Pixar RenderMan Free Version Inbound

Animators will soon have a new tool to add to their arsenal: Pixar's RenderMan shading and lighting software. The product has been used in the creation process for various Pixar animations, and has already been available commercially for $495 USD.

The commercial version grants animators a single license for using the software, but such costs are often prohibitive for those on the hobby end of the scale. For those users in particular, Pixar has announced that a free non-commercial version of RenderMan will soon be available for download.

RenderMan works alongside other popular animation software like Maya, Houdini, Cinema4D, and more. This will allow those just getting into the industry or others who want to master new software to practice with Pixar's wares, evaluate its effectiveness, and such, as well as for developers to make plugins.

You can register for a notice when the free non-commercial version is available for download — it is slated to show up alongside the release of version 19 for commercial users, which will likely take place around the middle of August.

VIA: Ars Technica