Autodesk Launches MotionMaker in Maya: AI Tool Helps Artists Animate in Minutes, Not Weeks

Autodesk has launched MotionMaker, an AI-powered animation tool now available in Autodesk Maya. Designed to streamline the often-time-consuming task of animating character motion, MotionMaker lets artists guide movement with just a few keyframes or a simple motion path—and then iterate quickly to get it just right. MotionMaker is designed for anyone working in layout, pre-vis, tech-vis, or even hero animation—providing a flexible toolset that can be integrated at any stage of the creative workflow.

“It gives animators time back, not to crank out more shots, but to explore, experiment, and really craft the perfect performance,” said Evan Atherton, senior principal research scientist at Autodesk.

What once required digging through the attribute editor and outliner is now visual and intuitive, more like a nonlinear editor. The MotionMaker Editor allows you to drop in actions like jumps, adjust timing in a clean interface, toggle path modes, and use features like auto speed ramping to push motion beyond mocap limits—perfect for stylized or superhero-style effects.

Key Features of MotionMaker Include:

• MotionMaker Cuts Animation Time from Weeks to Minutes: A 10-second shot that once took up to two weeks to animate can be laid out in just one minute using MotionMaker.
• Freedom for Artists to Iterate: MotionMakergives artists the freedom to iterate and quickly explore timing, pacing, and performance—with smooth transitions that come naturally from the model, no mocap stitching required.
• MotionMaker Editor: A dedicated, visual interface within Maya that allows artists to manage characters, drive them with MotionMaker, and access all related features. It transforms character animation into an intuitive process, like giving stage directions to a digital actor.
• AI-Powered Motion Generator: At its core, MotionMaker utilizes an autoregressive motion generator built from multiple neural networks. This model processes motion data from Maya, predicting the next pose frame by frame to create smooth, natural movement.
• Integration with Autodesk Maya Workflows: The generated motion is baked to keys on the joints, behaving like mocap data. Artists can add animation layers, bake to a control rig, and use all their usual Maya tools to refine the animation – it’s fully integrated with standard animation workflows.
• Customizable Output: MotionMaker offers two layers of customization. The motion generation is highly art directable, allowing artists to tweak path modes, adjust character facing, and set timing for actions like jumps. Once generated, the motion is baked to keys and behaves like mocap data, allowing for animation layers, control rig baking, and full refinement using standard Maya tools.

Learn more about Autodesk solutions like Maya for animation, and register for the  live MotionMaker digital talk on June 25.

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