Maya 8.5
PLAYING WITH FIRE
Realistic computer-animated movie scenes have been around for years, but hair, water, and fire are still difficult for 3D programs to handle. The new Maya 8.5 stands above the crowd.
Hair waving in the breeze, a fluttering cloak, flickering flames – computer-generated images are not what come to mind first when you see realistic scenes like these. But professional 3D rendering and animation programs such as Maya, Photorealistic RenderMan, and 3ds Max are now more than capable of generating a realistic-looking blaze, simulating malleable materials such as cloth or rubber, or automatically calculating the behavior of fluids. Autodesk Maya 8.5 was released mid-January, with the Complete version at an asking price of US$ 1,999, and the Unlimited version setting buyers back US$ 6,999.
Many of the special effects that distinguish Maya from the free 3D program Blender, such as hair and cloth simulations, are available in the Maya Unlimited version only. The price of the Maya software restricts its use to professionals, which makes it all the more interesting to discover to what extent an open source application can keep up with the major players.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 4.2 has Arrived
The latest stable version of OpenMandriva has been released and offers the newest KDE desktop and ARM support.
-
Thunderbird 78 is being ported to Ubuntu 20.04
The Ubuntu developers have made the decision to port the latest release of Thunderbird to the LTS version of the platform.
-
Elementary OS is Bringing Multi-Touch Gestures to the OS
User-friendly Linux distribution, elementary OS, is working to make using the fan-favorite platform even better for laptops.
-
Decade-Old Sudo Flaw Discovered
A vulnerability has been discovered in the Linux sudo command that’s been hiding in plain sight.
-
Another New Linux Laptop has Arrived
Slimbook has released a monster of a Linux gaming laptop.
-
Mozilla VPN Now Available for Linux
The promised subscription-based VPN service from Mozilla is now available for the Linux platform.
-
Wayland and New App Menu Coming to KDE
The 2021 roadmap for the KDE desktop environment includes some exciting features and improvements.
-
Deepin 20.1 has Arrived
Debian-based Deepin 20.1 has been released with some interesting new features.
-
CloudLinux Commits Over 1 Million Dollars to CentOS Replacement
An open source, drop-in replacement for CentOS is on its way.
-
Linux Mint 20.1 Beta has Been Released
The first beta of Linux Mint, Ulyssa, is now available for downloading.