The Foundry is now shipping Katana 2.5, the first version of the lighting and look-development software that will run on Windows as well as Linux.

The company said the release brings Katana's full toolset, including the ability to create and share "lighting recipes," to Windows while also making the software easier to install and adding support for different rendering systems.

"The Windows release is exciting," The Foundry Chief Customer Officer Jody Madden told StudioDaily. "[Product Manager] Jordan Thistlewood's focus has been to make it more accessible and take it out of the high end, from the installation process to a pipeline that no longer requires five TDs. Katana is really starting to play well with others from a rendering and integration standpoint. And we're talking to educational institutions who are wanting to teach it now."

Katana currently ships with plug-ins for RenderMan 21, V-Ray, Arnold, and 3Delight, with a Redshift plug-in expected to emerge at an unspecified point in the future. A non-commercial version may be in the works as well, according to a post by Thistlewood to The Foundry's customer forum.

Katana 2.5 is available now for Windows 7 64-bit and Linux CentOS/RHEL 6.