author
Sam
Weisbard
Chicago-based Studio/Maya consultant for training and production work
sweisbard@attbi.com
special
thanks to
Design Engine
for hosting these pages.
news
In product news, Maya V5.0 was announced at NAB. Maya Complete includes the mental ray renderer, the full Shockwave 3d exporter (Windows only), and a new Flash/Illustrator/SVG exporter. Data transfer formats such as IGES, OBJ, and OpenDWG work on all platforms. Paint Effects convert to polygons. The new hardware renderer uses programmable graphics cards to create imagery much faster than software rendering, and the rendering interface is more consistent now. Maya Unlimited's Fluids Simulation and Fur systems are improved. Last, you can finally blend IK and FK.
Studio, now V10.1, has unlimited undo, a Pro/E direct connect via the Granite format, and a model checking tool to catch many common problems. Sketching tools and filleting are further improved from V10.0.
New items include Alias Sketchbook and Sketchbook Pro, a 2d sketching, image annotation, and slideshow program designed for the Tablet PC, and the release of Maya and Studio Personal Learning Editions based on the current revision of the full products.
In 2002 Alias|Wavefront centralized some sales and development by closing the Seattle, Santa Barbara, Gent (Belgium) and numerous sales offices in the United States and abroad. Toronto staff has increased through hiring and relocation. For U.S. customers the local resellers, the AW web store, and web/catalog retailer MacMall are the prime channels for software now.
general info
What
is Alias|Wavefront? What do they sell?
What
don't they sell or support anymore?
Why
use StudioTools when you have Pro/ENGINEER?
What're the differences between DesignStudio/Studio/AutoStudio?
What hardware do I recommend to run StudioTools
software?
What do I need to run Direct Connect software?
finding resources
Where's the Chicago area Alias|Wavefront user group?
How
do I find things on the Assitant CD2?
Where can I get files from the 3DCD?
doing more with it
What
do I do when I get error <x>?
How
can I start renders remotely on Windows systems?
How
can I run many renders one after another on my own system?