In-Depth Feature List
Drawing Features Strata Design 3D CX makes it easy for 2D designers to get started in 3D. You can import 2D elements from applications like Adobe Illustrator or you can draw 2D objects directly in Strata Design 3D CX.
  • 2D/3D Text
  • 3D Primitives
  • 2D Drawing Tools
  • Bezier Lines/Regions


Modeling Features Strata Design 3D CX offers an incredible array of modeling options. You can model using familiar Bezier splines, but now in 3D: traditional polys- but now with Quad Polyspines; MetaSurfaces to meld objects together; Extrude and Lathe; Boolean to combine or subtract: Skin; Mirror and more!
  • Polyspline SDS
  • Meld MetaSurfaces
  • Bezier Surfaces
  • Extrude
  • Lathe
  • Boolean
  • Skin
  • Polygonal Modeling
  • Path Extrude
  • Construction Objects
  • Shy Objects
  • Shape Instancing
  • Replicate / Duplicate
  • Object Manipulation
  • Drop a Curve
  • Hide Objects
  • Fillet
  • Thickness
  • Mirror
  • Hull Surface
  • Deformation Lattice
  • Grids - World, Custom & View
  • Smooth Mesh
  • Point Snap


View Features Unlike you favorite 2D applications, Strata Design 3D CX gives you the opportunity to examine artwork from any angle. With the power of 3D perspective comes new challenges for control. Strata 3D rises to the occasion with split-able views, multiple views, depth cueing and even special views for cameras and light sources.
  • Familiar Interface
  • Split Views
  • Camera View
  • Multi-Views
  • Depth Cueing
  • Image/Movie Backdrop
  • Spotlight Views


Environment Features Sometimes great design is about the "negative space" - the area that surrounds your 3D model. Strata Design 3D CX gives you many options and an easy to use interface to control your "environment".
  • Ground Plane
  • Air Refraction
  • Visible Backgrounds
  • Reflective Backgrounds
  • Atmosphere
  • Gravity
  • Wind


Lighting Features You've heard of "looks good in any light" - now you've found the tool that gives you that elusive "any light". Strata Design 3D CX gives you point lights, spotlights, global sun-style lights, environment based lightdomes, High Dynamic Range Image lighting, glowing surfaces, gels - all unlimited and fully controllable.
  • Point Lights
  • Spot Lights
  • Directional Lights
  • Glowing Surfaces
  • Lightdome HDRI
  • Intensity
  • Host Object
  • Soft Edges
  • Ambient Light
  • Gels
  • Animatable Lights
  • Overflow Handling
  • Spotlight Window View
  • Effects Applied to Light
  • Direct Manipulation Interface


Special Effects Features Any image or animation can be spiced up with special effects like Lens Flare, Auras, Particles - and the new Script FX. Add multiple effect. Place effects on any object. Even animate the effects.
  • Lens Flares
  • Particle Collision Detection
  • Script FX
  • Auras
  • Caustics
  • Fountain Effects
  • Global Gravity Control
  • Global Wind Force Control
  • Global Air Control
  • Fire & Smoke
  • Hair
  • Hotspots
  • Pixie Dust


File Import/Export Features Being able to talk to other programs in your design studio is an important issue. Strata Design 3D CX offers a number of options in this area.
  • U3D (in)
  • Collada (in/out)
  • Illustrator/EPS (in)
  • Photoshop PSD (in/out)
  • XMM (out)
  • Quicktime (in/out)
  • PICT (in/out)
  • Quicktime VR (out)
  • TGA (in/out)
  • TIFF (in/out)
  • BMP (in/out)
  • JPEG (in/out)
  • 3DS (in)
  • PDF (in)
  • DXF (in/out)
  • AVI (in/out)
  • MiniCAD (in)
  • Amapi (in/out)
  • OBJ (in/out)
  • VRML 1 & 2 (in/out)
  • Flash SWF (out)
  • True Type Fonts (in)
  • Postscript Type Fonts (in)

Rendering Features The core of what makes Strata Design 3D CX so good - and what it's famous for - is the high quality rendering. Rendering is the process of taking the design you worked to put together and creating the final image.
  • Toon
  • Photons
  • Raytracing
  • Raydiosity
  • Render to Layers
  • Flat Shaded
  • Hidden Line
  • Outline
  • Pointcloud
  • Smooth Shaded
  • Wireframe
  • Scanline
  • Transparency
  • Alpha Channel
  • Anti-Aliasing
  • Oversampling
  • Glow
  • Reflectivity
  • Blurry Transparency and Reflectivity
  • Instance Rendering
  • Anti-Matter Effect
  • Field Rendering
  • Atmospheric Effects
  • Shadows
  • MIP Mapping
  • Soft Shadows
  • Stereoscopic
  • Custom Environments
  • Specular Highlights
  • Suspend Rendering
  • Marquee Select Rendering


Animation Features Strata Design 3D CX takes a simple approach to animation: Everything can be animated. And it takes a simple approach to controlling animation: keyframes, a timeline, and scripting. Even if you've never booted it up, you already know how to use it.
  • Scripting
  • Hierarchial
  • Visible Paths
  • Everything Time Variable
  • Animation Preview
  • Shatter
  • Explode
  • Jiggle
  • Convert to Path Event-Based
  • Cycle Back & Forth
  • Key Frames
  • Velocity Graphs
  • Life Checkbox
  • Align to Path
  • IK (Inverse Kinematics)
  • FK (Forward Kinematics)
  • TCB, Spline & Natural Paths
  • Proportional Event Scaling


Texturing Features "What if" is as simple as drag-and-drop in Strata Design 3D CX. Select from the palette of hundreds of pre-made surface textures or make your own using features like live-linking to native Photoshop files - make a change in Photoshop and Strata Design 3D CX automatically updates the model surface. Optional Photoshop plug ins require CS 4 or CS 5.x. Not presently compatible with CS 6.
  • Native UV Mapping
  • Scripting
  • Hierarchial
  • Visible Paths
  • Photoshop Linking
  • Displacement
  • Box Wrapper
  • Normal Maps
  • Mist
  • Image Textures
  • Corrosion
  • Starfield
  • Rainbow Reflection
  • Mock Tile
  • Shadow Catcher
  • Ripples
  • Solid Brick
  • Silk
  • Solid Candy
  • Solid Concrete
  • Solid Marble
  • Solid Moonscape
  • Solid Rock
  • Solid Stone
  • Solid Terrain
  • Solid Wood
  • Wildlife
  • Mock Plank
  • Surface, Solid & Volume
  • Layer & Mix
  • Fog
  • Haze
  • Clouds
  • Burn UV


Camera Features A great camera can make even the novice photographer look good. Just think of what Strata Design 3D CX will do for you with all these imaging options at your fiinger tips.
  • Scripting
  • Hierarchial
  • Visible Paths
  • QTVR
  • Motion Blur
  • Depth of Field
  • Boom
  • Pan
  • Dolly
  • Arc
  • Pitch
  • Yaw
  • Roll
  • Host Object
  • Target Object
  • Focal Distance
  • View Angle
  • Panorama Camera
  • Spherical Camera
  • Cubic Camera
  • Shutter Speed
  • Stereoscopic
  • Live Window Updates


Scripting Features New to Strata Design 3D CX is Lua based scripting. Lua is a widely used language that has found a home among many of the 3D elite. Companies like Blizzard (World of Warcraft), Criterion Studios (RenderWare used for Spongebob Squarepants, NBA Ballers, ESPN Major League Baseball and more), LucasArts (Empire at War), BioWare (Neverwinter Nights), UbiSoft (Far Cry), Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts), Nival Interactive (Blitzkrieg) and many, many more use Lua as a major part of their game development and scripting.
Even new favorites, such as Adobe's upcoming Lightroom product, are being created using Lua. Now that you know Lua is a scripting language, what will it do for you? Strata's integration of Lua runs deep and wide. With Lua you can script object surfaces for creating custom transformations such as bending and twisting, control over shaders and textures, access to the rendering pipeline; lens scripting for the creation of custom lenses, effects and warps; Filter FX which allows you to write custom Lua scripts to apply filters based on an object's surface normal, direction, lighting, volume, and by pixel color, depth, transparency, layer within the psd file - and much, much more.
If you're a power user, or just want to create art and get scripts from people who are power users - then the addition of Lua scripting is big for you.



System Requirements
Macintosh Minimum System Requirements
  • Intel Processor(s)
  • Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
  • 2GB of RAM (more highly recommended)
  • 1.7 GB of available hard-disk space for install
  • 1024 x 768 capable display
  • Optional Photoshop plug ins require CS 4 or CS 5.x. Not presently compatible with CS 6.
Windows Minimum System Requirements
  • Windows 7 or Vista recommended (64-bit preferable)
  • Windows XP (some limitations, requires all latest service packs)
  • Pentium 4, Athlon, Intel or better
  • 4GB of RAM (more highly recommended)
  • 1.7 GB of available hard-disk space for full installation
  • 1024 x 768 capable display
  • Optional Photoshop plug ins require CS 4 or CS 5.x. Not presently compatible with CS 6.