Autodesk has posted a “technology preview” version of Autodesk Impression to the Autodesk Labs website. As reported in AECnews in August, this new 2D non-photorealistic illustration and rendering tool will be the first complete application posted to Autodesk Labs. Autodesk started talking about the product last November at Autodesk University, when it was still code-named Vespa.
Not everyone who wants to download and test Autodesk Impression will be able to use it. Autodesk strongly recommends that anyone interested in Impression should first download and run a small application that tests for system requirements. The notebook computer I tested failed. It lacks enough video memory (I have 32mb; 64mb is required), and its “pixel shader level” does not meet the Impression minimum standard of 2.0. A list of recommended video graphics cards is available on the Labs website. Also, the Impression pre-release license is only valid for users in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Impression fills a void in the design workflow, by allowing design changes and editing of a CAD-created document outside the CAD environment. Changes made to an existing DWG in Impression are stored in the DWG file and are visible and editable if the file is reopened in AutoCAD. Editing of CAD files by non-CAD using designers is a weak link in all CAD workflow; many users need the ability to do more than redline, but won’t (or aren’t allowed to) use CAD tools.
Most AutoCAD users who wish to create non-photorealistic renderings from AutoCAD drawings today turn to tools like Adobe Illustrator, which means the CAD data dead-ends when used for illustration. Autodesk personnel I have talked to about Impression downplay the “Illustrator killer” idea, but I can see that fewer copies of Adobe Illustrator will be needed in AutoCAD-based architectural studios if Impression catches on.
A variety of video tutorials (called “demotorials” by Impression product marketing manager Lisa Crounse) are available on the Labs site. The program also launches a quick-start tour the first time it is run.
As AECnews reported earlier this week, Autodesk wants the Labs site to be a place where users can more directly interact with product development. There is a web address listed in the Impression documentation and on the Labs site for user feedback.
Autodesk has not committed to a specific shipping date for the finished product. Informed speculation by other in the CAD press suggests the program will sell for $499 US when available.
--RSN