Maya reveals generative textures, materials, and AI-powered animation tools
While I use Blender myself, I know a lot of you probably have a license for Autodesk Maya to shape and sculpt your creation for indie game development projects. You’ll be happy to know that the company just announced it’ll soon inject some cutting-edge AI tools into your workflow! Announcement recently at Siggraph 2023, Maya will develop these tools using Nvidia’s Picasso AI platform. This is the same tech used to create Adobe’s upcoming Firefly that’s currently in beta for select users.
Artificial intelligence in Maya
Imagine having the ability to dynamically generate textures, materials, and high dynamic range (HDR) images right within your modeling software. Sounds amazing, right? Well, you won’t have to imagine it for much longer. With the new AI tools, you’ll be able to do just that, making LookdevX and scene lighting workflows faster and more efficient than ever before.
Essentially, Picasso itself will make use of Shutterstock’s new generative AI 360 HDRi image creation capabilities. You type in some text, and it creates the image on your behalf. HDRi images are very important in scene lighting, as you’re probably aware, so having quick access to highly specific libraries and creating your own to get the perfect look is vital, and seems like it’s going to be a breeze moving forward.
Maya will also be integrated with Wonder Studio, an app that automagically animates, lights and composes CG characters into a live action scene using nothing but your web browser! You’ll be able to create impressive AI-powered animations with ease.
A lot of the discussions surrounding artificial intelligence as these large corporations integrate it into their software is whether they’re being trained on your art and the art of others. Will these new tools be ethically sound, or will they carve a path through all of the people that made it possible and take everything for itself? Well, Autodesk has stated their commitment to integrating AI responsibly and ethically into 3D content creation for characters and worlds. The focus on ethical AI mirrors how Nvidia’s Picasso AI platform has been used by other companies, like Adobe.
We’ll work toward responsibly and ethically integrating AI into 3D content creation for characters and worlds.
Autodesk News
Stay ahead of the generative AI curve
At the end of the day, I want you to see AI as a tool to help you work, not one to replace you. In an ideal world, generative artificial intelligence would not replace artists and creatives, but the fact of the matter is that it will.
However, those who use it to spark creativity in themselves, reach beyond what they would otherwise be capable of dreaming up, and use it to speed up their workflows in an original and assisted manner will be the ones to come out on top, and I hope that’s you.
If you’re a Maya user, I’m telling you now that you need to get in on these tools while it’s still early. You can either shun AI or embrace it, and so long as Autodesk and others are acting responsibly and respecting any source training material they feed their models (Picasso is trained only on free images), I think it’s best to be on the forefront of that innovation. There’s a lot of money to be had by indie developers and small teams, and we’re living in the golden age of opportunity!
