Maxon spreads holiday cheer with winter update

It’s the season of giving, so Maxon has unwrapped its winter update across its Maxon One product suite. That's one less thing to ask Santa for, then! 

This release delivers new features for Cinema 4D, Redshift, ZBrush, and Red Giant, focussing on workflow improvements and enhanced rendering capabilities.

Key features in the winter release

• New Boolean generator in Cinema 4D supporting animated elements
• Enhanced particle control system with GPU acceleration (ideal for creating those perfect digital snowfalls)
• Cross-platform workflow improvements for ZBrush iPad to desktop
• Updated Redshift rendering with AI-based denoising
• New Pixel Dither effects in Red Giant Universe

“From broadcast and film to branding, character creation to world-building, there is no corner of art and design that Maxon One tools do not touch, and with every new release, we aim to make the lives of creative professionals that much easier and more enjoyable – and what better time to bring the joy than the holidays?” said Philip Losch, CPTO of Maxon.

Krampus in the kitchen 

To showcase these updates, Maxon has released "Crunch Time," a short film created by Something's Awry. The piece follows Krampus as he cooks up holiday magic in his frosty fortress, demonstrating the capabilities of the Maxon One toolkit. 

The film serves as both a seasonal treat and a technical demonstration of the new features, from particle systems creating magical snowfall to the enhanced Boolean operations crafting intricate decorations.

At the heart of the project sits Cinema 4D 2025.1's new Boolean generator system. The system lets creators build complex shapes from animated elements, supporting multiple inputs within a single Boolean object and moving beyond the previous two-input limitation.  

Cinema 4D-ecember updates 

The Boolean generator represents a significant change in Cinema 4D's modeling capabilities. Maxon claims the new algorithm delivers improved performance with complex geometry while maintaining high frame rates during animation.

The software also gains enhanced particle behavior control through custom properties and a new Particle Node Modifier, part of the GPU-accelerated Unified Simulation toolset. Perfectly timed for adding precisely controlled snow effects to your winter scenes. 

Redshift reindeering improvements  

Redshift 2025.2 continues development of its Toon rendering system while improving render speeds in both ZBrush and Cinema 4D. The update adds support for three-dimensional contours and includes improved integration with Adobe Substance.

The rendering engine now features AI-based denoising across platforms and adds a Random Material Switch for varying materials across MoGraph clones and other objects.

Deck the workflows with ZBrush

Cross-platform workflows see a significant enhancement with improved iPad-to-desktop transfer capabilities. The update adds: 

• Bidirectional file exchange between ZBrush for iPad and Cinema 4D (iPad/Desktop)
• Compatibility with Maya and 3DSMAX 2025 versions. (iPad)
• Faster Redshift rendering with denoising and separate AOV passes for shadows and reflections. (Desktop)
• A new Bend mode for the Anchor Brush for character posing. (Desktop)
• UV and texture mapping (iPad)
• Surface noise (iPad)
• Localization (iPad)
• Improved support for Apple Pencil Pro (iPad)

To showcase the creative possibilities, ‘digital chef’ Patrick 4D has cooked up a series of virtual gingerbread cookies using ZBrush. Users can download and customize these festive creations through the trial or full version of ZBrush, and then share their cookie creations by tagging @maxonvfx on Instagram. 

Red Giant Stocking Stuffers

Red Giant 2025.2 introduces a breadth of updates across its product line:

• New Film Title templates in Maxon Studio
• Six new Pixel Dither effects in Universe
• Enhanced transition effects and motion templates
• Improved integration with After Effects templating toolkit
• Expanded customization options for graphics and effects
• On-trend effects library updates
• New motion template presets
• Streamlined compositing workflows

The update strengthens Maxon Studio's position as an After Effects templating toolkit, providing creators with hundreds of customizable graphics and effects. The templating system aims to reduce production time while ensuring consistent quality across projects.

Available Now

The winter update is available now for Maxon One subscribers, giving creators the gift of new tools to play with during the holidays. 

Or before and after the holidays, if Maxon is part of your work—downtime is essential for work/life balance! 

Happy Holidays.