Browsing Tag
Autodesk Maya
124 posts
Maya 2027.2 trains MotionMaker
Maya expands MotionMaker with custom model training, horse animation, cleaner path tools and wider DCC updates for artists.
Matcha maps photo refs in Maya
Matcha for Maya manages reference cameras, projects photos onto models, paints masks and exports organized PSD stacks.
Adonis 2.1 Gives Digital Anatomy a Machine-Learning Layer
Inbibo’s Adonis 2.1 splits the digital anatomy framework into AdonisFX and AdonisML, adding machine-learning deformation, SmartTissue dynamics, topology-independent anatomy transfer and cleaner solver output for Maya and Houdini.
Arnold 7.5.2 Adds Gaussian Splats
Arnold 7.5.2 renders Gaussian Splats, adds relighting, NPR nodes and Flow Render tweaks. Nice, but test before splats bite.
Free Komodo Rig for Fun
Free Komodo rig for portfolio work, plus paid tiers for commercial pipelines. Big lizard, small invoice, careful license.
Massive Crowd Sim gets a free 101-edition
Massive 101 goes free for non-commercial use, with watermarked renders and a forum-based license login. Great for learning, risky for deadlines.
KZ_Tracker turns video into Maya curves
KZ_Tracker tracks 2D points in footage inside Maya and bakes curves to locators, aimed at quick blocking, timing, and rough spacing, not final mocap.
Levels cleans up alpha maps fast
Levels makes alpha masks from photos in your browser: channel mix, levels, crop, perspective warp, then copy or export PNG.
DreamWorks style mesh controls land in Maya
A free Maya plug-in adds surface pinning, mesh controls, and VP2 overlays, plus docs and an example scene. Now go break it safely in a test rig, just like the artists at Dreamworks who inspired it.
Maya 2027.1 adds OTIO to Sequencer
Maya 2027.1 lands with OTIO in Sequencer, LookdevX projection tools, and more Bifrost and USD housekeeping. Patch it, test it, then trust it.
PFTrack gets Hero Cloud
PFTrack 26.05.19 adds Hero Cloud for single shot point clouds, plus COLMAP export to Postshot and better USD point cloud export. Try it, then trust it.
Artineering Flair 1.2 for Maya hits macOS
macOS support lands for Maya 2024+, licensing expands to floating and perpetual, and lines get darker with negative light response. Also: Unreal beta.
Autodesk launches Project Falcon
Project Falcon is a free, browser-based kitbashing tool that exports USD and STL, aiming to speed up hard-surface blockouts and handoffs.
RISE: Fallout Destroys LA, Politely
Los Angeles gets procedurally wrecked, Area 51 gets sand-blasted, and the Caswennan gets treated like a flying film set. We play 20 Questions with RISE.
Abstract brings native InstaMAT and InstaLOD on Linux
Abstract has released public preview Linux builds of InstaMAT and InstaLOD, adding native support for RHEL-compatible production environments, Blender and Maya integrations, GPU acceleration, and automation-friendly deployment.
VirtuCamera 2: The Weird Byte goes Android
VirtuCamera 2 lands with Android support, refreshed UI, updated DCC plug-ins, and a Python API. Yes, your phone is still the camera now.
Autodesk Flow Studio adds AI Rigging and Neural Layer for character workflows
The Flow Studio update introduces automated rigging, video-driven animation, neural rendering enhancements, and export to Maya, Blender, and Unreal.
Maxon ships Redshift 2026.5
Redshift 2026.5 spreads the night sky, grows texture displacement, flips Cinema 4D defaults to OpenPBR, and gets friendlier with Arm64.
Phoenix moves to end of support
Chaos Phoenix is now end of support. No new standalone subs, existing subs can renew, and bundles still include it in the same state.
Cargo 3.0 merges two asset libraries
Cargo 3.0 folds two libraries into one app, adds smarter search, and hands you hundreds of free assets so you can start dressing scenes today.
KeyPro revamps Maya
KeyPro stacks waveform, key density, heat, and range into one strip under Maya’s timeline, plus rig aware tools and a one time buy.
CameraMatch AutoSetup v6 speeds photo matches
Jamie Cardoso ships CameraMatch AutoSetup v6, a one click camera match script for 3ds Max and Blender, with Maya queued next week.
Galata.ink Ships Tamga Sculpt and Paint for Browsers
tamga brings lightweight sculpting, vertex paint, and ink style renders to web, desktop, and iPad, with quick OBJ handoff.
Autodesk ships Maya 2027
Maya Creative gets most of Maya 2027, while Maya 2027 adds Smart Bevel, USD tools, MotionMaker horses, and deeper Bifrost perks.
Handy RefTool 3.0 speeds Maya ref matching
RefTool bundles Maya reference camera matching into one UI, adds a fuller paid build, and keeps a free version for core workflows.
FlippedNormals Marketplace closes March 31
The store stops taking orders March 31 and file access ends April 30. Download your library now, then expect a leaner reboot.
Abstract ships InstaMAT 2026 Curves Brushes
InstaMAT 2026 adds editable curve painting, smarter symmetry, and fresh mesh masking, plus pricing tweaks that matter for teams and freelancers.
Texturing XYZ puts SKAP online, pores included
Texturing XYZ’s SKAP turns 2K to 8K inputs into 16K skin maps in a browser, priced in credits at $1 each.
MPC’s Cold Storage
MPC Paris delivered 575 shots on Cold Storage, from invisible fixes to slime, creatures and a nuclear finale. But how?
Redshift 2026.3 fixes displacement headaches
Redshift 2026.3 is a stability release focused on texture displacement, Hydra USD updates and host bug fixes.
Hive adds joint facial rigs to Maya
Hive Auto Rigger now builds full joint based facial rigs in Maya, priced at 40 dollars for the first month.
PFTrack update tidies Maya and LiDAR workflows
PFTrack update refines Maya export, LiDAR error handling and Survey Solver node logic for Studio and Enterprise users.
InstaLOD 2026 Targets VR and Animation Pipelines
InstaLOD 2026 adds VR delivery targets, raytraced shadows and full GLTF USD animation support for real-time pipelines.
Arnold adds lines, points and faster volumes
Arnold update adds NPR shaders and accelerates OpenVDB volumes up to five times in official tests.
Kangaroo Builder learns to move faces between meshes
Kangaroo Builder for Maya adds Landmark Warp, a topology transfer tool aimed at moving blendshapes between meshes without matching topology.
Download IKEA furniture as 3D models, minus the trolley
A community script allows direct downloads of IKEA’s web 3D models, skipping the store visit and the measuring tape optimism.
BlendShape Monitor puts Maya rigs under a heat lamp
A new Maya plugin visualises blendshape influence in real time, targeting riggers dealing with dense and poorly documented rigs.
Animcraft 5.5: Stability, ribbons, and MetaHumans
Animcraft 5.5 improves mocap stability, rewrites the Dragon Breath Ribbon System, and expands MetaHuman and Maya tools.
Delhi in 3D: Kitbash3D goes urban
Kitbash3D launches New Delhi, a 3D asset kit with 84 models and 127 materials for building detailed urban cityscapes.
Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya cracks a new non-destructive workflow
Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya adds non-destructive fracturing, Xref support, and UI updates for improved control and flexibility.
How I Spent Five Years Making a Solo 3D Film
Maxim Gehricke spent five years creating his solo 3D short film SEN. Here’s how he did it without funding, team, or sleep.
3DEqualizer 8.1 Adds Piggyback Camera Solves
3DEqualizer 8.1 introduces piggyback rig solving, a rewritten Blender export script and new import and export options.
Quad Draw Comes to Blender
New Vulkan-based retopology add-ons make Blender’s mesh work feel like Maya’s Quad Draw, fast, intuitive, and production-ready.
Mansur Rig 3.0 Goes Free and Open Source Lite
Mansur Rig 3.0 drops activation, goes partially open source, adds Maya 2026 support on Windows, and warns older versions stop working after March 2026.
Real-time Chaos: Vantage now inside Maya and Houdini
Chaos Vantage enters the DCC viewport. With V-Ray 7 updates, real-time feedback, volumetrics and AI materials now reach Maya and Houdini.
Checkpoint, fixed: Pixar ships RenderMan 27.1
Pixar refines RenderMan 27.1: better Lama layering, smarter checkpointing, memory savings, and fixes across Blender and Houdini bridges.
RapidPipeline for 3ds Max and Maya
RapidPipeline brings CAD & 3D data optimisation into 3ds Max/Maya: import, clean up, remesh, bake UVs and export, locally, quickly, without leaving your DCC.
Pixar’s RenderMan 27.0
Pixar’s RenderMan 27.0 lands with final-frame XPU rendering, multi-GPU scaling, deep compositing, and a production-ready Stylized Looks suite.
When Annabelle Grew Up: The Digital Domain Horror Pipeline
425 shots, one terrifying doll, and a CG mill town: Digital Domain’s Alex Millet explains how his team built the horror of The Conjuring: Last Rites and kept it real.
Autodesk launches Maya 2026.3 & Creative 2026.3
Maya 2026.3 packs Bifrost rigid bodies, Graph Editor channel sets, Flow connectivity, and an upgraded USD asset resolver.
Free WaveManager Brings Procedural Motion to Maya
WaveManager for Maya adds procedural wave motion to any rig via expressions: no keyframes, full control, free download.
Momo: Of Time, Turtles, and Technical Wizardry
VFX Supervisor Michael Wortmann on how RiseFX built the fantasy of Momo: almost entirely on location, with 280 shots and the best turtle in the business.
Vectorify: Simplify Animation Repathing in Maya
Tool developer Ehsan Bayat has released Vectorify, a free tool for Autodesk Maya that transforms animation repathing from…
HFF Munich Hiring: Two Half-Time Heroes Wanted
HFF Munich’s VFX department wants two new tech minds—one for the pipeline, one for IT. Expect creative chaos, cool people, and excellent surroundings!
RenderMan 27: XPU graduates, RIS retires
Pixar ships RenderMan 27: XPU is ready for final frames, RIS is being phased out, MaterialX joins the toolset, and Stylized Looks evolve.
Pickify: Selection Sets Without Outliner Mess
Pickify gives animators hotkey-based selection sets in Maya—without clogging the Outliner. Free, minimal, and exportable.
Polishing Polygons: Animatrix Polisher for Maya
Sculpt, smear, polish: Animatrix Polisher adds direct mesh editing and non-destructive fixes to Maya for just 20 bucks.
Berlin Animates: FAB 2025 Full Daily Programme
FAB 2025, 26 to 28 Sept: Berlin screens 132 films, plus hands-on workshops and Japan focus. Here’s the complete schedule.
Autodesk adds AI Assistants to Maya (and beyond)
Maya gets AI Assistants and Graph Assist. Autodesk outlines a larger AI push for artists.
TD-Meetup: Join us live, we talk about how VR Speeds Up Animation & Previz!
VR meets previs: Dan Franke shows how Quill VR fuels storytelling and rapid 3D iteration at the TD Meetup this thursday!
mGear 5.1 sharpens RBF Manager and patches Shifter
mGear 5.1 kills off Maya 2020 support. In return: RBF Manager v2.0, Shifter bug fixes, and a forked weightDriver. Test before deploying.
USDSkel: Optimized Character Rigging
USDSkel is an OpenUSD component that supports scalable, manipulable, and interchangeable skinned characters. Wanna know more?
Marvelous Designer 2025.1: Draw, Wash, Repeat
Marvelous Designer 2025.1 brings Off-Avatar 3D Pen, Denim Wet Wash, AI Pose Generator, and Softbody for custom rigs.
Maya 2026.2: Lighter Wolves, Smarter Motion, and One Less Excuse to Skip MaterialX
Maya 2026.2 boosts MotionMaker AI, enables MaterialX in LookdevX, brings Arnold GPU Toon shading, and makes Bifrost mandatory. Check docs for full details.
Game Boy Robot: When Nostalgia Gets a Quad-Based Makeover
Game Boy nostalgia meets quad-based hard-surface modeling in Benavidmark’s detailed 3D robot tribute—every production step dissected.
V-Ray for Blender: Chaos releases Renderer into the Open Source Universe
V-Ray for Blender lands with CPU, GPU, and Chaos Cloud support, plus 5,600+ free Chaos Cosmos assets. Special pricing for Blender users now available.
MetaHumans Graduate: Ready for Unity, Godot, and the Fab Cash Register
MetaHuman is out of early access, baked into UE 5.6, licensable for Unity & Godot, and finally up for sale on Fab?
Maya 2026.1’s MotionMaker: AI Walks the Walk
Maya 2026.1 introduces MotionMaker, an AI-powered tool for rapid character animation, alongside Bifrost rigging and simulation enhancements.
LiDAR scanning for Everybody!
Scanner veteran Lawren Bancroft-Wilson gives us a look behind the curtain on Lidar Scanning for VFX and Post.
Wile E. Coyote Animates in UE5.6 – No Anvils Required
Stéphane Biava demonstrates Unreal Engine 5.6's new animation features, making in-engine animation a viable alternative to Blender or Maya.
Rig It Like It’s Free: mGear 5.0 and UEGear 1.0
mGear 5.0 and UEGear 1.0 bring new features for Maya and Unreal Engine 5 - and both are free.
Maya Gets a Memory: Smart Model Editor Adds Real Construction History
Smart Model Editor brings non-destructive modeling to Maya – sort of. It works via scene graph nodes and updates interactively.
UDIM Planet: Free Globe Toolset Orbits Blender, Max, Maya, Houdini, Unreal and C4D
Free add-on "Figments UDIM Globe" maps UDIM textures to globe objects—UVs are auto-generated, PBR-ready.
Gear 5.0 Beta 6: Rigging Tool Gets 2026-Ready
mGear 5.0 Beta 6 brings Maya 2026 support, improved guide templates, updated Shifter components, and new logic for picker selection.
The First Look at Character Creator 5: Prelaunch Offer Starts NOW
Reallusion is set to redefine real-time 3D character creation with the upcoming launch of Character Creator 5 (CC5) this summer. Key updates feature HD character bases, enhanced shaders, and an advanced facial animation system.
Maya 2026: Is Golaem the Lone Star in a Sparse Update?
Autodesk's Maya 2026 introduces Golaem integration, but offers minimal other enhancements, leaving users questioning the value amid rising subscription costs.
Trailmakers from Denmark!
Game trailers should make you interested in the game, obviously, and since we can't wait for Trialmakers 2, the trailer did its job - so, we are talking to the creatives behind the trailer!
Mufasa heads to MPC
The Prequel of a remake of a animated movie, based on a Shakespeare play... and still worth watching! We got a Chance to talk to Audrey Ferrara, MPCs VFX Supervisor for Mufasa
Pulldownit 6 for Maya: Shattering Expectations with New Features
Pulldownit 6 introduces the Edge Fracture Tool, enhanced dynamic long cracks, and improved performance for instanced shapes in Maya.
WRetargetTool: Free Animation Retargeting Tool for Maya
Discover WRetargetTool, a free and adaptable animation retargeting solution for Maya, focused on simplifying character animation and mocap transfer.
Autodesk Launches Bifrost for Maya 2.11
Autodesk unveils Bifrost for Maya 2.11, offering Artists enhanced tools for procedural effects, USD support, and a better integration for fluid simulations.
The easy Cloudrendering?
There are many, many companies offering cloudrendering services – and most tell you how you can tweak everything, you have all the control –
and therefor you also need a TD and DEEP pockets, because the first time the bill from the cloud infrastructure arrives, it’s going to be massive.
Our Universe of… Houdini?
Who would have thought that one of our favourite documentaries seen this year would come from Bristol?
Autodesk releases Maya 2024
Autodesk has released Maya 2024. The updates include enhancements to the Retopology toolset, a new USD-based material autthoring and new brush-based workflows for sculpting animation curves. Also new: native Apple Silicon support, the Bifrost multiphysics plugin and the MtoA plugin for the Arnold renderer, which run on M1 and M2 processors.
A sheen of simplicity
Playing an instrument when you’re in the profession of animation helps – especially in regard to timing. For Animation Director Andrew Overtoom, it’s the guitar.
Autodesk releases Maya 2023.3!
Particularly worth mentioning are: workflow improvements for animation tools and updates for the Arnold, Substance and USD plug-ins.
New version of the physics simulation software Bitfrost released!
Autodesk updates Bitfrost - and advances the open-source integration of Bitfrost-USD.
Who should use the Aurora renderer from Autodesk?
It is aimed at artists who work with Universal Scene Description (USD). What other functions does the real-time path tracing renderer offer?
Ragdoll Dynamics is released in version 3.0!
Does the plug-in for Autodesk Maya create more creative freedom for artists? According to the developer, Weta, Sony Pictures Imageworks, DNEG and others swear by the little helper.
Strange New Worlds in Norway
When we talked about the Virtual Production of Strange New Worlds, we only talked about one side – the interiors and strange
planets. But Star Trek is called STAR Trek –
so who made the Spaceships?
Many new video tutorials for Autodesk Maya!
The YouTube channel Maya Learning Channel can help. This listicle bundles eight current tutorials - on Bitfrost, volumes and more.
The Wild Wild Witcher
Grabbing two Bafta (British Academy Television and Craft) Awards in 2022,
the second season of "The Witcher” has tons and tons of eye candy. Winning in the categories Make-Up & Hair and Visual & Graphic Effects, this colossal fantasy saga is filled to the brim with magic effects – but who did put the magic on the screen?
Version 2.0 of the BeeHive reviewing tool is released
Glassbox Technologies releases the latest version of its real-time editing & reviewing software - tailored to the needs of virtual production.
With these plugins, Maya and Unreal Engine merge together!
Unreal Live Link 2.1 has been released! This makes it easier to work in Autodesk Maya and Epic's Unreal Engine at the same time.
Autodesk Maya is released in version 2023.2
The focus of the latest version is: Polished workflow for animation and rigging - in addition to improvements for important plugins!
A new Maya for occasional users?
Maya Creative is aimed at the on-and-off user of Autodesk Maya - with a wide range of functions. Payment is processed via Autodesk Flex.
Back to the 70s – Cloud Atlas
Review: In DP 02 : 2013, we tracked down the mega-production Cloud Atlas - with export director Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings in the director's chair. How did Rise manage the massive visual effects of the three-hour epic - and how did the VFX artists transform today's Glasgow into the San Francisco of the 1970s?
Release: V-Ray 6 for Maya
Chaos Group is back with the latest version of the renderer - and with new functions such as geometric tiling, procedurally generated clouds and new shader profiles. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Autodesk releases Maya Bonus Tools
"Hooray!", shout Maya users - because the new bonus tools for the popular DCC tool have been released. The free script & plugin collection includes tools for modelling, UV editing, character rigging and more.
Stream Maya animations directly in the Unreal Engine!
This video tutorial demonstrates how artists can transfer Maya animations to the game engine in real time thanks to the Live Link plugin!