TurboSquid and ILL Clan Animation Studio Announce Partnership

The latest talk show host to grace computer and iPod screens is an animated 3D game character wannabe named ILL Will. This cross between Jay Leno and Duke Nukem reports on the latest gaming news, and talks trash each week on the Internet with his sidekick, a missile named Mal Content.

TurboSquid may sound like a robotic sea creature, but it's actually a website where game developers, animators, and other artists can buy and sell ready-made 3D products, ranging from models and textures to plug in software and training DVDs.

"We'd been using Turbo Squid's objects for years, so it was an obvious match" says Matt Dominianni, cofounder and artistic director of ILL Clan. "The group of Brooklyn animators, called "Machinima Masters" by Wired magazine, make use of Turbo Squid's vast library of 3D art for props and vehicles in their animated shorts.

"We were pretty pleased to see a few vehicles from our site featured in TrashTalk", said Alex Forst, TurboSquid, director of marketing. "A lot of game developers and animators watch the show, and they comprise a good portion of our customer-base."

TrashTalk is developed using GarageGames Torque engine, the 3D game engine preferred by independent game developers for its low price and rich features. The ILL Clan modified a version of Torque that allows them to produce their animated shorts in record time. Although it still takes talent and effort, the combination of the low-priced Torque engine and the vast library of 3D art available on TurboSquid makes producing 3D animation a breeze for this innovative animation studio.

The ILL Clan's work, featuring Turbo Squid's 3D objects has also appeared elsewhere on the web, television and in advertising, on MTV2, SpikeTV, and as part of an online ad campaign for the Audi A3.

Machinima is the technique of creating animation using real-time 3D game technology. The ILL Clan has been creating machinima since 1998 and is acknowledged pioneers and innovators of the technique.