NVIDIA Iray launches plugin for Maya

Earlier this month, we told you how NVIDIA had made its physically based rendering technology Iray available directly within its new online store – along with a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max. And now it's been joined by a plugin for Autodesk Maya.

Artists can take the new Iray for Maya plug-in for a spin, with a 90-day trial offering unlimited use. They can then choose to purchase it through the online store for $295 a year, as a node-locked or floating licence with no processor restrictions.

NVIDIA argues that Iray is a useful addition to Maya because it accurately predicts the final results of a design, reducing the number of prototypes you need to produce. With Iray, you can work interactively, adjusting physically accurate lighting or materials on the fly and getting rapid feedback.

Photorealistic feedback

“[With Iray] I instantly get a photorealistic feedback instead of waiting for a whole rendering to finish,” says André Masmeier, lead 3D artist at zerone. “That could take a few minutes, depending on quality-settings, or dealing with non-photorealistic, OpenGL-based previews.”

Beyond Maya, designers who need to switch from one tool to another can still get consistent results thanks to Iray's Material Definition Language (MDL). It allows physically based materials to be shared between applications, or even with other MDL-compliant renderers.

Also available is the first edition of vMaterials, a free set of digital material offerings verified for accuracy, control and consistency. With vMaterials, designers no longer have to spend time sourcing and creating their own materials.

The family of Iray plug-ins supports NVIDIA's new distributed rendering solution, Iray Server, which is available in beta and expected to ship early next year. Beyond Maya, designers who need to switch from one tool to another can also use Iray's Material Definition Language (MDL), which allows physically based materials to be shared between applications, or even with other MDL-compliant renderers.

Also available is the first edition of vMaterials, a free set of digital material offerings verified for accuracy, control and consistency. With vMaterials, designers no longer have to spend time sourcing and creating their own materials.

See the full features on Nvidia's blog here.

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