The demand for efficient, scalable, and flexible pipeline platforms has never been greater in the animation and VFX industry. AYON represents the next stage in the evolution of the popular open-source platform, OpenPype, developed by the pipeline specialists at Ynput. It was created by a team of industry veterans who had previously worked on demanding productions, enduring excessive hours during crunch times. Eager to break away from ‘the norm’ and discover a better way of working where artists can go home on time, they first created AYON in 2018 as an in-house pipeline tool, building on top of available open-source technology and open-sourcing AYON itself too. Fast forward six years, and it is now deployed globally in hundreds of studios working on animation and VFX projects. This open-source platform is designed to streamline creative studios’ workflows, ensuring seamless project delivery from concept to completion.
At its core, AYON excels in integrating into and enhancing existing studio workflows. Its suite of pipeline tools and integrations addresses the common challenges faced by creative teams, facilitating smooth communication and data transfer across a multitude of software packages and production tracking tools, including Autodesk ShotGrid, ftrack Studio, and CG Wire Kitsu, among others. This universal compatibility positions AYON as an essential complimentary tool for studios aiming to optimise their creative processes.
Empowering studios of all sizes
The release of AYON 1.0 introduces a cloud-hosted service that enables scalability and flexibility. Previously limited to self-hosted installs, this ability to have a cloud-hosted service is beneficial for studios navigating work with distributed teams, simplifying infrastructure management and enabling artists to focus on what they do best: creating breathtaking visuals without the admin.
The growing impact of AYON is evident across the industry, with Ynput’s clientele, including leading studios like Orca Studios, Redefine (part of the DNEG Group), Blue Zoo Animation, and The Line Animation, adopting the platform to enhance their production capabilities. These collaborations highlight AYON’s versatility, demonstrating its value in projects ranging from small-scale to large, complex productions.
Client-centric development
The evolution of AYON has been a collaborative journey, driven by its community and shaped by feedback from a diverse array of studios they work closely with. The service team at Ynput, adopting a client-focused approach, engages in direct dialogue with their clients as a core aspect of their pipeline services business. This ensures the wider product team gain an intimate understanding of the industry’s challenges, positioning it at the cutting edge of pipeline technology. By doing so, AYON facilitates creativity and efficiency, addressing the daily demands that studios encounter.
Getting thumbs-ups from the big names in the industry highlights how impactful the platform is. Tom Box, the co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation, praises how AYON matches up perfectly with their goals to boost efficiency, make things look great, and keep artists happy.
“In the age of maximising efficiencies, the open-source and collaborative nature of AYON was a key driver for us to make the switch,” said Tom Box, Co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation. “As a studio committed to working as efficiently as possible on multiple high-end CG productions across multiple DCCs, AYON aligns perfectly with our company’s vision. Having Ynput’s team on hand means we can focus on maximising visual quality and artist job satisfaction rather than being consumed by legacy pipeline maintenance. We’re confident that AYON will streamline our creative workflows and help us deliver exceptional results to drive our studio even further forward.”
A reliable pipeline for creative teams
AYON’s compatibility with industry-standard applications and production tracking tools ensures a smooth, disruption-free workflow, empowering studios to leverage their preferred software seamlessly. A selection of supported tools include: Maya, Houdini, 3Ds Max, Nuke, Hiero, Blender, Flame, Resolve, Fusion, Unreal Engine, After Effects, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Harmony, TV Paint, Multiverse, Deadline, Muster, Royal Render, Clockify, Slack, ftrack, Shotgrid, Kitsu, and HiBob.
To assist studios in becoming operational quickly, Ynput offers AYON as an open-source (Apache 2.0) Community Edition for self-hosted setups. Additionally, there’s a free trial for the Cloud plans, which provides immediate access to a robust, production-proven pipeline platform, with all maintenance and upkeep managed by Ynput Cloud.
The combination of AYON’s versatility and Ynput’s industry expertise with their services business provides studios the freedom to concentrate on their core creative tasks, supported by a stable and efficient pipeline. Discover the power of AYON and how it can advance animation and VFX workflows with a live demo or free trial.
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