In issue 123: An exclusive feature from The Embassy showing how to animate the District 9 dropship, Astro Boy's 21st-century makeover, plus software and resources worth $1,184 on the CD

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IN THE MAGAZINE

The making of the District 9 dropship
The Embassy explains how they modelled and textured the ship to the high level of detail seen in the film before sending the model over to Weta Digital for animation, rendering and shot integration

Astro Boy for a new generation
Osamu Tezuka‘s classic Japanese manga Astro Boy, springs into action in three dimensions on the big screen. 3D World follows the adventure as Imagi takes the 2D character and breathes 3D life into him

Commentary and analysis from the CG industry
Blender breaks through – It‘s the world‘s most popular 3D package, but its reputation as a hobbyist‘s tool lingers. Can Blender make inroads into studios with its milestone 2.5 release?

Practical training for every major 3D package
Applications covered this issue include: Maya, Softimage, modo, LightWave 3D, Cinema 4D, Blender, Shade, SketchUp, After Effects, Poser, Vue

Expanded Projects section
Stay in touch with your peers with this month‘s best commercial 3D work

Inspirational imagery
The best new personal artwork from around the world

On test this issue
ZBrush 3.5, MachStudio Pro 1.2, Particle Flow Tools: Box 2, Workstation Specialists WS2112A

Also in issue 123

• Debrief: Mi‘s experience animating around the CBeebies presenters
• 3D legends reflect on life-changing work. This issue: Rare‘s Stephen Macfarlane talks Super Mario
• Letter from Tokyo: Stephen Cryan reckons a working holodeck is closer to reality than you might think

ON THE CD
Software, models, textures and video training worth $1184

Shade 8.5 Professional
Windows/Mac
Worth $899

TurboSquid Submarine
Available in 3DS, C4D, LWO, MAX, MB, OBJ, XSI formats
Worth $199

DAZ Productions
DAZ Studio, Poser formats
As sold for $39

Vanishing Point model
Poser format
Worth $10

PLUS
12 soundscalpel.com audio effects worth $37, 15 high-quality textures from TextureSpace, in JPG format, and 11 minutes of training from The Gnomon Workshop