Foundry Unveils Nuke 15.0, Katana 7.0, and Mari 7.0

Foundry has announced the release of Nuke 15.0, alongside upcoming releases of Katana 7.0 and Mari 7.0. This release brings significant enhancements to artists, offering faster workflows and improved performance. Let's look at the new features.

Faster and more efficient

Nuke 15.0 introduces updates that enhance creative iteration speed. The addition of native Apple silicon support results in processing speeds up to 20% faster. Additionally, training speeds in Nuke's CopyCat machine learning tool are now twice as fast. 

Mari 7.0 introduces new baking tools that allow artists to easily create geometry-based maps without the need for external applications. Katana 7.0 features updates to support Universal Scene Descriptor (USD), with less disruption of switching between applications and offering a more streamlined creative experience.

Foundry is facilitating dual releases for Nuke and Katana, enabling clients to immediately leverage the latest features in production while validating their pipelines against the latest Linux releases. Nuke 15.0 ships alongside Nuke 14.1, while Katana 7.0 is paired with Katana 6.5. These dual releases maintain nearly identical feature sets with differing VFX Reference Platform support.

OpenAssetIO Integration

Foundry is introducing a tech preview of OpenAssetIO in Nuke 15.0 and 14.1, supporting pipeline integration and workflow streamlining. Managed by the Academy Software Foundation, OpenAssetIO simplifies asset and version management, aiding artists in locating and identifying the assets they need.

Key Highlights for Nuke 15.0:

• Native Apple Silicon Support: Achieve up to 20% faster processing speeds and GPU-enabled machine learning tools.
• Faster CopyCat Training: Distributed training and image resolution compression for up to 2x faster training.
• USD-Based 3D System Improvements (Beta): Enhanced 3D capabilities and compatibility with USD 23.05.
• Multi-Pixel Blink Effects in the Timeline: Exclusive to Nuke Studio and Hiero, simplifying the application and viewing of effects.
• OCIO Version 2.2 Support: Direct usage of OCIOZ configs in Nuke projects.

Coming to Katana:

• USD Scene Manipulation: Enhanced pipeline flexibility with USD 23.05.
• Multi-Threaded Live Rendering: Improved performance and user experience with multi-threaded Live Rendering.
• Optimized Geolib3-MT Runtime: New caching strategies reduce memory usage and downtime.

What to Expect in Mari:

• New Baking Tools: Create geometry-based maps swiftly without external plugins.
• Texturing Content: Access additional grunge maps and procedural nodes.
• Automatic Project Backups: Regular auto-saving with the ability to revert to previous states.
• Upgraded USD Workflows: Improved artist-friendly USD importer.
• Shader Updates: Updated shaders for ChaosGroup’s V-Ray 6 and Autodesk’s Arnold Standard Surface.
• Licensing Improvements: Team licensing for Mari.

Foundry is extending its free Nuke 15.0 trial from 30 to 90 days for a limited period, giving artists the chance to dive deeper into the latest Nuke features, or try it for the first time. Find it here.