Visual effects software: Transforming reality

Autodesk software, including Maya, 3ds Max, and Flame, can be used for a wide range of VFX, from sophisticated particle, liquid, and character effects to 3D compositing and finishing.

Whether you’re looking to create blazing explosions or complex snowstorms, Bifrost for Maya is a powerful visual programming environment for creating blockbuster-worthy VFX simulations. Bifrost for Maya includes ready-to-use graphs, physically based solvers for aerodynamics, combustion, granular effects, cloth simulation, and more.

Look to visual effects software from Autodesk for the support to help your teams work quickly and create stunning visual effects. With Bifrost for Maya’s prebuilt graphs, you can create realistic effects right out of the box. Autodesk Arnold is integrated with Maya and 3ds Max, so you can see high-quality previews and iterate changes quickly. Flame 3D VFX and finishing software provides powerful tools for 3D compositing, visual effects, and editorial finishing.

Autodesk software is engineered to streamline collaboration throughout the VFX pipeline by connecting creative workflows and teams. Flow Production Tracking (formerly ShotGrid) production management software enables creative teams to seamlessly submit work for reviews, collaborate, and iterate on changes, even while geographically dispersed.

Autodesk Arnold is the default renderer in Maya and 3ds Max, so you can keep your rendering workflows right in-tool. Arnold is an advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer that offers a powerful rendering experience for beautiful and predictable results. Visualize changes to lighting, textures, and objects, adjust cameras, and diagnose problems without ever leaving your 3D tool.

3ds Max and Maya are used by creative studios around the world for animation, modeling, visual effects, and rendering. 3ds Max offers a robust toolset for modeling, intuitive texturing and shading, and high-quality rendering, while Maya offers powerful tools for character creation, lifelike animation, and detailed simulations. Read more about the differences between 3ds Max and Maya.

VFX (visual effects) is not the same as CGI (computer-generated imagery). However, they are related and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

CGI is any imagery created digitally, whereas VFX combines live-action footage with digitally created imagery. VFX incorporates CGI-like 3D modeling, but VFX also incorporates other practices like green screen filming, compositing, and performance capture. Today, some amount of VFX exists in nearly every new movie, not just big-budget action and sci-fi films. However, 3D animated films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie are entirely CGI.

The best VFX software programs for both beginners and experienced VFX artists are the industry standards like Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max. These programs have comprehensive and powerful features, in-depth animation functionality, professional support, extensive training materials, and robust tools for rendering, such as high-level two-ray tracing and image-based rendering.

Autodesk VFX software is available to students and educators at a reduced price with an educational license. For hobbyists, recent graduates, freelancers, or VFX artists just starting out, Maya Indie and 3ds Max Indie offer access to professional tools at an affordable price. Another option is Maya Creative, which contains most of the features of Maya and is available for a low pay-as-you-go rate through the Autodesk Flex program.

The difference between 2D and 3D VFX is that 2D visual effects exist on a flat plane, while 3D visual effects deal with digital objects that have the dimensions of height, width, and depth. 2D VFX may include elements like illustrations, photographs, and cel animation. Within visual effects software, 3D VFX have three dimensions and can be viewed from any angle.

While 3D VFX are best known within media like movies and video games, those media have been rendered for flat screens using high-end visual effects software such as Autodesk Arnold, or rendered in real time in the case of video games. However, in extended reality (XR) environments like virtual reality, the dimensions of 3D models, objects, scenes, and VFX can be navigated spatially and viewed from any angle.