Autodesk Maya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Autodesk Maya

Original author(s)	Alias Systems Corporation
Developer(s)	Autodesk, Inc.
Initial release	February 1, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-02-01)
Stable release	2026 / March 26, 2025; 4 months ago (2025-03-26)
Written in	C++, MEL, Python, C#
Operating system	RHEL/Rocky Linux 8.10 Windows 10 or later macOS Ventura or later
Platform	x86-64, Apple silicon
Available in	English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese
Type	3D computer graphics
License	Trialware

Autodesk Maya, or just Maya, is a powerful computer program. It helps artists and designers create amazing 3D graphics. You can use Maya on computers with Windows, macOS, or Linux operating systems. It was first made by a company called Alias. Now, Autodesk owns and develops it. Maya is used to make things like characters and environments for video games. It also helps create animated movies, TV shows, and cool visual effects.

How Maya Was Created

Maya started as a program for making animations. It combined ideas and code from several older software programs. One of these was PowerAnimator by Alias. The project was given the secret name "Maya."

Disney's Role in Maya's Design

Walt Disney Feature Animation worked closely with the Maya team. This happened when Disney was making their movie Dinosaur. Disney wanted the program to be easy to change. They wanted artists to set it up in a way that worked best for them. This idea helped make Maya very flexible. It also made it popular in the animation world.

Maya Joins Autodesk

In 1995, a company called Silicon Graphics Inc. bought Alias and another company, Wavefront Technologies. They combined their technologies to improve Maya. Maya 1.0 was officially released in February 1998. Later, in October 2005, Autodesk bought Maya. The program was then renamed Autodesk Maya. But most people still just call it "Maya."

What Can You Do with Maya?

Maya is a top tool for creating 3D content. It's used in movies, TV shows, video games, and even commercials. Artists use it to build virtual worlds and characters.

How Maya Organizes Your Work

When you work in Maya, you create a "scene." This is like your virtual workspace. You can save your scenes in different file types. The main one is called .mb (Maya Binary). Maya uses a special system called a node graph architecture. Think of it like a network of connected boxes. Each box, or "node," holds information. All the parts of your 3D scene are nodes. They connect and share information to create the final image. This makes Maya very powerful and flexible.

Maya and Video Games

Many things made in Maya can be used in video games. Artists can easily bring their 3D models and animations into game engines. Popular game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity work well with Maya files.

Maya in Movies and TV

Maya is very popular in the film industry. Its use became widely known with Disney's movie Dinosaur, released in May 2000.

Award-Winning Films Using Maya

In 2003, the company that made Maya received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement. This award recognized Maya's impact on movies. It was noted that Maya was used in many famous films. These included The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Spider-Man, Ice Age, and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. All these movies came out in 2002. By 2015, a magazine called VentureBeat said that all ten films nominated for the Best Visual Effects Academy Award had used Autodesk Maya. They also mentioned that Maya had been used on every winning film in that category since 1997.

Animation Studios Using Maya

Many big animation studios use Maya. Illumination Studios Paris uses it for their animated films. Walt Disney Animation Studios also uses Maya for movies like Frozen and Frozen II.

Awards for Maya

Maya and its creators have received several special awards.

• On March 1, 2003, Alias, the original developer, won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement. This was for their work on the Maya software.
• In 2005, Jos Stam, who worked for Alias|Wavefront, shared an Academy Award. He was recognized for helping invent and use "subdivision surfaces." These are special ways to create smooth 3D shapes.
• On February 8, 2008, four people received another Academy Award for Technical Achievement. Duncan Brinsmead, Jos Stam, Julia Pakalns, and Martin Werner were honored. They designed and created the Maya Fluid Effects system. This system helps artists make realistic water, smoke, and fire.

See also

In Spanish: Autodesk Maya para niños