See Maya 2018's amazing new 3D tools in action

Autodesk’s Maya 2018 is brimming over with new tools and improved workflows designed to help 3D artists work faster – and top professionals are already using the improved software to create fantastic work.

With particular strengths lying in its tools for character modelling, motion graphics and rendering, the new tools and enhancements in Maya 2018 speed up your workflow from initial modelling stages right through to animation.

You can easily compare a 3D object to its 2D texture coordinates by using Maya&rsquo;s new UV Editing Workspace — You can easily compare a 3D object to its 2D texture coordinates by using Maya’s new UV Editing Workspace

Award-winning results

Professional 3D artists are already wild about Maya’s capabilities, as the inspiring videos below show. Swedish studio Fido helped produce award-winning film Kung Fury thanks to its creative team and scalable Autodesk Maya subscription.

The tools in Maya helped the team create phenomenal motion graphics such as a 2.5 minute-long continuous shot that involved around 100 man hours to complete.

Similarly, Moonbot Studios – the team behind Oscar-winning short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore – says that Maya allows it to stay nimble and story-driven on smaller projects, while offering a scalable framework and structure for larger projects.

Brennan Chapman, head of pipeline at Moonbot, says the company makes sure that “every piece of software that we use is broad and can handle almost anything that we throw at it.”

Outstanding new tools and improvements

The After Effects live link plugin allows you to view your 3D creations in both Maya 2018 and After Effects simultaneously. Camera and scene data is synced so that you can make changes in Maya and see the After Effects files update in real time, making your workflow easier.

In another great pairing, Arnold 5 brings powerful rendering to Maya 2018. With Arnold used by big VFX and animation names to help solve complex rendering problems, you can be sure this latest version for Maya will render great images for your projects, whether you’re working on short animations, movies, games or something else.

Changes made in Maya update in After Effects with the new plugin

Improvements in Maya 2018’s character creation repertoire include a more artist-friendly UV Editor interface, complete with a new UV Toolkit with better tools and functionality.

A new interactive grooming clump modifier enables you to create realistic hair and fur in real time. It’s easier and quicker than previous versions of XGen, and means you can see and perfect the results of your grooms without having to wait for a render.

The clump modifier workflow is far less technical than previous versions of XGen, making it faster and easier to achieve realistic grooms

Plus there’s a reimagined sculpting toolset that gives you the ability to sculpt directly on rigged characters, as well as enhanced symmetry modelling, polygon modelling and OpenSubdiv support.

The motion graphics toolset in Maya continues to grow and mature. The MASH animation toolset has a new World node for arranging 3D objects in natural clusters, such as plants around trees, as well as a Placer node for easy set dressing. An improved vector graphics workflow means you can import or copy and paste SVG files into Maya, too.

Maya 2018 improves workflows and packs in new features

With new and improved dynamics and effects, you can create realistic rigid and soft-body simulations; add atmospheric effects such as smoke and mist; create realistic ocean surfaces with waves, ripples and wakes; create realistic deformable materials and more.

With just a few clicks, you can create complex arrangements of animated instances that can act dynamically, collide with each other, participate in dynamic forces, and be constrained.

Explore all of the new features of Maya 2018 for yourself on the Maya website. With the new tools and wealth of Maya tips and tricks making professional results even more achievable, what will you create?

How to buy Maya 2018

Maya 2018 brings better lighting controls, too

Existing Maya users can trade in their old version for a subscription to the new Maya 2018 version for only £3.60 a day, while new users can take out a free trial of the new software before buying or subscribing.

You can also get the Work Faster with Maya guide to helpful Maya shortcuts and all sorts of support and advice on the Maya website and Maya Learning YouTube channel, so that beginners needn’t feel daunted.

As well as Maya 2018, Autodesk offers sister software Maya LT as a powerful and cost-effective tool for indie game makers.

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Ella is Creative Bloq’s former production editor, and now works as managing editor for CB’s sister site, Woman&Home. In both roles, she helped the team to ensure content is expertly written, authoritative, timely and compelling.

While on Creative Bloq, she wrote a number of news and feature articles, specialising in graphic design and photography, attending design industry events and interviewing leading studios. She has 14 years of of editorial experience, graduating from Kingston University with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism in 2008.

Ella has written and edited magazines and websites including TechRadar.com, Digital Camera magazine, BikeRadar.com, Mollie Makes and more. She worked on professional photography website www.canon-europe.com/pro for six years, having worked her way up from production editor, to deputy editor, to editor. As such, she's a stickler for fact-checking, has too many opinions about grammar and is easily excited by a beautiful photo.