Warner McGee
Animation World Network
January 2011

“How do you improve, inspire or innovate upon a tested and proven product? If you’re Luxology, you continually ask the question, ‘Can we do better?’ With the release of modo 501, Luxology has answered that question again with a resounding, ‘You betcha!’ It seems like everything has been touched and tweaked, some things more than others. From the improved and expanded online help materials, 64-bit Mac version, to the greased lighting Preview and Rendering abilities, Luxology takes a huge leap forward with the release of modo 501.”

Mark Bremmer
Microfilmmaker Magazine
February 2011

“With the release of modo 501, Luxology has crossed the boundary from software in primary development to a software that is reaching solid maturation. Having its very solid start as a premier CG/3D modeling tool with the founders coming from Lightwave, modo has maintained its renowned user-friendly demeanor while growing its animation and production pipeline abilities.”

Todd Sheridan Perry
Animation Magazine
August 2009

“Luxology is seriously out of control! I’m going to recommend that you go visit their website to check out all the colorful candy they have to offer in the Easter basket they are calling modo 401. I’m certainly not going to have enough room to even scratch the surface.”

Al Dean
Develop3D
January 2010

“The development work between SolidWorks and Luxology means a bridge is being created between two complimentary 3D disciplines, a bridge that enables engineers and designers to give life to their ideas. It doesn’t matter if you’re a master at making sweet 3D graphics or just introducing your mind to the concept of a third dimension, all the old ways of creating cool looking visuals have changed. To put it bluntly, it’s now damn simple to make your models look amazing and for those who want a seamless path from parametric 3D design to animated realism, modo is it.”

Christian Choi
Live Design
January 2010

“modo is one of the most useful companions to a drafting package out there. Its rendering engine alone is worth the $1,000 price tag. It’s a first class tool that will breathe realism into your renderings and inspire you to design more. After all, what could be more useful than a tool that inspires us to take more chances in our designs?”

Kenneth Wong
Desktop Engineering
June 2009

“With the new SolidWorks importer, you can open SolidWorks files directly in modo 401. This gives you the option to create not only photo-realistic renderings�but also�animation sequences using SolidWorks files. In modo’s environment, you could accomplish a number of things you might not be able to do easily in a mechanical CAD program.”

Josh Mings
SolidSmack
June 2009

“The new features in modo 401 are certainly impressive. The rendering does indeed look phenomenal and who doesn’t want to be able to instantly replicate geometry. For many, it’s a tedious workflow to go from one process to the other, modeling to materials to rendering to animation and back around again if something changes. What Luxology has done is combine that process into a single interface where each step can be touched at anytime throughout.”

Mark Bremmer
MicroFilmmaker Magazine
September 2009

“The interface is easy on the eyes, chock full of contextual menus, and displays some really common- sense features that leave me crying for similar features in the other packages I work with.”

“If you have multiple computers in your studio and want to create a render farm to accelerate your renders, I’ve found no easier set up than modo.”

“The rendered output from 401 is just fantastic.”

Ed Fear
Develop Magazine
August 2009

modo 401 feature article by Ed Fear gives a great review of the software, including a strong customer angle by highlighting Black Rock Studio and id Software which emphasize how modo 401 is very well-suited for game development.

Mike de la Flor
Studio Monthly Magazine
August 2009

“The ongoing development of modo as a major powerhouse took a significant step forward with Luxology’s release of modo 401. While just about every part of modo was tweaked by its developers, this update focuses on advanced rendering features, much improved animation, enhanced workflows, and, as always, better modeling tools.”

Tom Schlander
Digital Production
Germany
July | August 2009

“Luxology hat nun mit modo 401 das nächste Level beschritten. modo 401 bietet ein noch höheres Maß an Realismus beim Rendering und die Möglichkeit, noch mehr Details in eine Szene zu bringen.”

Mark Clarkson
Desktop Engineering
December 2008

“Luxology’s modo 302 might just be the perfect tool for quickly creating and manipulating new designs.”

Allen Harkleroad
Designer Today
June 2008

“I think I just found my new favorite 3D application. I’ve been a long-time user of 3ds max, Lightwave and several other 3D tools, and I will have to say that modo 302 blows them all out of the water (literally).”

Mark Bremmer
Micro Filmaker
February 2008

9.9 out of 10 rating

“If you need to create realistic objects quickly and have them rendered in photorealistic style, without taking aspirin or late nights, get modo. If you model lots of content for your productions, but battle with the modelers in other applications, get modo.”

Mike de la Flor
3DWorld
Issue 97

“The new digital sculpting tools alone are reason to upgrade to modo 301.”

Patrick Noland
SubdivisionModeling.com
March 2007

“modo is sure to fit in most any pipeline due to its strong feature set and an application environment that allows those coming from other modeling applications to transition easily.”

David March
Game Developer Magazine
5 of 5 rating

“What do you get when you add a bunch of cool features and an efficient SDS modeller to an existing tool that’s rock solid? modo 202.”

Kelly L. Murdock
GameDev.net
September 2006

4.5 out of 5 rating

“Overall, modo 202 is a stand-out package that is focused on doing what it does better than any other package.”

Fred Galpern
Animation World Network
September 2006

“...Luxology is to be commended for offering so much in a free update, especially at a time when their competition is offering quite a bit less in expensive, less worthy updates.”

Mike de La Flor
Macworld UK
August 2006

“New paint, UV, and rendering tools make modo the new leader in subdivision modellers”

Mike de La Flor
3D World Magazine
September 2006

Range of features: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall Rating: 9/10

“modo has rapidly become the preferred modelling solution for professionals in the arenas of film, gaming, visualisation and education, and a favorite of many independent artists. One of the main reasons for its popularity is Luxology’s attention to developing a user-centric application, facilitating the working process.”

Simon Danaher
Digital Arts Magazine
July 2006

Four out of five stars

“An elegantly designed, refined 3D system.”

Ko Maruyama
Mac Animation Pro

“You can paint directly into the scene, with lightning fast results.”

Fred Galpern
VFXWorld
June 2006

“Luxology’s attention to their users’ desires sets it apart from other high-end 3D software developers.”

Mylenium
CreativeCOW.net
Review Part 2
Review Part 3

4.5 out of 5 cows

“The great thing about modo beyond its flexibility is its fresh approach to solving problems that make 3D so hard for many people.”

Sean Wagstaff
Macworld Magazine
March 2005

4.5 out of 5 mice

“The best tool we’ve seen for subdivision surface modeling.”

	Luxology Events
	View a complete list of events of interest to the modo community.

Zoic Studios “Models at the Speed of Thought” with modo

Renown Visual Effects Company adds Luxology’s modo to Production Pipeline to Enhance Modeling for Television, Commercials and Films

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., – September 8, 2010 – As technologically advanced visual and special effects in television and films become the standard, the need for production studios to broaden their product pipelines with new and specialized software is becoming increasingly paramount. Emmy Award-winning visual effects company, Zoic Studios, has adopted modo^®, Luxology^®’s popular 3D content creation software, to enhance the company’s existing pipeline with advanced modeling and texturing on high-profile productions such as Fringe, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, Flash Forward, Human Target and True Blood.

Zoic Studios, based in Culver City, Calif., is a diverse visual effects company that specializes in post-production, project management, design capabilities and media applications for the entertainment industry and recently took home an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series for the company’s work on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Family Affair." In order to create the stunning visual effects for feature films, episodic television, commercials and video games that the company is known for, the studio’s artists are always looking for new cutting-edge tools that will help them get projects to production faster, which is why they have adopted Luxology modo.

“We implemented modo in order to add modeling, UV and texturing capabilities where other software programs in our pipeline were not as intuitive or easy to use,” said Paul Ghezzo, CG/VFX supervisor at Zoic Studios. “The phrase “modeling at the speed of thought’ is the way we often describe modo’s robust toolset for building characters, props and environments.”

modo has been used on a variety of recent projects such as a Guitar Hero and a Chevy Volt commercial, a TV Movie for Nickelodeon, production of the television series V and several episodes of popular TV series, including Fringe, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, Flash Forward, Human Target and True Blood. For example, modo was used extensively for modeling and detailing much of the Mother Ship from V. Ghezzo says, “The exterior of the V Mother Ship alone is nearly 3.2 million polys, and modo’s ability to manipulate a very large number of verts and polys made it the most cost effective and obvious choice.”

Artists are free to use a variety of tools at Zoic according to the specific demands of a given job and integrating modo into Zoic’s pipeline has been nearly a plug-and-play operation. With a floating license to modo and the use of OBJ, FBX and LWO formats, Zoic is able to easily move assets back and forth between different applications including Maya and ZBrush.

“The beauty of modo has been its intuitiveness and the shallow learning curve from introduction to final product,” said Ghezzo. “modo is a popular program within the myriad of applications used in production and, for many of the artists, it has become the modeling and texturing application of choice.”

About modo

modo is an innovative 3D modeling, painting and rendering software designed to accelerate the creation of world-class models, associated color and normal maps, and ultra high-quality renderings. modo’s modern workflow and advanced toolset easily deliver enhanced productivity for 3D artists working in design visualization, film visual effects, video production, package design, game development and graphic arts. A favorite tool among many designers and artists, modo’s innovative toolset offers one of the fastest paths to content creation on the PC and Mac.

About Luxology

Based in Mountain View, Calif., Luxology^® LLC is an independent technology company developing next-generation 3D content creation software that enhances productivity via artist-friendly tools powered by a modern underlying architecture called Nexus^®. Founded in 2002 by Allen Hastings, Stuart Ferguson and Brad Peebler, Luxology is home to some of the top 3D engineering expertise in the industry. More information on the company, its licensable Nexus technology, its flagship product modo^® and a gallery of artists’ images from the active modo community is available online at www.luxology.com

About Zoic Studios

Zoic is an award-winning digital studio involved in producing high-end visual effects and animation for feature films, episodic television, commercials, video games and interactive media. Spanning from visual effects, to live action production and specialty shooting, Zoic Studios’ imprint can be seen on V, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations, Fringe, and True Blood, spots for ESPN, Killzone 2, Mountain Dew, Craftsman, HP, and projects for EA, Activision, Pandemic and Sony. Zoic Studios has offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver. www.zoicstudios.com