With new enhancements and an ongoing focus on stability, Autodesk® Maya® software helps artists work faster and more efficiently. Powerful character creation tools in Maya continue to define modern CG entertainment production. Today, motion graphics artists are exploring the full power of Maya to take their designs to new levels of creativity. The journey to today’s top virtual reality experiences in games and entertainment starts in Maya – from virtual characters to stunningly realistic immersive environments. And artists in many disciplines are benefiting from a focus on stability and enhancements driven by user feedback.
When you look at the new features and enhancements introduced over the past few releases of Maya, character creation tools have become more powerful and easier to use. The modeling, animation, and grooming workflows have seen significant improvements that not only help artists work faster but also help make character creation more fun.
In addition to characters, the motion graphics workflow in Maya continues to evolve with a growing toolset that now includes rigid-body dynamics. On the rendering front, Maya includes the full features of Arnold 5 as its built-in renderer.
Finally, we understand how important stability is to our customers. So, we have really focused on making sure that Maya is a release with stability you can count on.
Motion graphics
3D Type
Create branding, flying logos, title sequences, and other projects that require text.
Improved vector graphics workflow
Import or copy and paste SVG files into Maya.
Motion Graphics toolset
Quickly create complex procedural effects and animations with instanced objects.
3D animation
Parallel rig evaluation
New system speeds rig playback and manipulation.
Geodesic voxel binding
Produce high-quality, production-ready bound characters in less time.
General animation tools
Toolset for keyframe, procedural, and scripted animation.
Time Editor
Make high-level animation edits with a nondestructive, clip-based, nonlinear editor.
Shape authoring workflow
Fine-tune your characters and animation more quickly and easily.
Animation performance
Speed enhancements make your scenes even faster.
3D Modeling
Symmetry modeling
Mirror enhancements and tool symmetry improvements make symmetrical modeling easier.
Revamped sculpting toolset
Sculpt and shape models more artistically and intuitively.
Polygon modeling
Efficient library enables faster, more consistent Boolean operations on polygon geometry.
OpenSubdiv support
Accelerate performance with interactive workflows.
Dynamics and effects
Deep adaptive fluid simulation
Simulate high-level details just where you need them with the new adaptive solver for Bifrost liquids.
Faster, easier-to-use XGen
Updated workflow, presets, sculpting, and preview.
Adaptive aero solver in Bifrost
Create atmospheric effects such as smoke and mist.
Bifrost procedural effects platform
Simulate and render photorealistic liquids.
Bullet Physics
Create realistic rigid and soft-body simulations.
Maya nCloth
Create realistic deformable materials.
Interactive hair grooming (XGen)
Intuitive brush-based grooming tools give you greater control and accuracy for styling and posing hair and fur.
Bifrost Ocean Simulation System
Create realistic ocean surfaces with waves, ripples, and wakes.
3D rendering and shading
Additional look development shading nodes
Shade complex scenes more easily.
Enhanced look development workflow
Sculpt and shape models more artistically and intuitively.
Color management
Efficient library enables faster, more consistent Boolean operations on polygon geometry.
Next-gen Viewport display and shading
Work in a higher-fidelity, high-performance interactive environment to edit assets and images in less time.
Arnold integrated with Maya
Use Arnold RenderView to view scene changes in real time, including lighting, materials, and camera.
Render setup
Quickly render and manage complex scenes. Generate templates for the setup of a shot for easy reuse.
Pipeline integration
Scripting and API
Create Maya scripts and write plug-ins in Maya Embedded Language (MEL) or Python scripting language.
Data and scene management tools
Manage large data sets and heavy scenes with specialized tools and workflows.
Scene Assembly tools for smarter data
Create large, complex worlds more easily, and manage production assets as discrete elements.
Autodesk® Maya® software is supported on the following 64-bit operating systems and at a minimum, requires a system with the following 64-bit hardware:
| Software |
| Operating System |
- Microsoft® Windows® 7 (SP1) and Windows® 10 Professional operating system
- Apple® Mac OS® X 10.11.x, 10.12.x operating system
- Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 6.5 & 7.2 WS operating system ¹
- CentOS 6.5 & 7.2 Linux operating system ¹
- Nvidia Guide for Virtualization with GRID & VMWare
¹ Requires a multi-user license, not supported with single-user license. |
| Browser |
Autodesk recommends the latest version of the following web browsers for access to online supplemental content:
- Apple® Safari® web browser
- Google Chrome™ web browser
- Microsoft® Internet Explorer® web browser
- Mozilla® Firefox® web browser
|
Disclaimer: The VMware application is network-based and performance of Autodesk Maya for VMware software products may vary with network performance. The software does not include the VMware application, nor does Autodesk provide direct support for issues with the VMware application. Users should contact VMware directly with questions related to procurement and operation of the VMware application.
| Hardware |
| CPU |
64-bit Intel® or AMD® multi-core processor with SSE4.2 instruction set |
| Graphics Hardware |
Refer to the following pages for a detailed list of recommended systems and graphics cards:
Maya Certified Hardware |
| RAM |
8 GB of RAM (16 GB or more recommended) |
| Disk Space |
4 GB of free disk space for install |
| Pointing Device |
Three-button mouse |
Autodesk is not responsible for errors or failures of Autodesk software arising from the installation of updates, extensions or new releases issued by third party hardware or software vendors for the certified software or hardware identified in this document (or for any other third party software or hardware that you may use in connection with Autodesk products).
