Autodesk Presents Tools at SIGGRAPH

At the SIGGRAPH conference in Anaheim, CA, Autodesk is showcasing the latest design animation solutions for Maya 2017 and an update to 3ds Max. Maya 2017 features integrated rendering with Arnold, new motion graphics tools and numerous features and enhancements that help artists work faster and easier than ever. Autodesk is also announcing that Solid Angle’s Arnold renderer will support 3ds Max with a plugin called MAXtoA.

Maya and Arnold

Maya 2017 now includes Arnold as its default renderer. This unique integration of Arnold into Maya 2017 builds on the popular MAXtoA Arnold plugin and brings advanced rendering capabilities within Maya. For Maya artists, Arnold brings efficiency, power and ease of use, enabling great looking results in a short time.

3ds Max and Arnold

Autodesk is also announcing a new MAXtoA plugin allowing 3ds Max users to take advantage of Arnold’s powerful, production proven rendering capabilities. The plugin will be available from Solid Angle’s website where 3ds Max users can also find details on capabilities of the new plugin.

Maya for Motion Graphics

Maya 2017 includes a full set of 3D tools for creating motion graphics. The MASH procedural toolset, first introduced in Maya 2016 extension 2, has been improved with new nodes and new capabilities that allow designers to quickly create unique animations and motion effects. Maya 2017 also features a more intuitive UI and improvements to 3D text tools that enable artists work faster as they create complex motion graphics, animations and effects.

There are additional Maya 2017 new features that can be found here.

Autodesk’s SIGGRAPH presence includes a Vision Series (#207 D) and the Shotgun booth (#337) on the show floor. Maya 2017 is available now. For more information, visit Maya and 3ds Max on Autodesk.com .

Autodesk also unveiled its latest version of 3D animation and modeling software for indie game developers (Autodesk Maya LT 2017), as well as Autodesk Stingray 1.4, the newest version of its powerful 3D game engine and real-time rendering solution.

One of the most significant updates for Maya LT is the time editor, a new tool which helps indie game developers streamline animation of complex characters. Additional updates include improvements to existing animation tools and a new way to organize the tools and user interface (UI) into customized workspaces.

Subscribing to Maya LT allows us to equip a growing team more easily, and always have the most up-to-date tools available

Sam Abbott, COO, Compulsion Games

Additional highlights include:

Autodesk Maya LT 2017 Additional Features:

• An updated graph editor has many new features including a UI/UX refresh that simplifies day-to-day tasks.
• Shape authoring tool improvements in Maya LT provide artists with more control to create, tweak, and correct animations in a very detailed way.
• Viewport 2.0 improvements facilitate faster selection performance for scenes with large numbers of nodes and scenes containing hidden objects.
• Vertex order transfers and corrections make it easier to work between different game creation tools, without losing data as an asset moves through the pipeline.

Autodesk Stingray 1.4 Additional Features:

• The Stingray 1.4 release offers improved VR capabilities and enhanced connectivity with Maya LT, facilitating a powerful art-to-engine workflow for game developers.
• Improved support for VR platforms includes compatibility with the Oculus Rift SDK v1.3 and the SteamVR SDK v0.9.19.
  Flow scripting for HTC Vive controllers offers a faster and more efficient way to add interactivity to VR experiences, while simplifying the process for designers to create and test their prototypes.
• Unique to Stingray, support for WebGL2 enables developers to test their projects on WebGL2 supported browsers.
• Level sync, with Maya LT, enables artists to link and export entire scenes directly to Stingray. This creates an easier way to build, iterate, review and change game levels and design scenes, without having to manually reproduce layouts in two tools.
• Easier asset share between different Stingray projects further benefits collaborative work environments.
• NavMesh improvements for better AI behavior.
• Edit UV scale and offset values in materials exported from Maya LT allows users to continue edit UV tiling in Stingray.

Maya LT 2017 is available globally via subscription. Subscribers of Maya LT receive access to Stingray 1.4 as part of their subscription. For more information, visit Maya LT or Stingray on Autodesk.com .

Official Press Release