Alias|Wavefront will announce today an update for Maya, the company’s 3D animation and effects software. Among other changes, Maya 3.5.1 features compatibility with Apple’s recently released Mac OS X 10.1.1.
In addition to the OS X 10.1.1 compatibility, Maya 3.5.1 has added support for several new graphics cards including the ATI Mobility Radeon, Nvidia GeForce2 MX and Nvidia GeForce3. Alias|Wavefront’s release for Maya on Mac OS X earlier this year also came with several Mac only features such as support for QuickTime and AppleScript, tear off menus in the hot box and, of course, an Aqua interface.
The next major release of Maya will feature support for AltiVec and multiprocessing machines, Andrew Pearce, director of Maya technologies, told MacCentral.
“Having Maya 3.5.1 qualified on Mac OS X v10.1.1 not only enables our customers to take advantage of the latest improvements to the operating system, it allows them more options in graphics cards qualified for Maya,” said Pearce. “We are committed to the Mac platform and have worked hard to get this update out as quickly as possible after the initial release of the product.”
Companies that have adopted Maya for Mac OS X report a “high level of satisfaction” with the product, according to Alias|Wavefront. One such company, LA-based Method Studios, which specializes in the creation of visual effects for commercials and music videos, currently uses Maya for Mac OS X — a sample of the company’s work is pictured below.
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“Maya for Mac OS X integrates well into our Mac-based production pipeline,” said Laurent Briet, visual effects supervisor at Method Studios. “We love the fact that we can produce an entire project, incorporating sophisticated 3D animation, on a single platform.”
An update CD will be shipped to all existing Maya for Mac OS X customers. Maya Complete for Mac OS X costs US$7,500, the same price as Maya Complete for other platforms.