Pixar’s Renderman has been widely known throughout the
animation community as one of the best pieces of rendering software in the
industry. Up until now it hasn’t been accessible for students and animators
alike to learn without paying the price tag. This past month Pixar announced
that Renderman will be free for educational and non-commercial use. This is
significant and wonderful news for both the studio and the artists. While some
people are confused as to why Pixar would release it for free, it really makes
a lot of sense. Pixar is not in the software business, they are in the film business.
In order to make excellent films, they need people who are comfortable with
their software and pipeline. By providing the software for free, they are
ensuring that they will have applicants that are already trained in their
software. In return, the artists are put at an advantage because they can
expand their skill set and portfolio.
Renderman is not a standalone software. It is a renderer
that is built for software for Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and the likes of
those. It is primarily for Maya, as this is the primary software that Pixar
uses for its animations. As a result, artists and students must have access to
one of these other programs. Luckily for students, Maya has a student license
that lasts for four years. Other artists will have to invest a lot of money in
order to legally obtain Maya for themselves.
There is yet another advantage to their release of
Renderman. Making this advanced software available to the public gives
programmers the opportunity to improve the technology. Pixar hopes to encourage
the industry to improve itself by giving up what information they already have.
It is a smart move on their part, and hopefully will prove beneficial to the
entire industry.
For news articles and references please visit these websites:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/06/02/pixar_renderman_it_s_distributing_a_version_free_for_non_commercial_use.html
http://renderman.pixar.com/view/registration
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27677712
