film joins more than 150 award-winning speakers from the world of animation, VFX, games and AI who will take part in a packed schedule of keynotes, talks, panels, workshops and masterclasses; event runs October 12-17 in Turin, Italy. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/frankenstein-cinematographer-dan-laustsen-set-view-2025 Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:32:07 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/nvidia-open-sources-audio2face-animation-model Audio2Face accelerates the creation of realistic digital characters by providing real-time facial animation and lip-sync driven by generative AI. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/nvidia-open-sources-audio2face-animation-model Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:53:55 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/view-2025-reveals-expansive-full-conference-lineup It’s just 2 weeks away… more than 150 award-winning speakers from the world of animation, VFX, games and AI will take part in a packed schedule of keynotes, talks, panels, workshops and masterclasses; event runs October 12-17 in Turin, Italy. Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/view-2025-reveals-expansive-full-conference-lineup Thu, 02 Oct 2025 9:53:50 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/event/infinity-festival-2025 The eighth annual festival returns to Los Angeles this October 9-10 to celebrate the convergence of art, technology, and entertainment; the Monolith Awards, hosted by Paul Debevec, Chief Research Officer of Eyeline Studios, will take place October 10. AWN Staff Editor https://www.awn.com/event/infinity-festival-2025 Mon, 29 Sep 2025 9:31:29 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/event/fredrikstad-animation-festival-2025 FAF 2025 returns to Fredrikstad, Norway with a full program celebrating the dynamic storytelling of global animation October 23-26. AWN Staff Editor https://www.awn.com/event/fredrikstad-animation-festival-2025 Mon, 29 Sep 2025 9:21:22 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/event/mipcom-cannes-2025 The world’s largest entertainment content market returns to Cannes October 13-16. AWN Staff Editor https://www.awn.com/event/mipcom-cannes-2025 Mon, 29 Sep 2025 8:59:31 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/blog/creators-manifesto The call to arms in the age of AI. Kevin Geiger https://www.awn.com/blog/creators-manifesto Mon, 29 Sep 2025 7:26:22 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/previs-pro-gets-major-update-free-access-tier Previs Pro 3 adds new Animatics feature that incorporates motion, timing, and pacing directly into the visual planning process; Light Grade exits beta; new free pricing level allows users to generate unlimited watermarked storyboards, use up to three AI-generated props, and create one animatic sequence. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/previs-pro-gets-major-update-free-access-tier Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:06:26 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/event/anifilm-2026 The International Festival of Animated Films runs May 5-10, 2026, in Liberec, Czech Republic; submissions now open through December 31, 2025. AWN Staff Editor https://www.awn.com/event/anifilm-2026 Thu, 11 Sep 2025 12:00:23 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/asteria-c-craig-patterson-unveil-chikaboom-animated-short Starring Yara Shahidi, Natasha Lyonne, Daveed Diggs, Roy Wood Jr., and Tika Sumpter, the film follows an aspiring young magician whose curiosity accidentally unleashes Kaboom, a chaotic magical creature, into the heart of New York City; debuts this Fall. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/asteria-c-craig-patterson-unveil-chikaboom-animated-short Thu, 11 Sep 2025 10:29:57 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/blog/can-chatgpt-write-animation-scripts-you You’ve probably heard the expression "Good-Fast-Cheap: You can only have two but never all three". Well, I believe you can get all three. Jeffrey Scott https://www.awn.com/blog/can-chatgpt-write-animation-scripts-you Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:22:19 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/opsis-partners-utopai-studios-pioneer-ai-supported-content-creation Leading visualization studio launches new division to harness video-to-video AI tools for creator driven, cost-effective feature and episodic projects; shows in pre-production with the AI-tech company include ‘Cortés’ and ‘Space.’ Dan Sarto https://www.awn.com/news/opsis-partners-utopai-studios-pioneer-ai-supported-content-creation Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:25:18 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/outsyders-reveals-ai-powered-immersive-projects-disney-imax-samsunggoogle-xr The creative-tech collective’s latest finished projects include a ‘Blue Angels’ IMAX 3D conversion, a ‘Lilo & Stitch’ 3D reimagining, and the ‘Asteroid’ 8K HFR VFX experience. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/outsyders-reveals-ai-powered-immersive-projects-disney-imax-samsunggoogle-xr Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:32:18 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/lightcraft-unveils-spark-ai-powered-production-platform-filmmakers The system augments traditional filmmaking with AI-assisted collaboration tools to create virtual shots and organize teams from pre-to-post. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/lightcraft-unveils-spark-ai-powered-production-platform-filmmakers Mon, 18 Aug 2025 9:33:25 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/chaos-releases-v-ray-7-3ds-max-update-2 The leading renderer adds AI tools, astronomically accurate night skies, plus over a dozen new features. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/chaos-releases-v-ray-7-3ds-max-update-2 Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:49:58 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/blog/hitting-one-home-team The Cleveland Institute of Art’s new Interactive Media Lab has Disney DNA. Kevin Geiger https://www.awn.com/blog/hitting-one-home-team Mon, 04 Aug 2025 15:20:14 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/ravel-expands-orchestrate-ai-software-launches-supermicro-turnkey-ai-system New solutions aim to eliminate friction in deploying, managing, and scaling AI workloads from creative studios to data centers. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/ravel-expands-orchestrate-ai-software-launches-supermicro-turnkey-ai-system Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:03:34 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/prime-focus-studios-shares-ramayana-trailer Set 5,000 years in the past, Namit Malhotra’s two-part live-action cinematic universe follows the eternal battle Rama vs. Ravana; Part 1 releases in Diwali 2026, and Part 2 in Diwali 2027. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/prime-focus-studios-shares-ramayana-trailer Wed, 16 Jul 2025 9:01:42 PDT AI https://www.awn.com/news/animaj-raises-85-million-create-ai-powered-global-kids-franchises The funding will support the company’s strategy to transform children’s IPs into multi-format properties through a hybrid model combining AI-powered production with platform-native content development; strategic IP acquisitions will be accelerated. L'Wren Alexa https://www.awn.com/news/animaj-raises-85-million-create-ai-powered-global-kids-franchises Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:26:34 PDT AI