Autodesk Maya Creative 2024.1 with User Guide Win x64

The updates also introduce Hydra for Maya, an experimental new Hydra viewport render delegate system, available via the latest version of the official USD for Maya plugin.


Time Slider Enhancements
Two new improvements continue the redesign of the Time Slider in Maya 2024.





Easier Time Slider selection
The new Time Slider key selection feature has been improved so that you no longer need to click directly on the blue drag cursors to move the selection. Now, as long as the drag cursor is highlighted, you can click anywhere along the side of the blue selection area to drag selected keys. (As shown in the header animation),
Quick copy keys





You can now press Ctrl to copy when moving or scaling selected keys on the Time Slider, simplifying common copy-paste workflows. You can now Ctrl + middle-drag the selection as well.

Skin Cluster Improvements
Several enhancements build on the multiple Skin Cluster support in Maya 2024.




Unbind individual Skin Clusters
A new Unbind All checkbox has been added to the Unbind Skin options to let you select which skin clusters to unbind. The default is on (check) which unbinds all skin clusters on the skin. Disable (uncheck) this option to show a list of skin clusters associated with the selected skin so you can choose which skin clusters to unbind.
Note: If you choose Bake History, the Unbind All checkbox is disabled and the list disappears as the Bake History option does not support baking the history of individual skin clusters.
Multiple Skin Clusters and Bake Deformer
Support for multiple skin clusters has been added to the Bake Deformer tool. Now, if you bind a second skin cluster to the destination mesh, a dialog appears asking you to confirm. Additionally, the Colorize skeleton option has been restored to the Bake Deformer tool so that bound skeletons and their skin vertices are colored so vertices appear the same color as the joints and bones that influence them.





Delete Multiple Display Layers
A useful new behaviour for working in the Display Layer Editor.




Now you can delete multiple layers in the Display Layer Editor using an option in the right-click context menu, right-click menu behavior that previously only existed for the Animation Layer Editor. To access this option right-click any layer in the Display Layer Editor and select Delete Selected Layers from the contextual menu. This feature speeds up workflows for any artist who works with many layers at once.

LookdevX Enhancements
In this release, LookdevX has received some notable updates to organize complex node graphs and improve workflows.
Backdrop support
Backdrop support has been added to the Graph Editor. You can use backdrops to help visually organize complex node graphs. Press Shift + B or use the Create menu in the Graph Editor to create a new backdrop.
Graph tabs
You can now create tabs in the LookdevX Graph Editor. Tabs are useful to filter different shading graphs from scenes and/or to organize newly created graphs.
Auto expand
Auto expand for node attributes has been enabled. Hold "Ctrl" while hovering over a compound to expand its sub-attributes.




Other improvements
- You can now expand or collapse a port by left-clicking it instead of having to specifically select the plus/minus icon on the port.
- You can now edit node names from the Parameters panel or the node itself.
- You can now hide ports on a compound.
- Output ports can now be re-ordered on compounds.
- You can now assign materials directly to geometry subsets in the USD stage.
- Input and output port connections have been hidden on material compounds.
- LookdevX now has a picker for Arnold Image nodes in the LookdevX Parameters Panel.
- Unnecessary non-shading nodes have been removed from the LookdevX node picker library.
- The node type is now displayed in the Parameter Editor of LookdevX.
- You can now assign existing materials from the current session.
- You can now assign Material in USDstage to USDgeomSubset

What else is new?
This release of Maya Creative also includes the following changes and improvements.
New Proximity Wrap deformer attribute
A new Proximity Wrap deformer attribute, Scale Compensation, has been added to the Proximity Wrap Attribute Editor settings to be a simple float value that contains the scale compensation, instead of using a matrix to specify the scale. You can use this in combination with or as a replacement for hooking up a matrix to driverClusterMatrix.
New Lattice deformer option
A new Minimum Size option has been added to the Lattice options to address problems that occur when Lattice deformer Y-scale values were set to 0.0. The Minimum Size option is only on when the Centre Around Selection attribute is active, letting you specify a minimum size for the lattice to avoid the creation of lattices where one or more sides length is 0.0. An additional option has also been added to the lattice command -mns -minimumSize Float, which can only be used in conjunction with the objectCentered flag
Hydra for Maya (Technology Preview)
Hydra for Maya is available since the release of USD for Maya v0.23 and is intended for use as a render delegate in the Viewport. See load and manage plug-ins for more information and visit the official Autodesk MayaUSD GitHub repository to learn more about Hydra. Note: Hydra for Maya is not supported on MacOS.

Autodesk Mayais the creative 3D softwares used by animators across the world. It is animators favorite software as a 3D software can do multiple activities. Maya can be used to for realistic 3D animation , 3D modelling, realistic 3D environment , character formation and animation, visual effects and many other effects. Such effects and animation is used not only for animated movies but for news channels, television commercials, advertisements, manufacturing etc. Along with these industries video gaming industry is also leveraged by Autodesk Maya. Various modelling tools and its assembly helps to create realistic environment for games or even to create 3D models. Hence Autodesk Maya is the most important 3D software where breathtaking 3D models, scenes, 3D environment, visual effects(VFX), animation etc. can be created. Tools and various features in Maya helps to work on complex projects easily by enhancing production quality and creativity.
Autodesk has releasedMaya 2024, a massive update to their flagship 3D animation, modeling, and rendering software. Introducing a slew of new features and updated workflows, the release comes with enhanced modeling workflows, new Graph Editor tools, a brand-new LookDev tool, animation performance upgrades, a redesigned Time Slider, and tons of other improvements and bug fixes.
Maya Creativefeatures modeling, animation, rigging, and rendering tools for film, television, and game development, including Maya's full industry-standard creative toolset including high-end 3D modeling; UV, lookdev, and texturing; motion graphics; animation deformation; camera sequencing; rendering and imaging; and data and scene assembly. It also includes the Arnold renderer to meet the demands of complex and photoreal VFX and animation workflows. With Maya Creative, Autodesk's goal was to introduce a cost-efficient option for freelancers, boutique facilities, and small business creative teams who don't need the same API access or extensibility required for larger production workflows.

In depth Autodesk Maya Creative overview and demo

In this video I explore the new Maya Creative from Autodesk. I will explain the differences between the full Maya, the features, costs and is it something you should be looking at.
Autodeskhelps people imagine, design and create a better world. Everyone-from design professionals, engineers and architects to digital artists, students and hobbyists-uses Autodesk software to unlock their creativity and solve important challenges.