Autodesk’s theme for this year’s SIGGRAPH highlights worldbuilding made possible with innovations in film and TV production. Image courtesy of Matias Solares

Autodesk is going big at this year’s SIGGRAPH conference to honor the 50-year anniversary of the world’s most impactful gathering of animation, visual effects, and computer graphics professionals in media and entertainment.

From industry-wide efforts to drive adoption of open-source standards to empowering artist creativity with generative AI, our vision for the future is squarely in the spotlight at SIGGRAPH. We invite attendees to explore how Autodesk solutions enable a cloud connected future for creative teams at the Autodesk Vision Series, and traverse the past, present, and future of computer graphics in a spectacular new exhibition, The Time Tunnel.

Collaboration breeds innovation

To make our vision for a cloud-driven future a reality, we’re partnering with industry leaders to enable greater interoperability between 3D tools and data. We’re coming to SIGGRAPH on the heels of joining Pixar, Adobe, Apple, and NVIDIA as inaugural members of the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), launched by the Joint Development Foundation, an affiliate of The Linux Foundation. We’re proud to be part of this industry-wide effort to make it easier for artists to collaborate more effectively across projects, tools, and teams.

Image of a scene from Pixar’s Coco, showcasing a breakdown of the complex set created using OpenUSD assets (left) to the final render (right). © Disney/Pixar

We’re also collaborating with Adobe on a new source shading model called OpenPBR (which stands for Open Physically-Based Rendering), a new subproject of MaterialX, that will be a successor to Autodesk Standard Surface and the Adobe Standard Material. This open-source specification is under the governance of the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF). OpenPBR builds upon MaterialX by providing a description of how an artist will interface with the physical properties of the surface they’re creating, giving artists a more specific interface to work within, and the ability to transfer data back and forth between assets with very little conversion needed.

Doubling down on generative AI

To help media and entertainment professionals address the challenges presented by today’s dynamic production environment – from tight deadlines to growing project complexity and audience expectations – we’re also exploring the power of AI to speed up and augment artist workflows.

The first of those efforts is with NVIDIA. We’re integrating generative AI services developed using NVIDIA Picasso, a foundry for building generative AI models, into Maya. As a first step, we’ll work toward responsibly and ethically integrating AI into 3D content creation for characters and worlds. The ability to dynamically generate textures, materials and high dynamic range images directly into LookdevX in Maya will enable dramatically faster look development and scene lighting workflows.

First look at Autodesk Maya and NVIDIA Picasso integration.

In a similar vein, we’re also excited to share that we’re teaming up with Wonder Dynamics to empower artists to harness the power of AI for character-driven visual effects workflows. The first of these workflows will be an integration between Maya and Wonder Studio.

Time Tunnel unveiled

We’re thrilled to partner with SIGGRAPH on a new interactive and immersive Time Tunnel exhibition in the Concourse Foyer of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Time Tunnel traverses history, highlighting innovation and achievement in the field of computer graphics over the past 50 years. The walls of the LED-lined tunnel give viewers a glimpse of major technical milestones and iconic cinematic moments that represent major industry progress.

The exhibit also looks ahead to the future of Design and Make, incorporating stories of companies across architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media, and entertainment, using Autodesk software to push the boundaries of what’s possible today. Stories featured in this space include Coral Maker, Notre Dame, and Untold Studios.

Time Tunnel celebrates 50 years of industry innovation and looks to the future of Design and Make.

Autodesk offers industry outlook in Vision Series

Autodesk’s Vision Series is a hallmark of our SIGGRAPH participation, offering two days of presentations from the brightest minds in visual effects and animation including Untold Studios, Weta FX, Rising Sun Pictures, EVR Studio, and Ignite Animation Studios. The Vision Series will also feature Autodesk-led panel discussions on the role of AI in media and entertainment, how OpenUSD will evolve under the helm of AOUSD, and cloud-powered collaborative workflows.

Don’t miss these sessions:

• “Exploring the Transformative Power of AI in Media & Entertainment” featuring FXGuide’s Mike Seymour, Wonder Dynamics’ Nikola Todorovic, Flawless’ Jen Hollingsworth, and Rising Sun Pictures’ Phil Berrenger
• “An Industry Connected: The Path to Interoperability in VFX with OpenUSD” with Autodesk’s Eric Bourque, Pixar’s David Ryu, NVIDIA’s Rev Lebaredian, and Adobe’s Guido Quaroni
• “At the End of the Time Tunnel: Shaping the Future of Media and Entertainment” with Autodesk’s Leona Frank, Ben Fischler, and Jeff Bell providing a glimpse into a future where open standards, cloud-based workflows, and platform-based production pipelines are the norm

The Vision Series runs August 8-9, from 10 AM to 4:45 PM PDT in Room 404A at the Los Angeles Convention Center. More information about Autodesk’s presence at SIGGRAPH and Vision Series programming can be found here.