Autodesk releases Arnold 7.5.1 with free cloud rendering
Autodesk has released Arnold 7.5.1, the latest version of the production renderer, including a tech preview of Flow Render, a new cloud-based rendering solution.
Subscribers will get 40 hours of free render time per month for testing the service.
The release also introduces custom AOVs for volume shaders, support for MikkTSpace normal maps, and improves CPU rendering performance on Windows.
Flow Render: a new Arnold-based cloud rendering service for VFX and animation
The main new feature in Arnold 7.5.1 is the tech preview of Flow Render, a new cloud-based rendering solution.
According to the online FAQs, it’s aimed mainly at large VFX and animation studios, but also at freelancers and indie 3D artists who want to avoid tying up local machines while rendering.
Render jobs can be submitted to the cloud from any of Arnold’s host applications, with the current exception of Katana.
The job then runs in the cloud, and can be tracked using the new Flow Render Monitor in the Arnold integration plugins, or a web-based job monitor.
Once the job is completed, users can download the rendered frames to a local machine.
Free to current Arnold subscribers, with some limitations
While the service is being tested, anyone with a current Arnold, 3ds Max or Maya subscription will get 40 hours (2,400 minutes) of free cloud render time per month.
There are some limitations: you’re currently restricted to 10 simultaneous render tasks, and they must complete within 12 hours – after that, they cut out automatically.
Cloud rendering is done on CPU only, and there is no way to prioritize individual jobs or tasks.
Flow Render also does not support custom OCIO configs or third-party plugins like Yeti.
Currently no details on what happens after the free trial
There’s no mention in the release notes of how long the trial period will last, or what happens to Flow Render after that, although we assume that it will become a paid service, in the same way that Chaos Cloud is for V-Ray users.
We’ve contacted Autodesk for more details, and will update if we hear back.
Other new features in Arnold 7.5.1
Other new features in Arnold 7.5.1 include custom AOVs for volume shaders.
The aov_write_rgb, aov_write_float, and aov_write_rgba shader nodes can now be used in volume shader networks as well as surface shaders, including to write out deep EXR files.
A new tangent_space_type parameter adds support for MikkTSpace normal mapping.
In addition, CPU rendering on Windows is now faster: 1.04x faster, in the case of the ALab USD test scene, although the effect is larger on simpler scenes.
Support in the integration plugins
All of Arnold’s integration plugins have been updated to support the new features:
3ds Max: MAXtoA 5.9.1
Cinema 4D: C4DtoA 4.9.1
Houdini: HtoA 6.5.1
Katana: KtoA 4.5.1
Maya: MtoA 5.6.1
If you use 3ds Max or Maya, note that 3ds Max 2027 and Maya 2027, both also released today, ship with older plugins, so you will need to download the new version separately.
System requirements and availability
Arnold 7.5.1 is available for Windows 10+, glibc 2.17+ Linux and macOS 11.0+. Integrations are available for 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Katana and Maya.
GPU rendering is supported on Windows and Linux only, and needs a compatible NVIDIA GPU.
The software is rental-only, with single-user subscriptions costing $55/month or $430/year.
Read a full list of new features in Arnold 7.5.1 in the online documentation
Read the online FAQs for Flow Render cloud rendering
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