Katana Features.

A pipeline polymath

Flexibility, customizability and interoperability are an intrinsic part of Katana’s DNA. Featuring advanced USD technology, an extensive set of APIs and plug-ins, multiple scripting languages and OCIO color management, Katana will soon cement itself as the Swiss Army knife of your pipeline.

• USD scene manipulation - Reduce pipeline friction with USD-native workflows in Katana. Built on the same underlying architecture as Nuke’s new 3D system, Katana 7.0 focuses on building artist-friendly workflows that pair Katana’s strengths in managing complex scenes with native USD’s pipeline flexibility. Expanding on the original USD Katana nodes that enabled the scene description standard to be brought into the tool, we’ve added the framework for native USD manipulation, plus a selection of new nodes, to harness the combined power of USD and Katana.
• OCIO color management - Industry-standard OpenColorIO (OCIO) color management runs through all image-related operations in Katana, so you can work with the confidence that your color spaces are correct. Like Katana, OCIO was developed at Sony Pictures Imageworks.
• A choice of scripting & programming languages - Support for Python, Lua, C and C++, along with powerful libraries like ILM’s Imath, provide great flexibility for any level of pipeline developer. Choose the right language for any given task and get up to speed in a flash.
• Extensive APIs - Katana includes APIs to connect to asset management tools; to make your own custom tools with logic, custom UI and dynamic properties; to add your own render engine; and to make complex connections between Katana and any render farm.
• Renderer plugins - Katana's rendering system is 100% compatible with all existing renderer plugins including V-Ray, Arnold, 3Delight, RenderMan and Redshift. All use the same API which can power custom renderer plugins. The 3Delight plugin is open sourced and can be used as a production reference.

Complete roundtripping with USD

Katana 8.0 now comes with complete roundtripping — to and from USD — within the application. Combined with Katana’s production-proven framework, this roundtrip provides a fully supported fallback mechanism that enables you to migrate your teams to USD — in your own time and without risk!

• Katana to USD - Artists can now seamlessly convert Katana data to native USD data with a new KatanaToUSD node. This streamlines the creative process and completes the ability to roundtrip alongside Katana 7.0’s UsdToKatana node. This means artists are able to use the tools they love from Katana and apply them to USD data. Without the need to have the tools rewritten for USD, artists can cut down on production time.
• USD export - Now with the ability to export from USD, Katana enables artists to seamlessly work in a USD pipeline by allowing for all USD changes made in Katana to be exported for re-use in other departments. This means improved collaboration between departments and compatibility between applications. USD changes to anything from lights and materials, to cameras and other geometry, can be made and then exported effortlessly, meaning you can use Katana in any part of the pipeline. 
• Pattern-based Collections - We’re bringing Collections (and the new-to-USD Pattern-based Collections feature) to Katana’s USD space, greatly speeding up artists’ USD workflows through the day-to-day use of the software’s USD-native nodes. Artists who are familiar with using Collections as part of Katana’s day-to-day workflows with CEL, can also now use them in USD with the new UsdCollection node (and PBC support within other nodes). This enables Katana templates to be flexible and adaptable across many shots and sequences – regardless of complexity.
• Scene Explorer Collections - Collections are now supported in the Scene Explorer tab for both Geolib and USD using a new Collections panel above the main scene tree, which is controlled through a new Collections Working Set. This means that Collections can be made easily accessible and referenced in other nodes throughout the scene. 
• Renderer plugins - Katana's rendering system is 100% compatible with all existing renderer plugins including V-Ray, Arnold, 3Delight, RenderMan and Redshift. All use the same API which can power custom renderer plugins. The 3Delight plugin is open sourced and can be used as a production reference.

Integrated 3Delight Rendering

Allowing for fully interactive live rendering, Katana ships with a rendering plugin from the makers of 3Delight. Live rendering responds to any changes in your scene to lights, shaders, cameras, geometry, volumes,materials, global settings providing an artist focused Katana experience. Unique workflows like light mixing adjust lighting interactively on finished frames, while edits are fed back directly to lights or groups of lights in Katana’s GafferThree lighting tools. The fully OSL-based shading engine is compatible with both Katana and Maya, allowing for the direct transfer of look development files between the DCC apps.

Optimized Geolib3-MT Runtime 

Geolib3-MT Runtime has been optimized to improve memory management, ensuring that you can focus on what matters — whether a shot, scene or sequence. New caching strategies provide you with a scalable and robust solution to ensure that your render will fit on your farm.