Adobe’s latest update to its Creative Cloud software suite introduces a new 3D modelling tool, Fuse – and renames Flash Professional CC as Adobe Animate CC in recognition of the fact that HTML5 has now become the dominant standard for web-based animated content. Steve would be pleased.

Creating realistic 3D faces and bodies has always been one of the toughest challenges for designers, a task Adobe aims to make very much easier with the addition of a new app in the Creative Cloud armory: Fuse CC. The app, which is currently a Preview version, is intended to allow anyone to easily create animated 3D human models … 

You can mix-and-match faces and bodies, and then add everything from hair to shoes.

You don’t need 3D expertise or expensive 3D software. With Fuse CC you can easily assemble your own human characters using a wide selection of body parts, hair choices, clothing items and clothing textures like leather, cotton, metal and plastic […]

Save your characters directly to your Creative Cloud Libraries, and then drag them into Adobe Photoshop CC to pose and move them thousands of different ways using the enhanced Properties panel. Fine-tune your characters’ movements even after you’ve placed them in a scene.

Adobe has made Fuse available as a free preview to all Creative Cloud members, but notes that the offer runs for “a limited time” so it’s worth grabbing now.

Adobe has also updated the entire Creative Cloud suite with a range of few features. Photoshop CC gets a UI with customizable toolbar and the addition of Design Space (Preview), intended to help UI and web designers generate results in fewer clicks.

Illustrator CC introduces a new Shaper Tool, which Adobe says “lets you draw with loose, natural gestures that magically transform into perfect geometric shapes” – together with faster ways to create and edit vector shapes.

The remaining apps see a range of new features.