Maxon Partners with Monster Clay and CGS ORIS for Digital Clay Materials

Maxon has released new digital clay materials designed to precisely replicate the surface textures of physical modeling clay. In collaboration with specialist materials manufacturer The Monster Makers and imaging technology firm CGS ORIS, these tools integrate realistic clay textures into digital workflows.

The initiative began with the goal of transforming The Monster Makers' Monster Clay® into a digital material that would retain all the detail of the physical substance. Traditional photography proved insufficient for capturing the subtle textural variations, necessitating specialized 3D scanning technology.

CGS ORIS utilized their METIS scanning technology, which specializes in flat surfaces and uniform lighting, to capture the clay's surface details. Their system employs eight lights to create a 'dome effect,' enabling high-quality capture of material properties like 3D displacement and normals. Rob Lawrence of CGS ORIS noted the system's capability in capturing a full set of material textures.

Maxon's Capsules team processed the captured scans and converted them into Redshift materials, resulting in a digital version of Monster Clay® that realistically mimics the appearance and feel of the original. The new materials are now available for use within Maxon's Cinema 4D software and Redshift rendering engine, as well as in ZBrush. The company states these tools empower artists to bring the depth and realism of scanned, real-world materials into their digital creations.