Pixar releases RenderMan Pro Server 17.0 and RenderMan Studio 4.0

Pixar Animation Studios released RenderMan Pro Server 17.0 and RenderMan Studio 4.0, upgrading its Academy-Award-winning rendering software renowned as the industry standard for the highest quality animation and photorealistic visual effects. Amongst many powerful feature highlights, RenderMan Pro Server 17.0 includes significant performance gains including object instancing, photon mapping enhancements, and volume-rendering optimizations. RenderMan Studio 4.0 features include a new physically plausible shader library allowing Maya users to intuitively focus on the creation of photorealistic imagery, with an emphasis on artist-friendly out-of-the-box workflows. Both new releases are the result of an enormous collaborative effort combining the insight of the world's premier visual effects studios with Pixar's rendering development expertise. RenderMan Pro Server 17.0 is $2,000 US per license with volume discounts available for render farm purchases. RenderMan Studio 4.0 is $1,300 US per license and compatible with Maya 2013 on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems. Upgrade pricing from RenderMan Studio 3.0 and the former RenderMan for Maya is available upon request. A student bundle consisting of both RenderMan Studio 4.0 and RenderMan Pro Server 17.0 is available for $200 US. [source]