Pixar Unveils RenderMan 27 for Advanced Animation

Pixar releases RenderMan 27, which significantly improves animation workflows by improving rendering speed, the power of GPU renders, and production features.

Pixar Animation Studios has released RenderMan 27 officially, which is a big breakthrough in animation technology and production processes. The update also brings on RenderMan XPU, a high-performing last-frame renderer, to supplant the aged-out RIS architecture in providing faster rendering performance, real-time interactive features, and increased scope of artistic flexibility to animation and VFX studios.

The Renderman 27 demonstrates great improvements in XPU, which means that artists can use them to their full capabilities in terms of both CPU and GPU usage to create high-quality final renders. Other important enhancements involve the use of checkpointing in managing the farms, deep data, increased AOV choices, and a new Stylized Looks toolset with enhanced creative control. Interactive denoising of machine learning also enhances feedback loops between artists, making faster live rendering.

Another property introduced thanks to the update is multi-GPU rendering, mesh light support, support of all physical lights, and integration with the ILM MaterialX Lama. RenderMan 27 is compatible with the VFX Reference Platform 2024 due to its optimization with NVIDIA RTX PRO and the fact that it improves Solaris working patterns.

Pixar has affirmed that XPU is already being utilized in the creation of Toy Story 5, and it provides the artists with the fastest speed in cinematographic lighting ever. NVIDIA also wrote that RenderMan 27 opens the potential of RTX hardware and transforms rendering in the studio.

The highly developed features of RenderMan 27 enhance the tradition of Pixar to cross the limits of animation and visual narration.