wondertouch to Preview particleIllusion SE for Mac OS X at Siggraph 2004

Imminent Availability of Popular Particle Effects Creation Tool to Afford Mac OS X Visual Effects Artists the Power, Flexibility and Control of wondertouch's Software

LOS ANGELES (August 10, 2004) - At the Siggraph 2004 convention, wondertouch™, a leading software developer specializing in affordable, high performance particle effects tools for the visual effects industry, today announced the imminent availability of particleIllusion™ 2.0 SE for the Mac OS® X operating system from Apple . Responding to increased customer demand from the wondertouch community, wondertouch is nearing completion in its port of particleIllusion 2.0 SE (particleIllusion SE), a standalone, affordable, introductory version of the company's cornerstone 2D, sprite-based particle effects software application to Apple's advanced OS. particleIllusion SE for Mac OS X is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter 2004 and marks the first wondertouch product to debut on the Mac OS X platform. [Editors' note: particleIllusion 3.0, the most current and advanced version of the software, is scheduled for release on Mac OS X shortly afterward.]

Previews of particleIllusion SE for Mac OS X will take place in the wondertouch booth (#912) each day of the Siggraph convention.

"Since the release of Mac OS X, we have received continued demand from our customers and the Mac community to make particleIllusion available for Apple's high performance operating system," said Alan Lorence, president of wondertouch. "With the pending release of particleIllusion SE, we are delighted that the reliability, stability and performance value that our Windows customers have come to expect from the software will soon benefit the devoted group of Mac creative professionals looking to create exceptional effects."

particleIllusion SE for Mac OS X is based on wondertouch's highly acclaimed particleIllusion 2.0 software engine to provide artists instant access to hundreds of customizable preset effects such as smoke, fire, explosions, water effects, sparkles, colorful artistic effects. As a fully-featured standalone application, particleIllusion SE will benefit the huge community of devoted Mac OS X creative professionals with an affordable opportunity to learn and further explore the benefits of the pervasive particle effects creation tool to create quality, complex particle animations quickly and efficiently.

"Now that even conservative 2D Mac artists are quickly gaining ground on the 3D world, many designers are looking for a tool that will set them apart from the rest of the crowd. wondertouch's particleIllusion SE may prove to be just what the Siggraph crowd is looking for; an affordable way to quickly introduce complex particle animations into any composition," said Ko Maruyama, Animator / Compositor/Contributing Writer for CreativeMac.com.

"particleIllusion has been a very handy tool for creating many kinds of particle effects. Its approaching availability for Mac OS X will make it easier to integrate it with other Mac-created work as well as let it tap the advantages of Apple's most advanced system software. Bring it on wondertouch!" said Kurt Wiley, 3D/Special FX contributor to V.C.E.

About particleIllusion 2.0 SE

particleIllusion is the industry-leading standalone, sprite-based particle effects application designed as an easy-to-use, low-cost, high performance tool to quickly and simply add particle effects to any image, animation, or video footage. particleIllusion 2.0 SE features a collection of approximately 750 effects such as smoke, fire, explosions, water effects, sparkles, colorful artistic effects, and many others. With OpenGL hardware acceleration, particleIllusion provides real-time (or near real-time) previews of most effects and ultra-fast rendering of final output. Installed at leading worldwide production facilities, particleIllusion has been used to create visual effects on hundreds of feature films, television episodes, broadcast commercials, computer game titles and Web graphics projects. Recent projects shaped by particleIllusion include feature films "The Manchurian Candidate" (HATCH), "Van Helsing"(Pacific Title and Art Studio), "Hellboy" (Eden FX, HATCH) and the forthcoming "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (Pacific Title & Art Studio); the Beastie Boys "Ch-Check it Out" (Northern Lights Post) HD music video; interactive games "The Simpson's Road Rage" (Radical Entertainment) and "MX Unleashed" (Rainbow Studios); and television shows "Star Trek: Enterprise" (Eden FX), "The 2003-2004 NBA season on TNT" (Turner Studios), and the upcoming "NASCAR on TNT" (Turner Studios).

Pricing and Availability

particleIllusion 2.0 SE for Mac OS X is expected for release in the fourth quarter 2004 at a price of $99.00. (Editors' note: special introductory pricing will be announced closer to availability.) Following the release of particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X, registered owners of particleIllusion 2.0 SE will be offered special upgrade pricing. (Editors' note: upgrade pricing will be announced closer to availability.)

All versions of particleIllusion can be purchased directly from the company at www.wondertouch.com

About wondertouch

wondertouch, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., is a software developer specializing in particle effects for the visual effects industry. The company's flagship product, particleIllusion, a sprite-based particle effects application is focused towards the needs of creative professionals working in film post-production and pre-visualization, standard and HD video, commercial broadcast and Web graphics industries.

wondertouch software products are available directly from wondertouch. Additional information on wondertouch can be obtained on the Web at www.wondertouch.com