Editor’s word: This put up is a part of Into the Omniverse, a sequence targeted on how artists, builders and enterprises can rework their workflows utilizing the newest advances in OpenUSD and NVIDIA Omniverse.
In 3D artwork and design, environment friendly workflows are important for rapidly bringing inventive visions to life.
Common Scene Description, aka OpenUSD, is a framework that enhances these workflows by offering a unified, extensible ecosystem for describing, composing, simulating and collaborating inside 3D worlds. OpenUSD is a key expertise in Autodesk’s suite of merchandise and options, throughout media and leisure; structure, engineering and building; and product design and manufacturing.
Unveiled on the AU 2023 convention this week, the newest OpenUSD updates to Autodesk Maya allow artists and technical professionals to create and manipulate OpenUSD belongings with larger management and effectivity, whereas additionally making certain extra environment friendly and correct 3D workflows.
Bridging the Digital and Actual Worlds With Maya and OpenUSD
Many creators are utilizing Maya and OpenUSD to propel their 3D workflows.
Karol Osinski is a 3D artist at S20M, an architectural and design agency that focuses on tackling distinctive, daring and chic initiatives. In the case of creating architectural visualizations, Osinski says the most important problem is matching the digital world to the true one.
Utilizing USD and inventive instruments equivalent to Maya, SideFX Houdini and Epic Video games’ Unreal Engine, Osinski creates high-quality visuals for purchasers whereas accelerating his architectural workflows.
Osinski’s panoramic view from the twentieth flooring terrace within the Higher East Aspect
“OpenUSD supplies the potential of bridging totally different instruments like by no means earlier than,” mentioned Osinski. “I really like how accessible USD is for first-time customers and the way it opens alternatives to make designs very complicated.”
“Sir Wade” Neistadt, an animator and YouTube creator, goals to make animation and 3D schooling extra accessible by way of his video tutorials and business coaching. Step one of his distinctive animation workflow is to behave out his animations on digicam. He then interprets them in Maya to start his animation work earlier than utilizing USD to export them to different 3D software program, together with Blender, for ending touches.
3D artists at NVIDIA are additionally experiencing the facility of Maya and OpenUSD. Technical specialist Lee Fraser led the “Ferret-Story Mission” to showcase character creation and animation workflows enabled by OpenUSD and generative AI.
To create the demo, Fraser and his workforce collaborated throughout 3D functions like Blender, Autodesk Maya and Reallusion Character Creator by way of OpenUSD Connectors. This allowed them to scale back the information prep and import and export time that’s normally required when working with a number of information sources.
“My favourite factor about utilizing OpenUSD is just not having to consider the place the 3D information I exploit originated from,” Fraser mentioned. “It was additionally simple to make use of USD layers to experiment with making use of totally different animation clips with totally different characters.”
Members of the inventive group joined a latest livestream to share their workflows utilizing Autodesk instruments, OpenUSD and NVIDIA Omniverse, a growth platform for connecting and constructing OpenUSD-based instruments and functions.
Whether or not adjusting lighting circumstances in an atmosphere or constructing designs from the road view, designers in structure, engineering, building and operations are advancing their work with AI. Be taught extra by watching the replay:
Shaping the Way forward for 3D With Extra Environment friendly Workflows
AU 2023 attendees skilled how Autodesk is enhancing Maya with its new OpenUSD plug-in to offer extra sensible workflows for numerous manufacturing processes. The software program’s newest options embody:
- Simplified asset sharing: Designers can now use relative paths when creating OpenUSD phases, permitting for simple asset sharing between totally different programs. This contains assist for sublayers, references, payloads and textures.
- Enhanced management: Plug-in builders and technical administrators can overwrite the default prim writers in Maya USD to achieve full management over their OpenUSD exports.
Plus, Autodesk launched spectacular capabilities to LookdevX in Maya, a look-development software that lets customers create OpenUSD shade graphs and customized supplies in Maya. These new options embody:
- Streamlined shader creation: Customers can make use of a unified shader workflow, changing the necessity for a number of shaders. They’ll choose their desired shader kind throughout the parameters panel, with intuitive error messages guiding them to the proper choice.
- Environment friendly operations: Creators can copy, paste and duplicate shaders and supplies utilizing the Outliner and LookdevX software units, with the choice to incorporate or exclude connections.
- Seamless coloration administration: LookdevX in Maya integrates with coloration managers in different digital content material creation apps to make sure correct coloration illustration. Shade administration information is exactly embedded in USD information for correct studying.
- Superior graphing: Customers can discover superior graphing choices with the built-in element workflow, supporting multichannel Prolonged Dynamic Vary (EXR) workflows inside USD, MaterialX or Arnold shading graphs.
- Environment friendly troubleshooting: Solo nodes allow quicker look-development workflows and environment friendly graph troubleshooting. Customers can examine renders of upstream nodes, supporting each Autodesk Arnold and MaterialX graphs, together with supplies, shaders and compounds.
Get Plugged Into the World of OpenUSD
Anybody can construct their very own Omniverse extension or Connector to reinforce their 3D workflows and instruments. Discover the Omniverse ecosystem’s rising catalog of connections, extensions, basis functions and third-party instruments.
Autodesk and NVIDIA are founding members of the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), collectively strengthening an open future with USD. To study extra, discover the AOUSD discussion board and take a look at sources on OpenUSD.
Share your Autodesk Maya and Omniverse work by way of November as a part of the #SeasonalArtChallenge. Use the hashtag to submit an autumn harvest-themed scene for an opportunity to be featured on the @NVIDIAStudio and @NVIDIAOmniverse social channels.
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