For first-time Maya users, this is a good place to start. We cover downloading and running Rendition for the first time, and a basic tour of the user interface.

Downloading and setting up Rendition

Download Holomatix Rendition from the Rendition Download Home and click on the download link for your platform, and save the file to disk.

Rendition is packaged in a zip file, so you will need to unzip it, then run Rendition.exe (if using Windows) - this is the main Rendition application.  The following video takes you through some first steps with rendition - including loading a simple scene, navigating around it with the mouse, and installing Rendition's Maya / Max plugins.

The Rendition Plug-In for Maya (available for all versions of Maya from 7 onwards), monitors the scene within Maya, and communicates any changes to Rendition - including changes to objects , lighting , materials and global illumination . Rendition will provide a realtime raytraced view of the scene,  refining it over time into a production quality image. To find out about installing the Plug-In, see Getting Started .

Once you have installed the Plug-In you will find 2 new buttons on the right hand side of the Rendering Shelf within Maya.

The Rendition 'R' button will launch Rendition, transmit your current Maya scene to it, and begin raytracing. This is a "one shot" operation - no subsequent changes to the scene will be sent, unless you press the button again. The toggle button marked "Auto", performs the same operations, but then continuously monitors the scene, and updates Rendition with any changes you make. Rendition will then update its raytraced view to reflect these, all in realtime.

 This instantaneous feedback, provides many obvious advantages for a 3d artist. Whether positioning a camera to precisely catch a highlight,  tweaking a material's reflectivity to just the right level ,or adjusting the brightness of caustic photons - it's all a lot easier when you can really see what you're doing, as you do it. The video below shows a simple example of this in action.

 Interactive Updates using Rendition and Maya