Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) has been involved in the 3D modeling of judicial evidence for homicide cases since 2015. The lab has refined its modeling workflows based on the established use of reality capture (photogrammetry) and BIM (Building Information Modeling) to model artifacts and buildings. Working with the coroner’s office, CIMS has incorporated newer forms of 3D modeling and real-time rendering to establish a standard for displaying digital representations of photographic evidence in a courtroom setting. In this class, we’ll cover our modeling process, starting with analyzing evidence to presenting the data in a user-friendly format. Utilizing Maya software, we’ll model a series of anatomical base meshes that we’ll then manipulate to show inflicted injuries. Next, we’ll texture map the models in Mudbox using photos as reference. Finally, we’ll combine the pieces in Unreal Engine using a template. The addition of blueprints and widgets complete the final product.

This class will present a quick and easy-to-use workflow between Maya software and ZBrush. Maya is the industry-standard software for 3D animation, and ZBrush is the industry-standard software for 3D sculpting. Although both are widely used in the industry, it is not common to see beginner tutorials about the workflow and integration between both software systems. This course will try to fill this gap with plenty of examples and best practices. We will show you how to create basic meshes in Maya, how to refine the basic mesh in ZBrush using Live Boolean, how to go back and forth between both programs using the GoZ plug-in, how to export high and low-poly models back to Maya, and how to create textures in ZBrush and apply them to an Arnold shader, among other interesting topics. In the end, you will have a very good grasp of how to use Maya and ZBrush together.

In this talk, we look at the variety of features and toolsets inside Maya that can be leveraged by artists to create compelling and engaging animated performances, in sometimes unexpected ways.

With recent advances in generative models, many industries must adapt to offer more-intuitive solutions to interact with their expert software. The challenge ahead is to combine this expert knowledge with artificial intelligence (AI) to include more-natural ways of interacting with our tools while remaining precise and controllable. In this talk, we will discuss our solution to achieve this for content creation in Maya software. We'll present a high-level overview of the architecture to better understand the integration of the Microsoft Azure OpenAI services in our product. Then, we will discuss how we improved the inference model bridging the gap between research and production. We'll also show a demo of our plug-in in Maya software on a complex scene. You'll leave this session knowing how to prepare a proper data set for code generation from prompt, how to design a structured context improving the accuracy of the generated response, and how to maximize custom embeddings to handle more-complex use cases.

RADiCAL's artificial intelligence (AI) enables 3D motion capture, animation, and content solutions for film, gaming, and live events for everyone, everywhere. Our AI delivers an end-to-end software-only solution, generatively going straight from a single 2D video to 4D skeletal joint rotations, in real time, requiring no coding, hardware, investment, or training. Camera, browser, internet: done. In this product demo, we'll explain how RADiCAL Live works, how you bring real-time, multiplayer, motion-capture data into Maya software. We'll go into RADiCAL's development road map (including feature sets to be released soon). And we'll cover how we continue to partner with Autodesk in the creation of a truly democratized, end-to-end, cloud-based, collaborative content-creation platform that has AI at its heart.

AI tech may get all the attention, but there isn't an AI solution for the critical workflows that architects need to tell the stories of their projects. Designers want visualizations that simultaneously capture a building's aesthetic complexity and the hard data points of energy efficiency, occupant movement, and traffic flow. AI isn't delivering, and Chaos is stepping up. Come see the latest tools for Revit users to conduct energy analysis, with results that can be generated and understood by everyone contributing to your Revit project. Then see how to easily assemble visualizations from across teams and creation tools into real-time explorations, with animations features that go far beyond what design tools are made to support. Learn how quickly you can bring design options to life with stunning ray-traced rendering, dynamic crowds of digital humans, and realistic vehicles traffic. Chaos will show how all of this is possible today for the casual users while meeting the demands of specialists.

The kids are all grown up! The gamer generation has entered the workforce and they are not afraid to push technology to the limits for fast, high-quality results. In this class, you will see how the Autodesk Media and Entertainment collection can take AEC storytelling, visualization and simulation to the next level. Additionally, we will explore game engine workflows to create immersive experiences that help projects get to a finished state faster. Join us!

With the compound collection "Procedural Polygon Generator 2.0" for Bifrost, users can autogenerate buildings and all kinds of architectural detail. The goal is to build a construction history that works on various polygon inputs, and creates complex buildings without any further user input. This solution is used in the video-game industry and the film/TV industry for automated generation of environments, as well as for concept design and visualization in architecture.

In this workshop, we'll discuss how we used Maya software to create our short film Scrap Metal. We will take a deep dive into what kickstarted the project, how we got it funded, and all the technical and creative challenges. We'll also talk about managing a short film of this scale and complexity on an indie budget. At the end, we'll discuss the further development of the IP, and where we want to go next.

In this session, we will show the new media and entertainment Autodesk Platform Services-oriented software and give an introduction to how the APIs work. The Autodesk Platform Services Flow Graph Engine API is already in beta, with the Media and Entertainment Data Model coming soon to support the Flow Asset Management tools. This class will focus on those features that will also be included in the digital content creation (DCC) tools, but from an API perspective to show how customers can automate and access the data and functionality in an automated way.

Join Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to discover its journey of adopting and deploying OpenUSD to build an interoperable Spatial Technology Stack (STS) with tools that include Maya software, 3ds Max software, Epic Unreal, and McNeel Rhino. The STS lets ZHA build immersive digital twins that enable deeper integrations between design and construction, enhance spatial experiences, and increase efficiencies in design and review cycles. In the session, we'll cover how no-code or low-code platforms and APIs, such as NVIDIA Omniverse, are enabling ZHA to build proprietary tools. These tools allow the firm to interact with and manipulate its data sets in processes such as robotics and digital fabrication. This approach reduces material waste while increasing sustainability and innovation. Join us to explore how this innovative approach revolutionizes architectural design, making it more engaging, responsible, and accessible to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.

Embark on a flight above Westeros with the Rodeo FX animation department as they discuss the intricate work done on these jaw-dropping creatures for the latest season of HBO's smash hit House of the Dragon.

While professional artists use high-fidelity animation techniques—pioneered and refined by Autodesk's animation products MotionBuilder, 3ds Max, and Maya—in games, film, and design production pipelines, we ask the questions: What if the user is not as skilled? What if their requirements for control are not as stringent Could we leverage new input modalities to allow untrained creators to record and edit 3D motion in just a few minutes? We'll discuss the speed and utility afforded by animating in a completely new paradigm: One that allows you to express intent with your body, fingers, face, gaze, and speech while enhancing presence, storytelling, and collaboration in real-time immersive experiences, and engaging your spatial understanding, reasoning, and memory to author 3D animations. Come and hear what our panel of experts from Meta Platforms, Workshop XR, Entertainment and Media Solutions as well as Autodesk Research have to say.

Web 3.0 is here, and industries and organizations need to be prepared to upgrade their existing content to 3D at scale. Many brands have already invested in 3D design to improve manufacturing, but haven't yet scratched the surface on the potential scalability with game engines to create interactive training, run simulations for better planning, or create more dynamic sales materials. How should organizations be thinking about their 3D strategies? Join Ashley Crowder, a pioneer in 3D and spatial computing technology, who will demo how 3D assets can be interoperable and used across the metaverse, e-commerce, product lifecycle management (PLM), and more to improve employee training, increase speed to market, and boost sales. She will present case studies—including Kohler, Merrell, and Michael Kors—that provide real-life examples on best practices for 3D designs from AutoCAD, Maya, and 3ds Max software to Unreal Engine, Unity, and web viewers. From design to e-commerce to B2B sales, learn how build a winning 3D strategy.

It's 2023 and you've been wondering "WTF is USD?” You're not alone! Software never stops evolving, and it is easy to feel left behind when new tech enters the scene. Funny enough, that is exactly what USD is aiming to address. USD stands for Universal Scene Description, and it is an open-source initiative, meaning it is being built in a public facing manner, without any single company claiming ownership of its development. Rather, multiple companies share the same vision – a world where sharing production assets among programs is consistent, reliable and easy. In this class you will learn USD's origin, where its currently at in the Media & Entertainment Industry, where it is headed, and how these techniques and technologies add benefit to any industry pipeline.

In this session, we'll show a pipeline concerning the benefits of moving content from Autodesk products to Unreal Engine and Twinmotion Engine.

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened new frontiers for creative expression and world building, transcending traditional boundaries of imagination. This session will explore the potential of AI-generated worlds in fostering empathy, rituals, and community building, while reflecting on the environmental challenges faced in the Anthropocene. We’ll discuss a case study of an imagined world, that we call Eden. This world was designed to have one-to-one mirrors of the relationships formed between ecosystems on planet Earth, while being different enough to avoid an uncanny valley effect. We’ll highlight the role of AI-generated worlds in providing a mirror for understanding our own planet and community, emphasizing the importance of empathetic practices for planetary interests.

This class will present a fast, easy-to-use workflow for creating great-looking renders using Maya software with the GPU-based Redshift Renderer. This hands-on class has the indie artist and 3D generalist in mind, instead of the big company with an army of specialized artists. The Redshift Renderer is widely used in the industry and can give you realistic-looking images in a fraction of the time needed with other renderers. Nevertheless, Redshift's integration with Maya can be confusing in the beginning. This class will cut to the chase and show you how to set up your model in Maya; select the correct Redshift shaders; prepare your materials, lights, and lens effects; and finally render your image using the two available modes in Redshift: Production and RT (Real Time). You'll learn about lens effects, denoisers, AOVs, and VDB rendering.

Digital models are the key to unlocking improved sustainability and lower costs in product design. This session will explore groundbreaking techniques for using 3ds Max and Maya software to create realistic 3D assets that designers can trust and rely on, eliminating the need for physical samples. Discover how physically based rendering (PBR) extensions generate assets with an accurate and tactile appearance. Learn how to render PBR assets consistently across various contexts for seamless collaboration. See how to maximize reusability by creating asset variations for other departments once the design is complete. Based on real-life examples from major retailers, this session demonstrates the compelling advantages of digital design: significantly reducing waste, eliminating delays, and cutting costs throughout the design process. Revolutionize your product design workflow with 3D assets that replace the real thing.

Jason Martinsen is an animation industry professional with 18 years of animation experience at companies like Naughty Dog, Sony, Blue Sky, DNEG, Coalition, Moon Studios, and Reel FX. In this session, he will talk about some animation tips and tricks he’s learned throughout the years. He will gear the discussion toward animation professionals and students, and the topics covered will use terminology unfamiliar to non-animators.