Ynput releases Ayon 1.0

Ynput has launched Ayon 1.0, the first official production release of its open-source pipeline for visual effects and animation, along the option to deploy it in the cloud.

Previously known as OpenPype, Ayon provides the foundation for a production pipeline, connecting a studio’s DCC tools, version tracking and project management into a unified system.

It can be used by studios without a team of dedicated TDs to set up or manage pipelines, but is also now being used in production at larger facilities.

Used in production on music videos, animated series and movies
Ayon has been around for some time, albeit under different names, with the codebase itself beginning life as Pype, the in-house production platform of a boutique Czechian creative studio.

The company formed to develop and promote it was initially called Pype.Club, before rebranding as Ynput, while the platform changed its name to OpenPype, and then to Ayon.

Initially adopted mainly by small-to-medium-sized studios – early users include Dazzle Pictures and Method n Madness – it has recently been used in production by larger facilities including Blue Zoo and the DNEG Group’s ReDefine.

A central hub through which to connect DCC and production-tracking tools
Ayon connects a studio’s existing production tools into a coherent pipeline.

Via a web-based dashboard, users can track the artists assigned to a project, versioning and approvals for shots, and see a visual overview of the progress of the project as a whole.

It integrates with key CG applications, including 3D content creation tools like 3ds Max, Blender, Houdini, Maya and the Substance 3D products; compositing and editing tools like After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and Nuke; and 2D animation software like Toon Boom Harmony and TVPaint.

For production tracking, Ayon integrates with ftrack Studio, ShotGrid and Kitsu.

It follows the VFX Reference Platform spec, supports emerging standards like OpenTimelineIO, and supports workflows based around USD and real-time rendering in Unreal Engine.

Designed to be artist-friendly, but customisable by TDs
Ayon is designed to be usable out of the box, with Ayon Pipeline releases providing pre-configured pipelines for 2D animation, 3D animation or VFX projects.

Studios with dedicated technical staff can customize platform via its RESTful API, which supports Python and GraphQL.

Ayon itself is free to install, and the source code is available online, with Ynput making its money through services and paid add-ons.

Ayon 1.0: available to deploy in the cloud as well as on-premises
Although Ayon has been publicly available for almost a year, Ayon 1.0 is the first official production-ready release.

As well as moving Ayon out of beta, it is the first release available via Ynput Cloud, Ynput’s new cloud-hosting platform, intended for studios that want to avoid the complexities of managing their own hardware infrastructure.

Unlike on-premises installation, it’s a paid service, available via quarterly or annual subscriptions.

Price and system requirements
Ayon 1.0 can be deployed on Windows, Linux and macOS. You can find detailed system requirements here. The source code is available under an open-source Apache 2.0 licence.

Cloud Starter subscriptions cost €1,080/quarter or €3,480/year and support 10 active users; Cloud Pro subscriptions cost €3,330/quarter or €10,680/year and support 20 active users.

Try open-source VFX and animation pipeline Ayon

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Ynput releases Ayon 1.0

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