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Following on the release of 6.5 in February of this year, the newest version of Alias' CG powerhouse is available in Complete and Unlimited configurations for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Maya is designed for those working in film, games, broadcast, digital publishing, design visualization, Web and print production. While thought of primarily as a 3D modeling, animation, effects and rendering solution, Maya is also used for the creation of realistic 2D graphics. The Unlimited version adds functionality for the creation of fur, hair, cloth and other effects.
Maya 7 is said to make the animation of characters faster, easier and more accurate. It also provides new polygonal modeling, UV (texture mapping) and Toon Shader tools. The latter supports a range of non-photorealistic rendering styles, such as 2D cartoons. An example of this is shown below.
With workflow improvement ever more important, notable is the enhanced interoperability between Maya and Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, with the new ability to render layers directly to native Photoshop and Flash formats. Going further, Photoshop can even be launched from within Maya.
Maya Complete 7 can be purchased for $1999 from the Alias website, with Maya Unlimited 7 priced at $6999. The free Maya Personal Learning Edition for Mac and Windows remains available, although currently for version 6.