In nuce: The Foundry releases Mari version 6.0 – initially as a public alpha. Mari is a software for drawing 3D textures. The alpha release makes Mari more compatible with the specifications of the VFX reference platform CY 2022 . In addition, USD workflows are now even better supported – among other things by allowing artists to edit USD materials with Arnold shaders directly in Mari.
In toto: Support for USD workflows was already expanded with the release of the previous version Mari 5.0 (Digital Production reported on 22 November 2021). With Mari 6.0, USD look files that contain a specific rendering shader can now also be exported. USD looks with material assignments can now also be exported. The advantage of this is that different shaders can be assigned to different geometry components. Compatibility with the VFX reference platform CY 2022 has been adapted to the latest version (see again Digital Production from 22 November 2021). The release note for Mari 6.0 contains a table comparing the support of CY2022 between Mari 5 and 6.
Clicked further: Release note for the open alpha of Mari 6.0. Mari product page from The Foundry.
