Autodesk Arnold is an advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer built for the demands of feature-length animation and visual effects movies. Originally co-developed with Sony Pictures Imageworks and now their main renderer, Arnold is used at over 300 studios worldwide including ILM, Framestore, MPC, The Mill, and Digic Pictures. Arnold was the primary renderer on dozens of films from Monster House and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to Pacific Rim and Gravity. It is available as a standalone renderer on Linux, Windows, and macOS, with plug-ins for Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and Katana.
Arnold is known for its robustness and versatility, capable of handling complex characters, scenery, and lighting challenges. It is optimized for efficient rendering of complex scenes and supports volumetric rendering, which is essential for realistic rendering of environments with fog, smoke, or fire. Arnold is also scalable, making it suitable for both small and large production environments.
Autodesk Arnold offers a user-friendly interface, with a shallow learning curve for artists new to the software and powerful tools for experienced users. The renderer is integrated with Autodesk's popular 3D modeling and animation software, making it a convenient choice for artists and studios already working within the Autodesk ecosystem.