Autodesk: 2011

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Autodesk?

Check out this news post just received - 2011 products with 13-month licences! On the condition that the rendered images aren't watermarked, this is going to be fantastic for my project rather than the 6-month limitation to worry about originally.

http://usa.autodesk.com/

"You want to change the world. We want to see you do it.

Now is the perfect time to download the latest versions of your favorite Autodesk® products or try out a new one. Become proficient with the same software used by design and engineering professionals around the world, and further explore your design ideas that can make an impact on your future.

With the latest release of Autodesk® 2011 products, there are now more than 25 new software titles available for free* download on theAutodesk Education Community. All products now come with 13-month licenses, including 3ds Max and Maya. These new products can help you build skills needed in the workplace and introduce tools that support industry trends such as Sustainable Design, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Digital Entertainment Creation.

You’ll also notice a new look and feel to the community – it’s been designed to help you find just what you’re looking for, faster. We’re eager to hear what you think – please send us your feedback via the links on the site."

Oo! Random 3D Maya Find!

Old topic, but looks interesting.

Maya 2009 (and all Autodesk products) are adding 3D Stereoscopic tools - report from SIGGRAPH

Posted by Pat Howk on August 13, 2008

http://fireuser.com/blog/maya_2009_and_all_autodesk_products_are_adding_3d_stereoscopic_tools_report/

Monday, I caught the end of the Autodesk event and got to see a little bit about the new Maya 2009! The first thing I saw was the new particle system. It was really easy to recreate fluid effects, smoke, explosions. Everything done in the demo was created without writing expressions. To me this was the one of the best parts. They also demonstrated some real-time collision detection. But the good parts were the new Stereoscopic tools that are coming out for all of Autodesk's products. I'll focus on Maya since I'm a Maya user. The best thing was Maya 2009 has a built in stereo camera rig. Some really cool options for this camera rig are real-time 3D so that you can animate and model and do everything you want to do while wearing your 3D glasses! That way you don't actually have to render you scene just to see if you stereo is working properly. The next cool thing is the camera can actaully project a red color and a blue color right onto the screen. What this does is gives you a reference for the 3D. Meaning that everything in front of the red plane is going to look like it's coming out at you and everything behind blue is going to be in the background. This also will increase your work flow by allowing you to get a good idea of what your scene will look like before you even render your first scene. As it is now you had to make your own rig and continually render a scene just to see how far the depth is and if you need to tweek more. The whole Autodesk pipeline got a stereo upgrade to help make stereoscopy an easier thing to do.

The industry right now looks like it is getting behind theses 3D/stereo technologies 100%. Dreamworks reps claim that their moving to it and ALL of their upcoming 3D movies are going to be in stereo. These tools just make that transition a whole lot easier for pro's and students alike. If your a 3D student today then you can't afford to not be working on stereo projects in school. It's doesn't matter if you like it or not, from what I've seen the industry if moving at full steam with stereoscopy.

Oh, and for those that don't know.

Avatar: http://download.autodesk.com/us/mnevideo/avatar/movie_trailer/avatar_trailer_658x330.html

The movie was developed using both Maya and MotionBuilder.

Great stuff.

Maya Pricing

So today I found a good option for pricing for the Maya suite. I had been getting updates from the Qantm Online forums from other students and someone recommended to try Digital by Design as an option for obtaining cheap software packages.

Sent them an email about it and actually got some good information regarding it; plus it's not watermarked!

We can supply 3ds Max and Maya education licenses, which are not watermarked (you’re just not allowed to use them for commercial purposes) however we don’t have student Adobe licenses.

Both maya and max are included in the Education Suite for Entertainment Creation 2010 13 month license pack, details and pricing below.

1 x “Autodesk Education Suite for Entertainment Creation 2010 Student 13 Month License" pack = RRP $220 Inc GST + $20 Inc GST freight.

Details on pack contents here: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=13395078

For payment we accept direct deposit or credit card with a 2% surcharge. We will also need a copy of your student card or enrolment form.

[Source Digital by Design Email, 12th March 2010]

Checked out the website and the Education Suite for Entertainment Creation looks pretty good.

Software Solutions
The Entertainment Suite for Education includes full versions of the following software solutions:

• Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2010 software
• Autodesk® Maya® 2010 software
• Autodesk® Softimage® 2010 software
• Autodesk® MotionBuilder® 2010 software
• Autodesk® Mudbox™ 2010 software
• Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro 2010 software

Learning Resources
Along with the entertainment creation software bundle, Autodesk offers access to a variety of online, self-paced curriculum and learning resources, created by educators and industry professionals, to help you educate tomorrow’s digital artists—all accessible through the Student Engineering & Design Community (login required).

[Source: Autodesk - Education http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=13395078]

All in all, the package looks worthwhile It not only has 3Ds Max and Maya but it also has the other options such as SketchBook and MotionBuilder, tools I think would be of benefit. The only disadvantage I see in going by this option is that it is only a 13 month licence. It works out cheaper then buying the individual packages though.

I'd have to make sure that the packages are compatible with 64bit operating systems.. Apart from that though it'll be a good option to explore. Especially if I use the 6 month trial before hand before swapping over to the 13 month licence.

I can't remember what date Autodesk releases the new software though. I think last year it was around October/November... from memory.

Next think to look at is possibly Premiere.