How to Download Autodesk Maya for Free (Students)!

Autodesk Maya is one of the most well-known professional 3D softwares. Every major company who does 3D animation uses Autodesk Maya. The software may not look familiar in each company because every company manipulates the interface to be more user-friendly. However, if you want to take 3D animation seriously, downloading Maya is a great decision! Downloading Autodesk Maya can be VERY expensive (around $1000 a year or $190 monthly). Luckily for students, you can download Autodesk Maya free for four years! Follow this step-by-step guide so you can easily download the software onto your computer

*Disclosure: make sure that your computer has the right requirements to fully enjoy the software.

1. Go to the website. https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya  to start your software download. 
2. Create an Account. Assuming you are new to Autodesk, you will need to make an account. I know, this can be very annoying, but this is the only time you will ever need to do this! Keep in mind that have to use your student email. If you do not have a student email, you will not be able to download this free software. If you are not a student, but would still like to try the free trial click here.
3. Choose your system. Now that you have your account, you want to choose which version of Maya that you want. I HIGHLY recommend getting last year’s version, no matter what year it is now. If it is 2018, get 2017. If it is 2025, get the 2024 version of Maya. Since this is a free version, Autodesk likes to use the latest software as a way to work out the bugs. As tempting as it may be to get the latest version, most likely the software will have a lot of problems, such as unexpected crashes and other problems. There is not much difference between this year’s version of Maya and last years so I would recommend just getting last years. You won’t be missing out on much.
4. Install. Press the “Install Now” button at the bottom of the screen.

 

5. Accept the Terms. A screen will pop up asking you to accept the terms. Since you can’t use the software without hitting I agree, I would just select the option.

6. Select the Maya Download. After you hit agree, you should see the software at the bottom of the page for you to open.

7. Restart your Computer. Make sure that you do not have any unsaved work on your computer and press “yes.” Your computer will not restart

8. Setup Initialization. After your computer restarts, there should be a “Setup Initialization” box automatically show up on your screen.

9. Install. Press the “Install” Button.

10. Select Location. Double-check to make sure the download is going to the right spot and that you have both “Autodesk Maya” and “Arnold for Maya” checked as well. You can now press the “Install” button.

11. Finish. The program will take about an hour to download, depending on your computer, so feel free to take a small break and wait patiently while your program loads. Once the software has finished installing, select the “finish” button.

12. Update. After you finish, there will be an icon at the bottom of your screen. Open that up and you will be prompted, again, to agree to the terms of condition. Before you open up Maya, you will want to update the software by selecting the “Update” button.

13. Restart your Computer. Once again, you will have to restart your computer. Make sure you don’t have any unsaved work and press “restart.” The updates shouldn’t take as long as the installation.

14. Launch Autodesk Maya. When your computer has finished restarting, you want to open Autodesk Maya, agree to the terms and there you go! You are not free to use Autodesk Maya and create some really awesome animations!

 

Autodesk Maya can be a complicated tool to use, but once you have an understanding of how Autodesk Maya works, you will be able to use any other 3D animation software with ease. Check the links below for some beginner tutorials. Have fun!

 

Get started with Autodesk Maya:

World of Level Design provides a great resource for those starting out with Maya. Videos are broken down into around 10-minute segments.

Online Media Tutor helps you learn Autodesk Maya with a project from start to finish.

The Animator’s Survival Kit should be in every animator’s toolkit! This book is the bible of animation and shows you the principles of animation.

If you have any other suggestions for learning 3D animation, comment below!

 

Beginning Animation: The Process

The animation process can seem very daunting to many. Most think that they need industry-standard animation software to do any kind of animation. In this section, you will be able to see how animation can be done by using the tools that you already have!

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All photos were taken by me.

The Top 5 Reasons to Learn Animation

Autodesk Maya is the most popular and used 3-D animation software used in the industry.

Usually, when people think of animation, they think of children’s films and television shows. Although animation has a big reputation in the entertainment industry, you do not have to be an animator or filmmaker to benefit from using animation. In this list, you will see the five major reasons to start using animation, no matter what field you are in.

1. Animation can serve many of your needs. Animation is more than just moving puppets or characters around. Motion graphics, visual effects, stop-motion, 3-D, 2-D and traditional animation are all areas that you can learn from. Learning motion graphics is a great way to go if you are looking to add some cool graphics to videos or marketing materials. If you want to add stunning effects to your videos that wow your audience, then visual effects is the way to go! Perhaps you do not want to take a long time to learn something, but you would still like to use animation in your everyday life. If that is the case, then I would highly recommend stop-motion animation! All you need to do to create awesome stop-motion videos is a camera and a something to move. Seriously, you would be amazed what kinds of creations you can make just by throwing random stuff together! It does not matter if you are tech-savvy or not, anyone can learn animation and you can easily start creating animations with the tools you already have! If you decide to get into more 3-D work, there are many programs online that help people create stunning animations! Try and research how you can use animation in your field to your advantage!
2. Grabs an Audience’s Attention. As most people know, movement is one of the best ways to catch people’s attention. So what better way, than to use animation! Animation is one of the easiest ways for people to get their messages across to others. Why? Since it can take hours to create a simple animation, you have to make sure that the message you are sending across to your audience is simple and easy to understand. This makes it a great tool to use for people of all ages!
3. Expands Your Creativity. Creating animation is a fun and creative way to create content, but throwing something random together will not be enough. As the creator, you have to think of making something that relates to the message that you want to communicate to your audience. Animation is a long process, so you will have to plan out your ideas as much as you can, so that you can minimize any unnecessary time. The more you practice creating new, effective ideas in a short time frame, the better your creative process will be! Practicing the art of animation will help you think outside the box and fuel your creative juices!
4. Enhances Your Technological Skills. So, we mentioned before that you do not have to be tech-savvy to do animation and that is somewhat true. Depending on the type of animation that you do, it will have an effect on the amount of software you will have to learn. Don’t worry, though! If you are just starting out in animation, there is free software available to help you get started. With that said, no matter what kind of animation that you do, you will be learning new software and skills that will help you in your career.
5. Animation Adds a Skill to Your Resume. Animation is a growing field and there are plenty areas in animation to get into. Think of the  people in your field who currently use animation. Usually, when people are in one industry, it is not likely that they will branch out to other areas. Animation has the benefit of being able to benefit you in whichever line of work you are in. Learning animation requires lots of patience and time. Being able to present work of animation, alone, shows commitment. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to create animations, you are showing others that you care a lot and are willing to put in the work to get things done. Use animation to your advantage and start animating today!

A 3-D night scene that was textured and lighted in Autodesk Maya by me. The scene was modeled by Saman Moayer.

Each area of animation offers many benefits. Whether you own a business or are creating an effective PowerPoint presentation, animations will greatly enhance your work in whichever area you are in! To check out some awesome resources to learn animation, check out the links below.

Animation Resources

Bloop Animation – A great resource for those curious about the journey of creating animations!

The Animation Anomaly – A great resource for learning animation news.