Maxon teases another AI tool, and artists aren't happy, despite not knowing what it does yet

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Maxon teased what looks like another AI tool for 3D artists in an X video, possibly for Cinema 4D, and the reaction isn’t good, though probably as expected. There's little detail so far, but the prospect of more AI entering creative software is already rubbing some artists the wrong way.

Over on X users bombarded the teaser video with reactions, from the somewhat restrained, “You guys are gulping the whole AI stuff without its users in mind” to the angry, “I’m going to have a good laugh when they use AI to reverse-engineer all your programs, and you go bankrupt. If you’ve got the nerve to screw us artists over, I hope you get a taste of your own medicine,” and the blunt, “A slop generator, cool”.

Some looked beyond outrage and perhaps gave Maxon some leeway to see where this can help: “If you want to use AI in a 3D program, the most useful feature would be for making UVs. I hate UV'ing; it's like making the model again,” says a user.

Of all the comments, I find this one from ‘Augenhorn’ sums up the situation generally with AI in creative apps, with just the right balance of cynicism, scepticism and grudging concession: “This is not how people will use it. They will feed in AI slop to get out a slop Model and then fiddle around with it tiredly, only to go all the way over to get scammed by Higgsfield. Anyway, nice feature though; it’s all not your fault… love and pay C4D for 14 years now.”

Maxon embraces generative AI

This isn’t Maxon’s first time with AI, and it follows Autodesk's lead in using the tech to make 3D modelling and animation more accessible. In March, Maxon announced a partnership with Tencent Cloud to bring its HY 3D generative AI engine into Cinema 4D, letting artists generate base 3D models and UVs from text prompts or image references. The plan is to let artists take those AI-generated starting points into Cinema 4D's existing tools to sculpt, refine, animate and render them. This could tease a fuller reveal of that integration.

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Cinema 4D remains one of the best 3D modelling software packages, and also now supports AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude, which can use the software's tools to handle jobs like organising scenes, creating material variations, and setting up renders. The idea is to take some of the more repetitive work off an artist's hands while keeping them in control of the scene.

But there's a difference between an assistant that helps you get through a tedious afternoon of production work and a tool that generates 3D assets from a prompt, and artists have different opinions on where that line should sit, even as brands like Maxon, Autodesk, and Adobe begin to blur it. Maxon's AI plans have already attracted criticism, including its response to Digital Twin, its tool for placing existing 3D product models into AI-generated marketing environments.

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The wider creative AI dilemma

With all this in mind, and knowing AI is affecting creative jobs, it's unsurprising that when another AI tease appears, some artists don't exactly reach for the champagne. The bigger concern is how quickly creative software companies are embracing generative AI, and whether the promise of faster workflows is worth the potential cost to the craft and the people who make a living from it.

It's not yet clear whether this latest teaser ties into the planned Tencent integration, Cinema 4D's existing AI assistant tools, or something entirely different. Until Maxon provides more detail, it's hard to judge what the tool will actually do, let alone whether artists should welcome it or worry about it.

Still, Maxon is finding that selling AI features to a creative audience isn't as easy as some software companies might have hoped. Artists want to see what these tools can do, but they also want to know why they're being made, how they'll fit into a real working day and what the company thinks the future of 3D art should look like.