Maxon's Spring 2025 Update: Create Anywhere + Render Faster
Maxon are showing off their latest stuff from their new Hollywood office. Let's break down what's actually worth knowing about the Maxon Spring 2025 update without the marketing fluff.
Red Giant
They've finally brought Real Lens Flares and Optical Glow to Resolve - about time. The lens flares simulate actual light/lens interactions with film-inspired presets. Optical Glow gives you that GPU-accelerated control over highlights we've all been waiting for. Nice to see Red Giant expanding their Resolve toolkit beyond just color correction. Get Red Giant Complete →
Maxon Studio
Basically a template system for AE that turns projects into "Capsules" - could be useful for teams drowning in bloated project files. They're dropping 100 new Capsules from Andy Needham and teasing a Create Page where you can build your own templates. Might actually save some time on those rushed client revisions when you're on your third cup of coffee. Get Maxon ONE →
Cinema 4D
The spline tools are getting a serious upgrade. Those Rocket Lasso spline modifiers that everyone's been downloading anyway are now built right into the Deformer palette. The Constellation Generator for those node networks we all need for UI designs, and a Weave Spline Generator for woven patterns without the tedious manual work.
Simulation tools are getting more intuitive with interactive viewport handles for particle emitters - no more endless tweaking in parameters. They've added emission density control using Maxon noises, fields, and vertex maps.
And - finally - they teased a new liquid sim system coming soon. We'll see if it can handle the coffee cup splash shot that every client seems to want these days.
Asset Browser got updated with some new arch-viz stuff - fabric materials, basket weaves, interior doors, and 29 HDRIs from Aixterior. Oh, and they fixed the Look At Camera tag after everyone complained about it. Get Cinema 4D →
Redshift
OpenPBR support is here - nice for pipeline integration across multiple render engines. Material definitions stay consistent, and there are some energy conservation improvements for diffuse roughness and fuzzy surfaces.
C4D integration gets a viewport bake mode that finally gives you an accurate preview of materials without having to do a test render. Houdini gets per-point attribute interpolation for hair curves - say goodbye to those chunky colored hair transitions.
USD assets can now be modified at render time in Houdini and Maya with support for object and material overrides. And for the 3DS Max crowd converting from V-Ray or Corona, there's automatic material conversion. The volume shader got upgraded with multi-scatter anisotropy and extinction falloffs for better cloud work.
ZBrush
iPad version is catching up to desktop with ZModeler (finally) plus QMesh mode for quickly adding/subtracting topology. They've added NanoMesh support, UV Master for unwrapping, and VDM alphas for undercutting effects.
Desktop gets deeper Redshift integration with 18+ new materials and the same enhancements to ZModeler that iPad users are getting. Get ZBrush →
Cineware for Unreal
Streamlined workflow for getting C4D scenes into Unreal with fewer conversion headaches. Better support for character animation and rigs, plus compatibility with Unreal's Interchange Framework. You can now choose between Interchange or Datasmith depending on your pipeline needs.
That's the update stripped of all the marketing talk. Solid improvements overall, but nothing revolutionary except maybe that liquid sim they teased. Worth updating when it drops.