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Over the last several years, the rapid advancement of visual effects has resulted in the creation of breathtaking visual pieces that have been used in a variety of fields, including entertainment, medicine, history, and science. This decade has continued to produce works that challenge the limits of spectacle, both on screen and off, and one of the most significant driving forces behind this visual revolution is Autodesk’s Maya. These works range from the mind-boggling effects in Marvel’s Doctor Strange to the computer-generated reenactments of famous aerial battles in dog fights, which are broadcast on the History Channel, to gorgeous 3D projections and light shows that are performed at concerts and festivals. In the last ten years, if you were to recollect five of the most visually striking films, games, music videos, advertisements, or visualizations that you have seen, you can be certain that four of them had at least one or two Maya renders (or ten thousand, for that matter). The digital imprint that Maya has left in each of these sectors is enormous, and it is so deeply ingrained that it is quite possible that we will continue to see Maya rendering everywhere for the rest of our lives. What was it about Maya that made it the most popular choice for applying computer-generated visual effects? A user base that is already acquainted with the software that has become the most influential personalities in their business today. The use of Maya modeling, Maya animation, and Maya rendering may be seen in almost every shot breakdown of major motion pictures, video games, and advertisements (with the integration of render engines like arnold or v-ray). When aspiring visual effects artists study these breakdowns, read about them in publications, or engage in forums, they are guided down the road of learning maya by the outstanding work that is being done, as well as by the fact that this is the program that is used by industry pros. External service providers such as Chaos Group, Solid Angle, Peregrine Labs, and Joe Alter have been prompted by this trend to offer rendering and simulation solutions that are closely integrated with Maya. The purpose of these solutions is to enhance Maya’s capabilities and ensure that it remains eligible as the most comprehensive tool for visual effects. render farms, which are facilities that house a number of computers for the purpose of rendering computer graphics projects concurrently, have also made it a point to include support for Maya rendering. Some render farms even solely support Maya and other programs developed by Autodesk. If an aspiring computer graphics artist is familiar with Maya, their chances of getting a seat at the table reserved for industry professionals are significantly increased. This is the sole reason why so many young users have accepted Maya as the program to learn, but is it truly superior to its rivals? The ubiquity that comes from being at the top of the cloud computing food chain affords a larger workforce, more partnerships with relevant leading service providers, and a steady stream of wide-eyed neophytes, all of which would only lead to deeper and more rapid development of the software. It would be nearly impossible to argue against this. As of right now, the future of Maya rendering and its pervasiveness in the field of computer graphics is dependent on the commercial choices that Autodesk makes, and their forums are a testimony to where they are heading.