Search form

Autodesk Releases Maya 2020

Latest version includes new animation, rendering, effects, modeling and rigging advancements to empower artists throughout the production pipeline

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  Autodesk today has announced the release of Maya 2020, bringing animators, modelers, riggers, and technical artists a host of new tools and improvements that enable faster, more intuitive CG content creation from first concept to final delivery.

Building on powerful animation features introduced in Maya 2019, Maya 2020 adds more than 60 new updates animators will notice in their day-to-day work. The release also includes Arnold 6, which can now be used for production rendering on both the CPU and GPU, as well as significant performance enhancements and new simulation features to Bifrost, the visual programming environment in Maya.

Maya 2020 release highlights include:

  • Over 60 animation features and updates to the graph editor and time slider.
  • Cached Playback: Experience faster animation playback and more predictable results with new preview modes, layered dynamics caching, and more efficient caching of image planes.
  • Animation bookmarks: Mark, organize, and navigate through specific events in time and frame playback ranges.
  • Arnold GPU: Access Arnold 6 for production rendering on the CPU and GPU. 
  • Bifrost for Maya: Significant performance improvements, Cached Playback support, and new MPM cloth constraints bring even more power to the visual programming environment.
  • Viewport improvements: Interact with and select dense geometry or a large number of smaller meshes faster in the viewport and UV editors.
  • Modeling enhancements: Spend more time modeling and less time cleaning up your models, with new Remesh and Retopologize features.
  • Rigging improvements: Simplify rig and character TD work with matrix-driven workflows, nodes for precisely tracking positions on deforming geometry, and a new GPU-accelerated wrap deformer.

“As the demand for entertainment content continues to explode, artists need tools that augment the creative process, enabling them to work faster and put their best creative foot forward. Building features driven by community feedback and making sure artists at every stage of production are able to work efficiently have been development priorities for Maya 2020,” said Chris Vienneau, senior director, Media & Entertainment products, Autodesk. “This latest update is designed to help artists carry out their vision with greater speed, while also making the creative process more fun and engaging.”

Maya 2020 is now available as a standalone subscription or with a collection of end-to-end creative tools within the Autodesk Media & Entertainment Collection. For more information and pricing, visit: https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview.

Source: Autodesk

Dan Sarto's picture

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.