Alembic (computer graphics)

Alembic
Filename extension .abc
Developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks,
Lucasfilm
Initial release August 9, 2011 (2011-08-09)[1]
Latest release
1.7.9
(September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)[2])
Type of format Exchange format for computer graphics
Open format? Yes
Website www.alembic.io

Alembic is an interchange file format for computer graphics used by visual effects and animation professionals. It was announced at SIGGRAPH 2011,[1] and has been widely adopted across the industry.

Its primary focus is the interchange of geometry (models) between different groups working on the same shots or same assets. This is often different departments in the same company or different studios working on the same projects. Alembic supports the common geometric representations used in the industry, including polygon meshes, subdivision surface, parametric curves, NURBS patches and particles. Alembic also has support for transform hierarchies and cameras. With the latest version comes initial support for materials and lights as well. Alembic is very specifically not concerned with storing the complex dependency graph of procedural tools but instead stores the "baked" results.[3]

Alembic was developed as an open source library primarily by Sony Pictures Imageworks[4] and Lucasfilm.[5]

Tools which support Alembic

Tools with native support

ApplicationAs of versionVendor
Flame2016Autodesk[6]
Maya2012Autodesk[7]
3ds Max2016Autodesk[8]
KATANA1.1The Foundry[9]
Houdini11.1Side Effects Software[10]
iClone6.5Reallusion Inc.[11]
RenderMan?Pixar[12]
Arnold?Solid Angle[13]
MARI10.2v1The Foundry[14]
MODO10.2v1The Foundry[15]
NUKE7.0The Foundry[16]
Cinema 4DR14Maxon[17]
V-Ray2012Chaos Group[18]
Guerilla Render0.15.2Mercenaries Engineering[19]
RealFlow2013Next Limit[20]
Maxwell Render3Next Limit
Clarisse iFX2012Isotropix
LightWave 3D11.6NewTek[21]
Keyshot Pro4Luxion
Octane Render1.5Otoy
Blender2.78Blender Foundation[22]
Fusion7.0Blackmagic_Design

Plugins

PluginApplications supportedVendor
Crate Suite3DS Max, Maya, Softimage, ArnoldExocortex
AtomKraftNuke, After EffectsJupiter Jazz[23]
OrtholabMudboxOrtholab[24]
DF Plugin3DS MaxDigital Frontier[25]
Alembic ExporterDAZ StudioDAZ 3D[26]

Other information

Alembic is named after an American manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps-founded in 1969 by American dietitian, psychochemist, and audio engineer Owsley Stanley

The octopus in Alembic's logo is inspired by the name of Sony's previous format, Tako, which is the Japanese word for octopus. The logo also incorporates a yin-yang symbol, representing the symmetry between the input and output functions of the Alembic API.

References

  1. 1 2 Sony Pictures Imageworks, Lucasfilm (August 9, 2011). "Lucasfilm and Sony Pictures Imageworks Release Alembic 1.0". PR Newswire. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Downloads". Alembic. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Alembic". Alembic.io. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sony Pictures Imageworks - Open Source". Opensource.imageworks.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lucasfilm - Film and Television Production". Lucasfilm. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Flame - 2d/3d Compositing/Finishing/Editing - Autodesk". Usa.autodesk.com. Retrieved 11 Feb 2018.
  7. ↑ "Maya - Computer Animation & Modeling Software - Autodesk". Usa.autodesk.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "KATANA - Lighting & look development software - The Foundry". Thefoundry.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Home - SideFX". Sidefix.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "3D Animation and 2D Cartoons Made Simple - Reallusion Animation Software". Reallusion.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Pixar's RenderMan Products". Renderman.pixar.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Solid Angle - Arnold Renderer". Solidangle.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "MARI Features :: 3D Texture Painting :: The Foundry". thefoundry.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  15. ↑ "The Foundry Community :: TV :: Training :: View". Luxology.com. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  17. ↑ "MAXON - 3D FOR THE REAL WORLD: Errorpage". Maxon.net. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Chaos Group". Chaosgroup.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Guerilla Render - Animation and VFX production rendering". Guerillarender.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "EC - Alembic I/O". Support.nextlimit.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "LightWave - 11.6 Features Overview". Lightwave3d.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Dev:Ref/Release Notes/2.78/Alembic". wiki.blender.org. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  23. ↑ Jupiter Jazz Limited. "AtomKraft, by Jupiter Jazz". Atomkraft.hk. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  24. ↑ "Ortholab". CodePlex. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "デジタル・フロンティア-Digital Frontier - DF TALK - Alembic for 3dsmax". Dfx.co.jp. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "DAZ 3D - 3D Models and 3D Software by Daz 3D". Daz3d.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
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