iClone 8 and its companion Character Creator are now out of beta and officially released. The vital additional and expensive importer/exporter 3DXChange is no longer needed, as its functions have been ‘mostly’ integrated. As is the animation Curve Editor. Static non-animating objects apparently now render twice as quickly in the real-time renderer, and there have been engine improvements such as volumetrics and the ability to tweak shadow strength. I took a look at other features on the v8 beta back in November.
Nothing in terms non-photoreal features, akin to Poser 11’s comic-book mode or Sketch rendering, so far as I can see. No mention of automation, akin to Photoshop’s record / replay Actions.
There’s a been a huge price hike. Together, even the entry-level iC 8 and CC will together now cost you a hefty $900, and that’s before any further costly add-on packs such as mo-cap or canned animation or 3D content. Both still work on Windows 7+, which is nice to see given the trend toward ‘Windows 10 only’ software. The free edition of Character Creator is reportedly being ditched.