Software maker Autodesk has announced the most-recent versions of its signature digital production applications, including Maya, Softimage and 3ds Max.
“Our 2011 products offer customers great value and integrate avant-garde technology – some developed with industry leaders like Sony Pictures Imageworks,” said Marc Petit, Autodesk senior VP media and entertainment. “These versions offer much improved data interoperability through open formats like Autodesk FBX, as well as many innovative new capabilities.”
Maya 2011 software offers several breakthrough capabilities, including an invigorated customizable user interface, enhanced tools for character animation including non-destructive live retargeting, high-performance display of large scenes in the viewport, new 3D editorial capabilities for pre-visualization and virtual production workflows, integrated color management, asset structures for pipeline connectivity and improved rotoscoping. Also, Maya 2011 is now available for Snow Leopard, the 64-bit Mac OS X operating system.
3ds Max 2011 features a powerful new node-based material editor, the feature most requested by 3ds Max users, and a high-quality hardware renderer that provides near production quality results 10 times faster than traditional rendering techniques on common graphics cards. It also offers a tightly integrated full-featured high dynamic range compositing system, based on Autodesk Toxik technology, as well as enhanced tools and workflows for creating and texturing models, animating characters and viewing high-quality images interactively.
Softimage 2011 introduces innovative new rendering and animation tools that help artists create more complex, high-quality characters and effects in less time.
Mudbox 2011 delivers new tools for helping deform and pose models. It also offers new image adjustment brushes and blend modes for paint layers, Vector Displacement map extraction, the ability to create higher-quality turntables, and enhanced file transfer with Maya and Adobe Photoshop.
Offering significantly improved interoperability with Maya 2011 and 3ds Max 2011, MotionBuilder 2011 now integrates more smoothly and reliably into production pipelines. Skinning and blendshape deformations are now calculated on the graphics processing unit for improved performance.
Also getting upgrades are Autodesk FBX 2011, Autodesk HumanIK 4.5 and Autodesk Kynapse 7 Middleware.
These new products will also be available as part of the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites – giving artists and production facilities access to a broad range of creative toolsets at significant cost savings. The suites offer a choice of either Maya 2011 or 3ds Max 2011, and include MotionBuilder 2011 real-time character animation software, as well as Mudbox 2011 digital sculpting and 3D painting software.
Release of the upgrades is expected in April From March 11-13, visit the Virtual GDC event on the AREA community site to watch Maya 2011 and Softimage 2011 product demonstrations and customer presentations live from the Autodesk Game Developers Conference booth.
Information on pricing can be found online at www.autodesk.com
