Autodesk has unveiled Maya 2024, the newest model of its 3D modelling and animation software program.
It’s a wide-ranging replace, increasing the software program’s retopology toolset, including a whole new USD-based materials authoring system, and neat new brush-based workflows for ‘sculpting’ animation curves.
The discharge additionally introduces native Apple Silicon assist, with the core software, its Bifrost multiphysics plugin and the MtoA plugin for the Arnold renderer all operating natively on Macs with M1 and M2 processors.
On the time of writing, Autodesk hasn’t introduced Maya 2024 on the product web site, however the on-line documentation has been up to date, which normally signifies that the discharge is imminent.
Retopology: updates to Retopologize and Quad Draw
Maya 2024 options various modifications to the software program’s retoology toolset.
New choices in Retopologize, Maya’s automated retopology system, embrace Retopologize with Symmetry, which generates even edge move on either side of a mesh, as proven within the picture above.
There are additionally new choices for selectively preserving options in areas of element on a mesh, together with choices for preserving edges based on their angle or part tags.
Different modifications embrace the choice to scan the mesh for potential points like non-manifold geometry earlier than operating Retopologize; and to retain the unique enter mesh within the scene afterwards.
For guide retopology, Make Reside now helps a number of objects, making it attainable to make use of the Quad Draw instrument to attract out new topology throughout the floor of teams of meshes.
3D modelling: new choice to Unsmooth subdivided meshes and assist for MikkTSpace
Modelers additionally get a new Unsmooth command to unsubdivide any Catmull-Clark-subdivided mesh, with the intention to create low-res variations of meshes which have been subdivided throughout digital sculpting.
Different modifications embrace assist for the MikkTSpace normal for tangent house when baking regular maps, improved efficiency within the UV Editor, and new instrument cabinets for UV Modifying, Curves and Surfaces instruments.
The launch notes listing updates to Boolean modelling, though the modifications – together with the choice to duplicate Boolean enter objects by right-clicking – have been truly made in Maya 2023.1 final yr.
Supplies: new USD-based LookdevX toolset for look improvement
Look improvement artists get LookdevX, a brand new toolset for creating USD shading graphs in Maya.
It permits artists working with information within the Common Scene Description format to create customized supplies and have Maya auto-save them to the energetic USD layer.
In contrast to supplies created utilizing the present Hypershade editor, supplies created utilizing LookdevX can be utilized all through a complete USD-based pipeline with out conversion.
Based on Autodesk, the workflow is meant to make sure “constant look improvement throughout merchandise, platforms and recreation engines”.
Animation: new instruments to ‘sculpt’ animation curves, plus updates to the Graph Editor and Time Slider
Animators get various normal enhancements to Maya’s Graph Editor, together with a neat set of brush-based instruments for ‘sculpting’ animation curves.
The picture above reveals the Seize instrument, however you can even Clean or Smear animation curves.
Different new options embrace a fairly complete set of choices for eradicating keys from curves to maintain them light-weight, and new choices for offsetting and clamping curves.
Workflow enhancements embrace a brand new Manipulator for scaling keys; Angle and Weight tangent controls within the Graph Editor toolbar; and higher UX within the Area Keys instrument.
For animation playback, the Time Slider has been redesigned to extra clearly show bookmarks, keys, choice ranges and audio waveforms.
Character animation: improvementst to weight portray and deformation
Character riggers and animators get various extra particular modifications, together with the choice to show pores and skin weights created utilizing the Paint Pores and skin Weights Instrument as numeric values within the viewport, as proven above.
It’s also possible to now have a couple of Pores and skin Cluster on a single piece of geometry, making it attainable to layer deformations: for instance, utilizing separate layers for squash and stretch and secondary movement.
Different modifications embrace the choice to change the order through which co-ordinate axes are evaluated when rotating joints in a rig, with the intention to keep away from gimbal lock.
There are additionally 36 new math nodes for creating extra complicated rigs.
The launch notes additionally listing a brand new HumanIK character template and updates to the UV Pin, Proximity Pin and Proximity Wrap deformers, though the modifications have been truly made throughout the Maya 2023.x releases.
Character animation: new choices for efficiency profiling complicated rigs
There may be additionally an complete part of the discharge notes on enhancements in animation efficiency when enjoying again complicated rigs, though once more, the important thing modifications appear to have been made in Maya 2023.2.
Nevertheless, Maya 2024 does add new options to the Analysis Toolkit for troubleshooting efficiency bottlenecks, together with new graphical output choices and a brand new Outliner widget.
Simulation: gel simulation in Bifrost’s MPM solver
Bifrost, Maya’s multiphysics simulation plugin, has additionally been up to date, with Bifrost 2.7 including assist for gel simulation within the MPM (Materials Level Technique) solver.
The brand new source_mpm_gel node can be utilized to imitate the behaviour of real-world supplies like “icing, toothpaste, ketchup, melted chocolate and foam” – or, as within the picture above, soft-serve ice cream.
As well as, NanoVTT is now the default renderer for volumes within the viewport, which means that the viewport preview ought to extra intently match remaining output generated utilizing Autodesk’s Arnold renderer.
Plugins: updates to USD for Maya, MtoA and Substance in Maya
Maya’s different key plugins have additionally been up to date, with USD for Maya 0.22 including assist for relative pathing of USD information to a Maya scene file, and improved show layer assist.
MtoA 5.3, which integrates Maya with the Arnold renderer, updates the bodily sky to separate mild contributions from the solar and the sky itself.
The Substance plugin, for enhancing supplies in Substance format inside Maya, additionally will get an replace, with Substance 2.3.2 including native assist for Apple Silicon.
Core structure: native assist for Apple Silicon processors
That brings us on to the ultimate main change in Maya 2024: it runs natively on present Apple Silicon Macs – these with M1 and M2 processors – in addition to older Intel Macs.
Earlier variations of Maya ran on Apple Silicon by way of the Rosetta emulation framework, decreasing efficiency.
There are a couple of minor limitations, however in any other case, Apple Silicon is supported all through the software program, together with the Bifrost and MtoA plugins, and the Maya devkit.
The change makes Maya the newest key visible results software to assist Apple Silicon processors, following the discharge of Houdini for Apple Silicon and ZBrush 2023 earlier this yr.
Different modifications
Different modifications embrace Normal Floor changing Lambert as default materials for many new objects created inside Maya, though the previous default supplies are retained for XGen cases and Paint Results strokes.
There may be additionally a helpful new workflow choice to replace file paths in textual content fields by dragging the file itself into the Attribute Editor from the file browser.
As well as, open-source graph visualisation instrument Graphviz is not bundled with Maya on macOS.
Worth and system necessities
Maya is on the market for Home windows, Linux and macOS. On the time of writing, Autodesk hasn’t posted the precise system necessities for Maya 2024.
The software program is rental-only. Subscriptions price $235/month, up $10/month on the earlier launch, or $1,875/yr, up $90/yr on the earlier launch.
In lots of international locations, artists incomes underneath $100,000/yr and dealing on initiatives valued at underneath $100,000/yr, qualify for Maya Indie subscriptions, now priced at $305/yr.
Learn an summary of the brand new options in Maya on Autodesk’s web site
Learn a full listing of recent options in Maya 2024 within the on-line documentation
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