Autodesk Maya: Create expansive worlds, complex characters and dazzling effects
3D animation and visual effects software
Image courtesy of Framestore
What is Maya?
Autodesk Maya is professional 3D software for creating realistic characters and blockbuster-worthy effects.
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Bring believable characters to life with engaging animation tools.
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Shape 3D objects and scenes with intuitive modelling tools.
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Create realistic effects – from explosions to cloth simulation.
Maya overview (video: 7:18 min.)
Hyperrealistic model made with Maya by Youssef Abbas
Stylized character made in Maya by Alexandre Mougenot
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness VFX by Framestore
Louis & Luca and the Snow Machine by Qvisten Animation
Silhouette by VES-winning students of ArtFX School of Digital Arts
Why use Maya?
Accelerate workflows
Maya’s powerful tools help you iterate faster so you can focus on creativity and meet deadlines.
Deliver stunning visuals
Add fine details to characters and scenes, and deliver quality work that keeps clients coming back.
Scale for complexity
Top artists in the industry rely on Maya to create the most complex shots, characters and worlds.
What you can do with Maya
Still from the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Image courtesy of Framestore.
Breathe life into 3D models with powerful animation tools
Whether you are animating lifelike digi doubles or lovable cartoon characters, Maya has the animation toolset to bring your 3D assets to life.
Environment created with Bifrost for Maya. Image courtesy of Lucien Wutsh Michanol.
Create detailed effects and environments with Bifrost
From blazing explosions to luscious forests, Bifrost for Maya makes it possible to create complex simulations and worlds in a single visual programming environment.
Image courtesy of Mikros Animation“To create something new, unique, and never seen … we went for 3D dry brushes drawn on planes in Maya [for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles].“
– Gaspard Roche, Associate Head of Characters, Mikros Animation
Image courtesy of Untold Studios“Maya and our other Autodesk tools have played an essential role in allowing us to excel in our animal and creature work.“
—Amaan Akram, Head of VFX, Untold Studios
“From Maya for 3D animation to Arnold for 3D rendering, these tools enabled us to bring the extraordinary to larger-than-life.“
—Jocelyn Birsch, Director of Experience, The Mill
Image courtesy of Pixomondo“We used Bifrost to scatter everything that enriched the fantastic forest sequence in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.“
—Thomas Kutschera, Head of Groom CFX, Pixomondo
Workflows and use cases
Animating Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 characters
Watch how Framestore developed stunning character animations for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Maya.
Streamlining teamwork: Qvisten’s OpenUSD asset pipeline
Qvisten Animation built an OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) asset pipeline with Maya to streamline teamwork and future-proof productions.
An Inside Look at the Hogwarts Legacy Game
Discover how the team at Warner Bros. Games Avalanche created and refined characters, animations and cinematics for the highly anticipated fantasy game using Maya.
Maya resources
STAY UP TO DATE
M&E YouTube channel
Watch talks from industry experts and discover new tools, workflows and more.
TUTORIALS
Maya learning channel
Find modelling, rigging, animation, FX and rendering tutorials to get you producing digital content.
USD in Production at Animal Logic
Animal Logic shares their journey of how they integrated USD in Maya into their production pipeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Maya is a professional 3D animation, modelling, simulation and rendering toolset, designed for creating realistic characters and blockbuster-worthy effects.
From fantastic creatures to sweeping landscapes and explosive battle sequences, top artists, modellers and animators rely on Maya’s award-winning toolset to bring today’s most-loved animated and live-action films, TV shows and video games to life.
Maya is used by 3D modellers, animators, lighting artists and FX artists across the film, TV and games industries.
Your Maya subscription gives you access to install and use the 3 previous versions. Available downloads are listed in your Autodesk Account after subscribing. See also previous releases available for subscribers.
With a subscription to Maya software, you can install it on up to 3 computers or other devices. However, only the named user can sign in and use that software on a single computer at any given time. Please refer to the Software Licence Agreement for more information.
Launch your trial software and click Subscribe Now on the trial screen or buy Maya here. When buying your subscription, enter the same email address and password combination you used to sign in to your trial. Learn more about converting a trial to a paid subscription.
The price of an annual Maya subscription is
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Bring breathtaking scenes and characters to life for film, TV and games.
All of the creative tools you need to build a powerful and scalable 3D animation pipeline for complex simulations, effects and rendering.