Maya 2020 : Original Input Geometry

In Maya 2020 Autodesk added a new functionality to applying deformers called "Original Geometry Input"  that allows you to keep the original state of the geometry before it was deformed. This allows you to be able to add deformers to a posed character or work procedurally to allow you to replace that original state.

The Price of Maya

Now that the educational license of Maya is no longer wide open, and easily abused, there has been a lot of chatter of why, and what, and what's next. 

The big change, is that Autodesk will be following up to make sure that you actually are a student. Apparently before this. You could just click a box saying. "Yes, I am a student" , and voila you'd have a 3 year license. 

Around late March, Autodesk changed the terms, and long story short, they want you to be using the educational license, if you are actually a student at one of the accredited schools.
 Here is the actual full run down of all the "new" rules:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/search-result/caas/simplecontent/content/term-length-for-educational-licenses.html?_ga=2.236381570.2020595051.1590440000-1478136999.1506994186



 I've never used Maya Edu, so the decision was easy to go to Maya Indie at $250 a year.  While being a pilot program, it seems like this may be the way of the future for the cheapest way to get Maya. Even Substance now has an indie version of Painter that is about the same price. 

Maya Indie is a full fledged version of Maya ,  including an interactive license of Arnold. ( Granted I wish there was at least 1 batch render license).

There is still some confusion as to how long this program will survive, or about upgrading the following years,, ( Seems like you just re-subscribe for another indie year), but for now, it seems like a great option to me. 

https://area.autodesk.com/maya-indie/

Up Close And Personal With Autodesk Maya : Rokoko & SuperAlloy Interactive Replay

link to replay here:
https://autodesk.wistia.com/medias/0euqzpdtkb

Maya Security Threat

Apparently someone has made some mal ware that may cause maya files to lock up, and it spreads to your prefs and installations, infecting other files.

To combat this, Autodesk has put out a security patch that you can get here:
https://www.autodesk.com/trust/security-advisories/adsk-sa-2020-0003


From Autodesk's Security Advisory page:

A third-party malicious script was identified and a fix has been made available. The script can execute malicious code that can corrupt the Maya environment, cause data loss and instability, as well as spread to other systems.

Once you've downloaded and installed, you'll want to load the two plug-ins , MayaScannerCB.py and MayaScanner.py, as they are not auto-loaded.

You can then run Scan File or Scan Current Scene from the file Menu. 

Scan File , allows you to choose un-opened files to scan, while
Scan Current Scene, will scan your current opened scene file. 

with MayaScannerCB loaded, files will automatically be scanned on open.


With either , once  a scan is complete, it will either print in the script editor that all is well. or pop up a warning Message, and ask if you want to clean the file. 

important: If an issue is detected, you must quit and restart Maya to prevent the further spread. 


You can also run the scans interactively :
Windows: 
maya -file "" -command "evalDeferred (\"loadPlugin MayaScanner; MayaScan;\")"
 Linux or macOS:

maya -file '' -command 'evalDeferred("loadPlugin MayaScanner;MayaScan;")'



More information can be found here:
https://www.autodesk.com/trust/security-advisories/adsk-sa-2020-0003

Kris Mercado : 'Whatever gets you talking"

Seizing the awkward is all about reaching out and staying in touch. 

Director Kris Mercado directs this great piece that hopefully gets us all "talking'" ,as staying separated like this can take a toll on everyone's mental health. 

 Created for the ad council's "seize the awkward" campaign to promote reaching out and checking on your friends and family. 


Join me on the facebook page to a live QnA next Wednesday at 3:00 !

Check out the PSA here! 










from Kris's facebook page:

Big ups to Nice Shoes. Michael Reuter, Trung Bao Nguyen, Raymo Ventura, Katey + Joey, Colin, TJ, Paul DeKams, Lizzi Akana, Yandong Dino Qiu, Daniel Moreno Cordero and Rafael Perez! Hyped about this one.

Right now Mental health is more important than ever, so it's an honor to be able to work on something tackling the issue.

from the ad council:

You don't need to be there, to be there for a friend. Stars including Addison Rae, Akinyemi, Avery Cyrus, Bryce Xavier, James Henry, The McFarlands, Meghan Trainor, Molly Burke, mxmtoon and brothers Zach Valentine and Pat Ramirez, help showcase the many ways you can reach out and check in with a friend around their mental health. Checking in with a friend can make a big difference, now more than ever. For more tools and tips for supporting yourself and your friends head to https://seizetheawkward.org.

SVA BFA Computer Art Class of 2020 Thesis Screening

   Finishing school during this time is difficult, but also trying to finish a  thesis film ( or any film) when most of your resources have been cut off can be devastating.

 I'm super impressed that the students of SVA, who not only finished most of their films but did an amazing  ( I didn't have these hardships, and never finished my thesis film..) 

 So be sure to give a shout out to the SVA students ( and all students) , and watch their hard work here. And also the heartfelt words from their professors , and Jimmy Calhoun, Chair of the department. 

And Kudos to Jimmy for stepping up and doing an amazing job with the program and all the students.   






  Congratulations again to the graduating students !

-=s

2019.3.1 is now available

2019.3.1 update is now available , and from what I understand is mostly about fixing some bug fixes on Windows working with Remote Desktop. 

This update is for WINDOWS ONLY ! 

Get it thru your autodesk web portal. 

release notes are usually found here: 
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/getting-started/caas/simplecontent/content/maya-release-notes.html?st=release%20notes

but currently I don't see any for this release. ( yet)

Exploring Luts and Aces

If you haven't scene the "idiot's guide to ACES from the Toadstorm Nerdblog  then I highly recommend checking it out here:
https://www.toadstorm.com/blog/?p=694&fbclid=IwAR2NsTbqXLkuqQXkFP2LIlVKGdCEoeM8ruCEOrhb_xzIxekJIPC4CUwGmQk

Along those lines.  I've also found this video from ZY productions to be very helpful in explaining how 1D and 3D luts work, and are





I would also highly recommend checking out Arvid Schneider's youtube for working with Arnold and rendering in ACES.


and this live stream he did working with OCIO and ACES

VAST solver for Maya

If you are working in games and need to convert blendShapes and other deformers to joint based animations, this might just be the thing. 

The Vast solver from Alen Arslanagic converts pretty much any geometry deformation to joint based animation skinned to match the original . 

Looks like a similar approach that Hans Goddard's developed for Naughty Dog, skinning converter, but never released to the public. 
At $300 it may seem expensive, but not compared to having to do this any other way.


vastSolver (Maya plugin) - Vertex Animation to Skin and Joints Transformations from Alen Arslanagic on Vimeo.


You can get the plug-in here at the Autodesk APP store
https://apps.autodesk.com/MAYA/en/Detail/Index?id=4081421556124369005&appLang=en

Maya 2020.1 is now available

https://area.autodesk.com/blogs/the-maya-blog/the-worlds-largest-marketplace-of-motion-assets-now-in-maya/?fbclid=IwAR0OEEfSACUPTlnzdRvQnJhchn2yb3a9EXqLuyO6PJeHWCizhiRaZhc8Lb0


Looks like the biggest news is the partnering with ROKOKO , and it's giant marketplace of motion assets.  Including a built in plug-in to access that library. Including 50 free motions! 

Outside of that , it's some bug fixes here and there. 

Just FYI, if you are on windows and have a previously installed version. the update will automatically update, however on mac or linux , you will want to un-install before installing 2020.1


release notes here:
https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2020/ENU/?guid=Maya_ReleaseNotes_2020_1_release_notes_html