16 January 2007 · animation, python

Is Python becoming a standard for animation application scripting interfaces? Autodesk, originally well-known for their AutoCAD drafting software have diversified into animation with a product called Maya, which has just been upgraded to version 8.5. One of the new features trumpeted in a report of the announcement is Python scripting, which turns out to be very popular with the film industry.

Anders Langlands, R&D lead at The Moving Picture Co. (MPC) and Maya 8.5 beta tester, commented: "Having Python support available in Autodesk Maya means we can leverage many of our existing tools directly within Maya, rather than having to write glue code to bind Maya to our pipeline. This allows us to develop new node and command plug-ins in a fraction of the time it would normally take using other solutions."

I already knew that Python was popular with companies like ILM and Pixar, but it seems as though its value in animation is now an open secret.