The history of Autodesk Maya

Maya is a 3D computer graphics application software that runs on computers only. It is now available in Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is used to create assets for interactive 3D applications, such as video games, animated films, TV series, and visual effects.

That the beginning of 3D computer animation in the public eye was with wireframe animations in films like the original 1977 Star Wars, suggested that there were already research projects experimenting with rudimentary digital 3D models that had texture, lighting, and the other technologies that modern 3D animation rests upon.

Tron(1982) was the first pioneer of solid 3D computer graphics in film. During the 80s, there wasn’t a personal workstation that could even render a competent rough draft of the animation. Those renderings of CG in the 80s was conducted on super expensive Cray supercomputers.

The late 80s to mid-90s represented a major leap forward for computer graphics in film. For example, in 1991, the release of Terminator 2: Judgement Day had become mainstream because of its revolutionary CG quality. Each studio had to find software that fulfilled their need for 3D motions or had to create their own tools, such as Pixar’s Marionette, which is still in use today.

Not everyone has the means to develop a software in the mid-90s, the market for CG animation tool was completely wide open. That’s when Maya took the industry by storm.

Maya 1.0 was released in February 1998. It was originally introduced by a company called Wavefront(later become Alias Systems Corporation). Maya 1.0 was the culmination of three 3D software lines: Wavefronts’ Advanced Visualizer, Thomson Digital Images’ Explore, and Alias’ Power Animator.

Following a series of acquisitions, Maya was bought by Autodesk in 2005. One of its key interactions – manipulating the 3D object in the computer was patented by Autodesk in 2007. This operational logic of this interactive controller allows users to have a direct view of the object.

The improvement of technology has helped Maya to upgrade in various aspects, such as usability, functionality, capabilities, and efficiency. Over the years, multiple versions of Maya have delivered top-quality updates to help artists and designers work faster and more efficiently. From enhancements in modeling, animation, motion graphics, and visual effects workflows – they continue to focus on creating more artist-friendly experiences across disciplines. For example, The Bifrost feature is a new plug-in tool that debuted in 2019, people can create their own custom effects, publish, and share them with other artists to use across different shots, scenes, and shows.