Craft Animations has announced free light
versions of its Craft Director Tools. Created to
introduce users of Autodesk’s 3ds Max and Maya to
the benefits of Craft Director Tools, Craft
4-Wheeler Free, Craft ObserverCam Free and Craft
Airplane Free all utilize research in advanced
control systems to reduce traditional animation
processes without compromising quality, says
Craft Animations’ co-founder and head of
research, Luigi Tramontana.

Craft’s newest FreeWare additions to Craft Director Tools include:

° Craft 4-Wheeler Free, which is capable of
modifying up to six factors — acceleration, top
speed, steering angle, brake force, suspension
and weight. Craft 4-Wheeler Free provides the
ability to rig and animate any type of
four-wheeled vehicle model.

° Craft ObserverCam Free, which offers the
ability to move in all directions. Craft
ObserverCam Free eases the animation process by
setting up a standard configuration and allowing
users to animate a camera with the help of input
devices.

° Craft Airplane Free, which lets users rig and
animate any type of airplane model, in addition
to the ability to alter the four parameters of
the tool’s configurations — weight, top speed,
elevation speed and turn speed.

Craft 4-Wheeler Free, Craft ObserverCam Free and
Craft Airplane Free may be downloaded via the
Craft freeware site
(http://www.craftanimations.com) and are
available for Autodesk’s 3ds Max and Maya, Mac
and Windows platforms.