Unity Weta Tools: Unity to unveil specialist VFX tools from Weta FX for the public; Here’s all you need to know

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3D tools, previously developed by Weta FX, the visual effects company renowned for works like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and James Cameron's Avatar series. These tools are being made available to artists within the broader visual effects (VFX) industry under the newly established Unity Weta tools division.

During its Siggraph 2023 keynote, Unity disclosed its plan to integrate some of Weta's premier compositing and character creation tools into the Unity real-time game development engine. This development comes nearly two years after Unity's acquisition of Weta's VFX division in 2021.

Among the Weta tools now entering public beta through the new division are enhancements for Wig 1.0, a tool for hair and fur creation in Autodesk Maya; Eddy 3.0, used to process volumetric effects like smoke or fire in Nuke; and Deep Compositing, which introduces depth to composition tools within Nuke.Timoni West, Vice President of Unity Weta Tools, in conversation with The Verge said that until now, these tools were part of a proprietary pipeline exclusive to Weta. He further added that now, they're accessible to a wider audience.

To provide context, numerous major studios in both the film and gaming sectors have crafted specialized proprietary tools to facilitate their project development. Prominent examples include Pixar's utilization of the RenderMan 3D rendering engine software for «Toy Story» and Weta's award-winning toolset for simulating water in «Avatar: Way of the Water.» Timoni West, Vice President of Unity Weta Tools, emphasized that these tools are battle-tested, having been employed in previous productions.

The goal is to extend their availability to a broader audience, thereby enhancing production efficiency. Unity is