So it's that time of the year.  After a year and a half, Adobe is about to release the next version of their creative suite.  Will it be worth it?  Probably.  Even though they released CS4, CS4 features didn't entice artists to switch for such little new features.   The cost of performance/features to price wasn't worth it.   CS5 will most likely change that.  For one thing, more of their programs are gonna be 64 bit.  Meaning that it will now be able to use all of the ram on your system unlike the previous version which were stuck using at most 4 gigs.  Now you can open really large pictures files and have an amazing amount of ram preview in After effects. Some suggestion I would like to have in the new CS5.  I hope that they start to utilize the gpu cores more (would be great with After Effects).  Also, make the installer quicker, why is it such a hassle.  It's freakin way to slow.  If you're wondering when it going to be out, well, it's going being released on April 12.   Adobe looks like they'll have a press event on their site as well.  If you want to see a preview of what on CS5, check out this video of Photoshop CS5 and it's "content aware fill".  It is just crazy if not impossible.

Looks like Pixologic has more tricks up it's sleeve.  Zbrush being one the best 3D sculpting tools around has just released a plugin that will allow you to UV map your creation within seconds with a click of a button.  Don't be fooled by that one click, there are other settings for greater accuracy and control.  You can use weight paints for allow which will be seamed  and not.  There are many more.  Check out more information at zbrushcentral.com.

Official Site: www.pixologic.com

Who wants a giant art board? Who wants to create a giant mural without the mess? Well check this out, this here is a digital graffiti wall. It's basically a giant monitor where you use a program similar to painter and spray paint your art all over it. It's pretty cool. It also looks like it uses a pseudo spray can as your input device. Very clever. So for those that love to do graffiti and don't want to mess up a good brick building, make sure to check this thing out.

Video Courtesy of tangibleinteraction.com.

I recently found out about the online paint application, Sketchpad (http://mugtug.com/sketchpad/).  Everyone seems to think only HTML5 is responsible for this as if learning the "HTML5" markup language alone will allow them to create this wonderful app and say goodbye to Flash.  Yes, this technology will beat Flash, but you'll probably need to know lots of JavaScript before you can start making such dynamic applications.  Take a peek at the Sketchpad source and you'll see that it seems 90% of the script is JavaScript.  If designers thought coding in Flash ActionScript was hard, well things are about to get a little harder!  I could be wrong, but there are probably more syntax keywords and APIs to learn in JavaScript than ActionScript.  There's JQuery and Apple's "Canvas Element" which is the API in HTML5 that is used in Sketchpad.  You heard me right, APPLE, aka Steve Jobs, aka the pretty geeks' computer company has a key component that's part of the HTML5 specification.  Well, I can't wait to learn more about HTML5, but it seems like I have to wait if I want a book.  Amazon.com currently reports that HTML5 books are only available for Pre-Order! (BTW, IE lovers, this sample app doesn't work in IE8!)

It was going to happen sooner or later.  The new wireless Intuos4 is the same size as Intuos4 M just with bluetooth.  There really isn't much difference compared to the regular wired version.  The wireless version has built in battery.  It will last for around 7 days with full use or somewhere thereabouts.  when you do need to charge it, just plug it into any usb port on your computer and it will charge while it is still in use. The wireless version is good for those that hate wires dangling around or for those that have pets ( more specifically cats) who like to  chew on those cables.  If you're interested in this,  the Wacom Intuos4 Wireless is available now for around $40 more than the Intuos4 M (5x8).  Please note if your computer doesn't have built-in bluetooth, you will have to supply ( or purchase from Wacom) you own bluetooth adapter.  Check out more info at Wacom.com.

Check out Johnathan Williamson's tutorial on using alpha maps to create textures during sculpt mode in Blender 2.5.  Though Blender is no Z-Brush, it is still capable of doing some really awesome stuff.  Follow Johnathan's easy to follow tutorial.  Even if you're new to Blender, you won't get lost in this one.  Don't forget to check out the other videos that show more about the Blender 2.5 at www.blendercookie.com .