Maya is a powerful animation powerhouse, taking a proud position in our guides to the best 3D modelling software and best animation software. With industry-standard tools, Maya is trusted by all the big guns, including Disney and Rockstar.
Forgive me, Spider-Man fans, but with all this power comes a great price. Okay, it doesn’t quite fit. The point is, spending a couple of thousand per year might be fine for large or ambitious studios, but that’s no good for graduates fresh out of college or indie animators trying to break into the industry. Thankfully, there’s a solution: Maya Indie.
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What are Maya Indie’s best features?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
One of my absolute favourite features in Maya is MotionMaker. The generative AI system automatically generates character movement. All you have to do is draw a path in the viewport or set a start and end point, and the tool generates natural-looking bipedal or quadrupedal motion (like walking or running) to fill the gaps. It’s dark magic, honestly. It’s still a work in progress, but boy, is it good.
I’m also super stoked that the third-party plugin Golaem has been integrated directly into the software. The artist-friendly crowd simulation software has been famously used for massive battles in Game of Thrones and Arcane. The main thing I love about Golaem is how easy it is to use. Rather than requiring any coding, complex crowds can be created using a visual, logic-based workflow. You can take a single character like a soldier or a bird, define how they should behave, and then “multiply” them into thousands of individuals.
I could go on, but just to mention one more, I’m a big fan of the upgraded Machine Learning Deformer, which has seen a massive boost, which allows you to train a complex, slow character rig into a lightweight, fast-playing version. The workflow is not particularly straightforward, but it does allow complex characters to be exported to game engines such as Unreal Engine. The MLD claims to use 80% less disk space and load 40x faster.
What’s the price?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
Despite opening access to the full package, Maya Indie costs a fraction of a standard subscription. Most specifically, it’s only $305 / £275 per year, compared to $1,875 / £1,830 per year.
You might wonder why everyone doesn’t just buy a Maya Indie subscription, and that’s a great question. Well, unfortunately, Maya Indie is limited to solo artists, freelancers, or hobbyists who meet specific financial and professional criteria. This includes a limit on revenue and project value, and users are only allowed one Maya Indie subscription per person or organisation.
Is it easy to use?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
Maya Indie is identical to the full Maya package, so Indie users will have the same experience as any other artist or animator. So, what is Maya like to use? Well, not straightforward. Most people, including myself, have found Maya to have a steep learning curve. The interface and associated tools are complex and technical in nature, and that’s without even thinking about hitting your own ceiling of creativity – something that I do on a regular basis!
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Unlike beginner-friendly apps, Maya features a dense interface filled with specialised menus and nodes that can be overwhelming at first glance. It is software that prioritises precision and control over simplicity. That’s not to say it’s complicated for the sake of it, but it’s just so powerful that some things can’t be reduced in complexity.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gotten lost in the menus or confused by their workflows, and I know I’m not the only one. It’s certainly not for the fainthearted and can take many months of dedicated practice to feel comfortable with it. Unfortunately, there’s just no shortcut if you want to master one of the most extensive applications in the 3D industry.
What’s good about Maya?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
Maya is the industry standard for animation, which means that if you’d like a job at any animation studio, including the big players, Disney, Pixar, or Rockstar, then you’ve got to know Maya. Its animation toolset, specifically the Graph Editor and Time Editor, is widely considered the most refined and powerful in the business. This might sound daunting, but the good thing about Maya’s dominance is that if you master it, you’ll be able to switch between studios without much of a problem.
Another element of Maya that makes it so great is its Marking Menus, which allow for extensive customisation. The tools let you set up flick-of-the-wrist gesture commands and standard hotkeys, which, once familiar with, let you hide the entire UI and work with nothing but your 3D model. It is arguably the fastest workflow for a professional once the muscle memory kicks in.
Then there’s the superior rigging performance with an evaluation engine that is unbelievably fast. It’s possible to run high-complexity character rigs in the viewport in real time without any sign of lag. Compared to some other packages, this is a game-changer. This allows animators to see and feel the final edit without waiting for a preview render.
What’s bad about Maya Indie?
As with any piece of software of this complexity, there is no shortage of gripes that I could mention about Maya. It’s also been in existence for nearly three decades, which is a long time to build up problems and issues.
The first thing is that it is prone to stability issues and random crashes. Because much of Maya’s core is built on dated code, adding new features on top of this foundation sometimes leads to unexpected bugs. There’s also an abundance of reports about scene files becoming corrupted, requiring users to keep extensive backups.
Maya also places a lot of demands on your hardware. It requires a high-end workstation to run smoothly, especially for its Viewport 2.0. While it handles massive and complex scenes better than some other software, it can be sluggish and laggy on mid-range laptops or older hardware. This isn’t necessarily Maya’s problem, but it is something to consider if you’re thinking about getting a subscription.
The final thing to mention is that Maya’s user interface is pretty outdated. Everything is densely packed with menus, submenus, and toolsets, so it can take months to feel comfortable navigating it. Many basic features that are one-click in other software require external scripts or complex workarounds in Maya. This also has a knock-on impact, making the learning curve unnecessarily steep at times.
Who’s it for?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
Maya Indie is for solo freelancers and indie game developers. That includes those creating architectural visualisations or VFX shots for music videos, as well as individuals making small games. It’s also important not to forget serious hobbyists who want the full industry toolset without being burdened by the financial investment.
Maya Indie is also for students who have just graduated and, therefore, lost their free student subscription. In essence, it allows former students to build a professional portfolio and take on a limited amount of paid work legally, without the annual price tag of the standard version.
Any tips for beginners?
(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)
I think the main thing is to go easy on yourself. You’re not going to become a Maya master in a matter of weeks or even months, and if you have expectations of doing so, then you’ll quickly and easily become frustrated.
Take your time and find a variety of tutorials on the specific features you’re learning about. This will help you understand different ways to achieve the same thing and open up techniques you hadn’t previously considered.
If you’re starting out, then I’d recommend spending a good amount of time mastering the menus. Make good use of the Hotbox (Spacebar) and context-sensitive tools (Hold Shift + Right Click). Being able to confidently navigate the software is half the battle and a good foundation for becoming familiar with the Maya interface.
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