Inbibo releases Adonis 2.1 with AdonisML
Inbibo has released Adonis 2.1, the latest version of the modular anatomy framework for Maya and Houdini.
The core edition of the software, AdonisFX, gets a new anatomy transfer system and AdnMush, a new deformer for smoothing simulation artifacts while preserving anatomical details.
In addition, a new high-end edition, AdonisML, adds new machine learning systems for training lightweight, interactive approximations of complex, slow-to-process tissue setups.
A replacement for Ziva VFX for soft tissue simulation in VFX and animation pipelines
First released last year, Adonis lets rigging artists add physically simulated soft tissues to characters in layers, with separate solvers for muscles, fat and skin.
The toolset – available as an add-on for Maya and, more recently, Houdini – aims to fill the gap in the market left by the popular but no longer commercially available Ziva VFX.
The software is already in use at some major VFX facilities, including Sony Pictures Imageworks.
AdonisML: new edition adds AI tools for training lightweight versions of complex rigs
If you read our original story on Adonis, you may also have noticed that we’ve started referring to the software as plain ‘Adonis’, rather than ‘AdonisFX’.
That’s because it now comes in two editions: the original base edition, still named AdonisFX, and the new extended edition, AdonisML.
As the name suggests, it adds new machine-learning-based features: the ML Deformer and Smart Tissue.
Like its namesakes in Maya and Unreal Engine, the ML Deformer enables users to take characters with complex, slow-to-process tissue setups and train the deformer to represent the deformations they generate in the character mesh.
The machine-learned approximation processes faster than the original setup, enabling animators to work with the character more interactively.
The SmartTissue system then restores the secondary motion lost in the training process – the “jiggle, settle and overshoot” – to give more detailed, realistic deformations.
According to Inbibo, the combination of the tools provides a “ML-powered path for animators that need high-fidelity results at interactive speed”.
AdonisFX 2.1 and AdonisML 2.1: new anatomy transfer system
New features in Adonis 2.1 include AdnTransfer, a new anatomy transfer system.
The toolset transfers tissue set-ups between characters or creatures with different bodily proportions – sometimes very different proportions, as in the demo above.
It consists of two deformers: AdnRigidWrap for automatically locking landmark points on a target mesh to a source mesh, and AdnSoftWrap, for handling the soft tissues in between.
A Landmark Tool makes it possible to adjust the results by configuring the landmark pairs manually: you can read more about the workflow in Inbibo’s blog post.
AdonisFX 2.1 and AdonisML 2.1: new mush deformer for smoothing simulation artifacts
The other major new feature, AdnMush, is a new deformer for smoothing simulation artifacts.
It preserves fine anatomical detail like pectoral muscles better than the existing AdnRelax deformer, making it better for “defined or shredded” characters.
As well as being a standalone node for post-processing simulations, it runs automatically inside every other solver, reducing the need for post-processing in the first place.
Price and system requirements
Adonis 2.1 is compatible with Maya 2023+ and Houdini 20+ on Windows 10+ and CentOS 7+/RHEL 8+/Rocky Linux 8+.
For AdonisFX, Indie subscriptions, for artists earning under £100,000/year, cost £25/month (around $33/month) or £250/year per node-locked license.
Pro subscriptions cost £110/month or £1,100/year per node-locked license, and £150/month or £1,500/year per floating license.
AdonisML is priced on enquiry, but Pro subscriptions “start at £3,000/year”.
Read more about the new features in Adonis 2.1 on Inbibo’s blog
Read more about Adonis on Inbibo’s website
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