SAN FRANCISCO — Autodesk recently unveiled Arnold 5.3 (www.arnoldrenderer.com) with Arnold GPU in public beta. The release provides artists with a first taste of GPU rendering for a set number of features, and the flexibility to choose between rendering on the CPU or GPU without changing renderers. Arnold 5.3 also adds new functionality to help maximize performance and give artists more control over their rendering processes, including updates to adaptive sampling, a new version of the Randomwalk SSS mode, and improved Operator UX.
“We recognize the needs of Arnold users for increased speed and interactivity during the creation process,” says Chris Vienneau, senior director, media & entertainment products, Autodesk. “We’re excited to introduce this beta version of Arnold GPU because it gives our users a first taste of the performance gains they can expect to see, while keeping the great look they love from Arnold. We’ve worked closely with NVIDIA to optimize Arnold GPU to run on the latest RTX technology, and look forward to continuing to collaborate to bring our customers the highest quality rendering.”
Arnold GPU rendering makes it easier for artists and small studios to iterate quickly in a fast working environment and scale rendering capacity to accommodate project demands. From within the standard Arnold interface, users can switch between rendering on the CPU and GPU with a single click. Arnold GPU currently supports features such as arbitrary shading networks, SSS, hair, atmospherics, instancing, and procedurals. Arnold GPU is based on the Nvidia OptiX framework and is optimized to leverage Nvidia RTX technology.
Arnold 5.3 includes improvements to quality and performance for adaptive sampling, helping to reduce render times without jeopardizing final image quality. The new version offers an improved version of Randomwalk SSS mode for more realistic shading. There is enhanced usability for Standard Surface, giving users more control. And improvements have been made to the operator framework, including a new include operator and a more artist-friendly way to apply them.
Additional improvements include better sampling of Skydome lights, reducing direct illumination noise, and updates to support for MaterialX, allowing users to save a shading network as a MaterialX look.
Arnold 5.3 with Arnold GPU in public beta is available as a standalone subscription or with a collection of end-to-end creative tools within the Autodesk Media & Entertainment Collection. Pros can try Arnold GPU with a free 30-day trial of Arnold. Arnold GPU is available in all supported plug-ins for Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and Katana.