Vintage CGI Ads - HSC/MetaTools/MetaCreations

For archiving purposes, I've clipped out vintage computer graphics software ads from popular computer magazines like Macworld and MacUser. I thought I'd highlight some of the notable ones published from HSC Software/MetaTools/MetaCreations. What I noticed while going through these ads now was how weak their taglines were—lots of bad puns. Also, as with their product box designs, the typography was all over the place and the layouts had no respect for white space. In any case, their entire collection can be found here.

(L) Kai's Power Tools 2.0 (Macworld - Feb 1994)
(R) Monascape - Kai Krause

This ad for Kai's Power Tools 2.0 (left) is the earliest full-page ad I found on Macworld. The Mona Lisa image was later used as a test image for KPT Bryce, created by HSC Software interface designer, Kai Krause. 

Kai's Power Tools 2.0 (Macworld - May 1994)

This is another Kai's Power Tools ad that gave the public a first-time sneak peek of KPT Bryce. Originally planned to be named "KPT New World Explorer", HSC reverted the product's name back to the codename of "Bryce" before its release later that year.

KPT Bryce 1.0 (Macworld - Aug 1994)

This was the first ad that introduced me to Bryce. To say that I was impressed was quite the understatement—I couldn't believe an image this photorealistic could be created on a personal computer using software that retailed for under $200. I loved my PC, but I definitely had Mac envy and needed to wait two long years before the developer would offer a PC version with the release of KPT Bryce 2.

The cover image is titled "Rochers Glacier" and was created by the developer of Bryce, Eric Wenger, who was both a skilled graphics software developer and an amazingly talented visual artist. Some of the best-looking images ever produced by Bryce were created by him.

The ad is also notable for being the first to showcase its "billing block" design, mimicking the look of classic movie posters.

 MetaTools Product Lineup
(Macworld - Nov 1996)

This MetaTools ad showcases the remarkable talents of ArtEffect, the Los Angeles-based design studio headed by Robert Bailey and Jackson Ting. What differentiated their design work from other studios was their almost exclusive use of Bryce to model, texture, and render their 3D designs. This meant performing boolean operations with primitives and using grayscale height extrusions, rather than using a traditional polygonal modeler like 3D Studio or LightWave 3D, to construct their models. They later joined MetaCreations as interface designers, working on products such as Bryce 4.