MotionMaker: Maya’s Latest AI Tool by Research

What if you could simplify your animation workflow and prioritize your creativity? Evan Atherton, Senior Principal Research Scientist, decided to answer that very question last year.

“At the time, there was a lot of exciting research, especially at SIGGRAPH, around motion control for character animation. I’d been following it closely and wanted to prove that this work could already be useful in real animation workflows. The goal was to take that foundational science and bring it into Maya in a way that fit naturally with the tools animators already use. I wanted to show how it could help artists move faster, especially with things like long locomotion sequences.”

After a series of prototypes, Research and EMS worked together to release the tool in Maya on June 4th.

At MotionMaker’s core, there is an autoregressive motion generator model comprising multiple neural networks that process motion data from Maya. This model predicts the next pose frame by frame, ensuring smooth and natural movements. The tool includes datasets from motion capture sessions, featuring unique movement styles from human performers and dogs. These datasets serve as the foundation for the tool’s animation capabilities.

Evan emphasizes the importance of AI as a tool that assists, rather than replaces, creative professionals. MotionMaker aims to handle repetitive tasks, enabling animators to focus on crafting detailed performances and exploring creative ideas.

When it comes to saving animators time, Evan notes, “One example I always come back to is a 10-second shot of a dog running, turning, and jumping. I asked our PM, who was an animation supervisor for years, how long that would’ve taken traditionally. His answer? “We probably wouldn’t have even bid on it because it’s so long. But if we did, maybe two weeks.” With MotionMaker, laying out that shot took about a minute. But to me, it’s not just about time savings, it’s about freedom to iterate.”

This release is just the beginning. Autodesk Research and the Autodesk Entertainment and Media Solutions Animation team are committed to continually improving MotionMaker based on user experiences and needs. Future updates will prioritize allowing animators to use their own data, further enhancing the tool’s flexibility and usefulness.

To read more about the process, check out an interview with Evan and the Autodesk Media & Entertainment blog then watch a recording of the first webinar where Evan walks an enthusiastic audience through MotionMaker.