LiveStyles, a new plug-in for existing 3-D software created by ThinkFish, provides comic relief in an industry obsessed with photorealism. The application, which was licensed by Apple for its QuickDraw 3-D on Tuesday, draws the lines and strokes of three-dimensional objects with "cartoon realism," as well as styles connected with artists like Picasso.
"Photorealism is the holy grail of 3-D animation: Every time someone comes up with the latest step in that direction, people go nuts for it. But two months later someone else could put out something better," explains ThinkFish spokesman Ben Calica. "Two years later though, a cartoon is still a cartoon."
Robert Glidden, publisher of the 3D Media Report, says ThinkFish "raises the whole question of what graphics is on the Web or PC. The traditional view has been that it is the ability to replicate things perfectly. ThinkFish have really turned that on its ear and said, 'No, the real purpose of graphics is to provide useful and attractive pictures.'" Glidden believes that other companies that make the same imaginative leap will find their way out of the rut of scarce markets for 3-D.
The business model is similar to Adobe's, says Calica. ThinkFish will license the software as either authoring or playing packages. The company will distribute styles of rendering to individual users in the way fonts are sold now. ThinkFish has also licensed its software to Fractal Design, a software company that has done much to bring artistic techniques to computer-based two-dimensional illustration, primarily with its Painter software.
