Foundry launched Katana 9.0, the latest version of its look development and 3D lighting software, bringing more features to users’ Universal Scene Description (USD) lighting workflows.

Foundry has released the latest update to Katana, its look development and 3D lighting software with native support for USD. Version 9.0 brings further improvements and features to USD workflows, enabling users to work with scenes of any size while maintaining data integrity throughout the pipeline.

Katana 9.0 includes UsdSuperLayer, which features a plug-in system that enables users to incorporate proceduralism when needed. Katana 9.0 also includes improved scene management within the UsdSuperLayer, with a flexible and user-friendly interface, enabling artists to add, modify, and edit any element from the stage. It treats USD as the source of truth for all properties serving as UI elements, supporting direct edits via Katana’s Python API. 

The UsdGaffer node enables artists to easily create and edit lights, alongside curated and intuitive creative tools. They can light an entire sequence at once or fine-tune individual shot lighting, while working efficiently in a team. Only the changes made on the UsdGaffer node are stored within the underlying node’s layer, making it lightweight and easier to manage.

Additionally, Katana 9.0 features a new UsdMaterial node, a lightweight solution for making quick edits on incoming USD looks or looks converted via KatanaToUsd workflows. It also introduces Hydra 2.0 support (in alpha), which offers users a preview of how rendering Katana and USD scenes would look in the Hydra 2.0 Viewer tab and connect with their Hydra 2.0-compatible renderer of choice. 

There are also new nodes for easily creating cube, sphere, plane, and other basic prim types. 

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