Autodesk Unveils New Workflows, including AI

AUTODESK HAS

Unveiled

new workflows for media and entertainment companies in what the company says is a streamlining of post-production and games pipelines.

The company has announced updates to Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, Bifrost, and Arnold, further open standards and a boost for artist-driven animation, modelling, and simulation workflows.

Performance is also given a boost with support for Apple Silicon. In addition, Autodesk is collaborating with Adobe to build a material standard, and with Microsoft to unveil a beta version of AI-powered Maya Assist.

Growing Open Standards

Across tools, the company continues to integrate open standards that accelerate and streamline the flow of data between people, teams, and software at studios, including: LookDevX, a new agnostic material editor in Maya, which standardises material workflows, allowing artists to create complex shading networks that can be shared freely and accurately throughout studio pipelines. With a modern, nodebased environment, this enables artists to author a variety of materials like USDShade, Material X, and Arnold that can then be used by other artists across multiple projects.

Integration of powerful USD workflows across the Autodesk portfolio, making it easier to move data through the post-production pipeline.

Powerful Modelling and Colour Management for 3ds Max

Autodesk is expanding the robust modelling toolset in 3ds Max with fast, fluid, and fun workflows for artists.

• A new Boolean modifier offers a modern and intuitive way to produce clean geometry, and updates to the Array modifier help create beautiful, naturelike scenes, procedurally.

• With effective colour management tools built around the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) and OpenColorIO (OCIO), a must for most modern post-production pipelines, this update gives artists complete control over colours with Color Management. From Viewport to final render, colours are predictable and consistent, so artists know that colours match and align at every phase of production.

Elevated Animation, Modelling, and Simulation workflows in Maya

On top of LookDevX and Hydra for Maya, Maya gains new tools and workflows across its animation, modelling, and simulation toolsets.

• Updates to Retopologize and the Boolean toolset give artists more creative control while modelling.

• Streamlined animation tools, including a redesigned Time Slider, make navigating and editing animations more fluid and intuitive.

• Bifrost, Maya’s visual programming environment,