Autodesk introduces GPU-accelerated Arnold Renderer 5.3 in public beta

Last week we saw Autodesk put its Arnold 5.3 renderer, which supports GPU acceleration, into public beta.

The new Arnold 5.3 will support fast switching between CPU and GPU processing. The availability of GPU-assisted rendering should make the process of iterations and revision cycles more efficient, especially for artists and small studios that typically see very powerful improvements in rendering performance from graphics hardware versus CPU power.

“We recognize the needs of Arnold users for greater speed and interactivity during the authoring process,” said Autodesk’s senior director of media and entertainment products, Chris Vienneau.

“We are excited to introduce this beta version of Arnold GPU because it gives our users an idea of the performance improvements they can expect to see in the near future.”

“We have worked closely with Nvidia to optimize Arnold’s GPU to work with the latest RTX technology, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate to bring our customers the best rendering quality.”

Other improvements in Arnold 5.3 include enhancements to its adaptive sampling technology, which reduces rendering times while maintaining quality; a new version of its random subsurface scattering (SSS) mode; and considerable improvements for artists in the operator framework, Autodesk said.

Arnold 5.3 with Arnold GPU is now is available in public beta(Arnold GPU also works with Side Effects Houdini, Maxon Cinema 4D and Foundry Katana through an add-on). A free 30-day Arnold trial is available that includes Arnold GPU.