Software Autodesk Maya 2010 underwent a radical transformation

The company Autodesk, a world leader in design software, introduced at the SIGGRAPH 2009 exhibition the software Autodesk Maya 2010, which unifies the feature sets of Autodesk Maya Complete 2009 and Autodesk Maya Unlimited 2009 with motion tracking capabilities within scenes, compositing, and rendering into one affordable offering. The Maya 2010 software makes it easier for artists, designers, and fans of 3D technology to create appealing entertainment scenes, stylish designs, and evocative digital displays – from photorealistic visual effects to lifelike characters. Maya 2010 is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

"Artists need more creative capabilities than ever to attract audiences and capture their attention in today’s fast-paced world of digital entertainment and design," explains Marc Petit, senior vice president of Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Maya 2010 is designed to give artists these creative options, facilitating and making it easier to create a cohesive production pipeline for computer graphics – integrating 2D and 3D technologies, simulation and animation, and rendering and compositing – so they can create innovative entertainment more effectively."

Paal Anand, digital post-production supervisor at Bling Imaging and a beta tester for Maya 2010, said: "Producers are smarter about computer graphics. They expect more work with added complexity in less time than ever before. Maya 2010 is a complete package that can effectively tackle any challenge, whether it's a tracking-heavy, modeling, animation, rendering, or compositing project. Maya 2010 simplifies the workflow by integrating all necessary tools into a production process that is ready to use, enabling job processing from start to finish." Bling Imaging, based in Hollywood, creates photorealistic visual effects and animations for television broadcasting and film production.

Maya software has been used in the creation of every film that has won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects since 2001, and it is also used by top computer game publishers. Over the past decade, Maya has become a creative tool used by many leading production companies worldwide and also helps artists create unique and innovative entertainment scenes – from independent productions like The Spine by director Chris Landreth to trend-defining blockbusters packed with visual effects, such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Features of Autodesk Maya 2010
Maya 2010 includes all features of Maya Unlimited 2009 and Maya Complete 2009, including advanced simulation tools: Maya Nucleus Unified Simulation Framework, Maya nCloth, Maya nParticles, Maya Fluid Effects, Maya Hair, Maya Fur – in addition to complete modeling, texturing, animation tools, spray-based 3D technologies, integrated stereoscopic workflow, Toon Shading, rendering, extensive API and SDK for Maya, and scripting capabilities using Python and MEL.

New features in Maya 2010 include Maya Composite, a powerful high-dynamic range compositing system based on Autodesk Toxik, which is no longer provided as a standalone solution, advanced 3D tracking and motion tracking capabilities within scenes, five batch rendering nodes for mental ray (requires a network license for Maya 2010), and the network rendering queue manager Autodesk Backburner.

"I use Maya Complete in my daily work and have always been interested in Maya Unlimited," said Ivan Turgeon, a visual effects artist using Maya and a beta tester for Maya 2010 for Prairie Fire VE. "Now, with Autodesk Subscription customers of Maya Complete, they will receive Maya 2010 including the full feature set of Maya Unlimited 2009, including mental ray batch rendering and Maya Composite, smaller studios like mine will be more viable."

For more information on the features offered in Autodesk Maya 2010, visit here>.

Autodesk Digital Entertainment Creation Suites
Autodesk also introduced the Maya 2010 Real-Time Animation Suite with Autodesk MotionBuilder 2010 and the Maya 2010 Entertainment Creation Suite with MotionBuilder 2010 and Autodesk Mudbox 2010. These product suites, compared to purchasing individual standalone products, provide artists and production companies access to a broader range of creative tools at cost savings. These products, when used together, help artists maximize their creative capabilities and optimize productivity. "These product suites combine our most popular 3D tools at a lower cost, thus enabling greater creative possibilities and more cohesive and effective production processes. Our customers are equipped with broader and stronger creative capabilities they need to accomplish demanding tasks in these economically uncertain times," explained Marc Petit.

Availability
Autodesk expects Maya 2010 to be available in August 2009. Maya 2010 will also be provided as part of Autodesk's new Digital Entertainment Creation suites.

Operating Systems

• The 32-bit version of Maya 2010 will be supported on Windows Vista Business (SP1), Windows XP Professional (SP2), and Apple Mac OS X 10.5.7.
• The 64-bit version of Maya 2010 will be supported on Windows Vista Business (SP1), Windows XP x64 Edition (SP2), Red Hat Enterprise Linux (5.3 WS), and Fedora 8.

The Autodesk Subscription program is available for license purchases or upgrades. Autodesk Subscription customers have access to the latest software, educational resources, and an extensive online technical knowledge database. For more information about Subscription offerings for Maya 2010, visit www.autodesk.com/mayasubscription.

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About Autodesk
Autodesk is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for manufacturing, construction, media, and entertainment. Since the launch of AutoCAD in 1982, Autodesk has developed the most comprehensive portfolio of top-tier digital prototyping solutions that help customers practically test ideas before they are realized. Fortune 1000 companies use Autodesk tools to visualize, simulate, and analyze the real-world performance of their designs in the early stages of development, helping them save time and money, improve quality, and foster innovation. For more information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.cz or www.autodesk.com.