Maya, Mudbox 2010 revealed

Autodesk has announced 2010 updates for two of its key graphics suites, Maya and Mudbox. Maya handles a variety of animation, rendering and effects tasks, and in its 2010 edition will gain Composite, a new module replacing technology from the company's now-defunct Toxik software. Also planned is Backburner, a queue manager for network rendering, and MatchMover, a 3D tracking and matchmoving component.

Mudbox is devoted explicitly to sculpting and painting 3D models. The upgrade concentrates on interoperability, for instance adding Photoshop support; PSD files can be imported as paint layers, while existing layers can be sent to Photoshop. FBX transfers should allow for detailed scene data to be shared with 3DS Max and Softimage, such as cameras and texture maps.

Further changes include an SDK, meant for pipeline integration, and a series of interface improvements. Among these are more brushes, reorderable paint layers, ambient occlusion map baking and new viewport filters. Images can now be rendered from the viewport, an option meant to improve presentations.

Both products are expected to ship in August, solo or as part of Digital Entertainment Creation suites pairing Maya or 3DS Max with Mudbox and MotionBuilder. The Mac versions of the apps will require Mac OS X 10.5.7, but unlike their Windows counterparts, only come in 32-bit editions. Solo Mudbox pricing is set to be $745 new, or $375 as an upgrade from 2009. Maya 2010 should cost approximately $3,495, or $895 when migrating from Complete or Unlimited 2009.

by MacNN Staff