Broadening its already widespread FreeWare catalog and extending real-time 3D animation to the masses, Craft Animations™ today announced free light versions of its highly regarded Craft Director Tools™ . Created to introduce users of Autodesk's 3ds Max and Maya to the benefits of Craft Director Tools, Craft 4-Wheeler Free, Craft ObserverCam Free and Craft Airplane Free all utilize cutting-edge research in advanced control systems to drastically reduce traditional animation processes without compromising quality.

"The goal of Craft FreeWare is to share the same high-quality, time-saving and cost-effective animation processes previously experienced by professional users with a larger audience," said Craft Animations' Co-founder and Head of Research, Luigi Tramontana. "By providing modified versions of Craft Director Tools, beginning animators may now take advantage of our real-time technology and gain a sense of education before graduating to the next level."

Craft Director Tools eliminate the prolonged tasks of key framing and scripting, allowing users more time for creative processes. Additionally, professional users have gained the opportunity to create natural motion paths on-the-fly through autopilot functions, or a variety of input devices such as gamepads, joysticks, keyboards, Wacom boards and 6DOF controllers (such as Space Pilot®® ).

Craft's newest FreeWare additions to Craft Director Tools include:

• Craft 4-Wheeler Free: Capable of modifying up to six significant factors - acceleration, top speed, steering angle, brake force, suspension and weight, Craft 4-Wheeler Free provides the ability to rig and animate any type of four-wheeled vehicle model.
• Craft ObserverCam Free: With the ability to move in all directions, Craft ObserverCam Free eases the animation process by setting up a standard configuration and allowing users to animate a camera with the help of input devices.
• Craft Airplane Free: Users may rig and animate any type of airplane model, in addition to the ability to alter the four essential parameters of the tool's configurations - weight, top speed, elevation speed and turn speed.