Improve your ROI
- • Work in parallel across multiple stages of production
- • Speed up production processes
- • Achieve more within a day’s work
- • Get the most out of your resources
What is Katana?
Fast and formidable, Katana is a look development and lighting powerhouse that tackles creative challenges with ferocity and ease. It arms artists with the creative freedom and scalability to exceed the needs of today’s most demanding CG-rendering projects.
Features
Studios
Power up your pipeline
USD-optimised tech, combined with multiple APIs, five different commercial renderers and an open-sourced Shotgun TK integration, make Katana the Swiss Army knife of your pipeline.
See all featuresPioneering rendering
Katana’s Foresight Rendering workflows, comprised of Multiple Simultaneous Renders and Networked Interactive Rendering, provide artists with scalable feedback for faster iterations.
See all featuresArtists
Artist Focused Lighting
Light at the speed of thought thanks to cutting-edge Lighting Tools, empowering artists to light whole sequences of shots with Katana’s industry-leading, multi-shot workflows.
See all featuresCollaborative look development
Katana is made to drive look development of hero or high volume assets while seamlessly collaborating with shot production.
See all featuresKatana 6.0- What's new
Streamline your creative process at lightning speed with Katana 6.0. Optimize your projects, make non-destructive modifications, and preview the final result quicker so you can spend your time on what really matters. Bringing its best version yet with a new Performance tab and the Material Solo functionality, Katana 6.0 enables look development and lighting artists to push the limits of what they can do.
Benefits
Studios
World-class technology
- • Use Katana, Nuke and Mari together for unmatched power
- • Unlock pioneering production rendering workflows
- • Enjoy seamless integration with multiple renderers, APIs and USD
Artists
Hassle-free creativity
- • Implement art direction with precision
- • Make the right choices faster
- • Avoid layers of technical complexity
- • Solve problems faster and tackle the next challenge sooner
Perfect for teams
- • Share work seamlessly
- • Harmonize across departments
- • Safely integrate updates from downstream departments
- • Make and share tools that solve group problems
30 days to lighting success
Want to maximize your trialing experience? Follow along our calendar and, by the end of the 30 days, you’ll go from learning key concepts to discovering collaboration through LiveGroups, and everything in between. Get ticking and reach your goals!
Debunking the myths of pipeline integration
USD made easy: Katana ships with a ready-made USD plug-in to make the move to USD as cohesive and seamless as possible.
Vital integrations and collaborations, such as the Katana Shotgun TK open source plug-in, render farm plugins like Deadline and Qube, plus leading asset management software make Katana work seamlessly as part of any pipeline.
Our teams are committed to supporting your studio’s switch to Katana, and making its integration into your pipeline easy and seamless. To find out more about the deployment process, watch Katana Deployment Essentials.
ATOMIC FICTION
“我们在很短的时间内就完成大量镜头的布光......老实说，除Katana之外，其它任何布光软件都没有办法能做到这一点。”
SPIN VFX
“在一个场景文件中，就能完成10个，20个，甚至是上百个镜头。当凭这一点，我们就已经看到了生产力的大幅提升。”
ANIMAGRAD
“将我们之前的方法与目前的方法相比，Katana已经将我们的工时减少了80％！”
LAIKA
“我们在Katana进行了一些非常独特的操作......由此让3人团队在相对较短的时间内就完成了40个不同的奇怪角色。”
ILM
“因为我们在Katana为BB8设置了一堆布光模板，所以后续制作中，只用把BB8角色扔进去，加一些灯光，几个小时的处理看起来就非常真实了。”
SONY
“有些场景中有着数百万种独特的形状。好在有了Katana，让我们才能够优雅地处理这些具有纪念意义的场景。”
LAIKA
"I’ve never used anything that allows us to work on so many shots simultaneously and also handle asset look dev in one location. I really can’t imagine a pipeline without it."
WETA DIGITAL
"Katana has streamlined our lighting pipeline, freeing up our artists to focus more fully on their craft. The performance improvements in the new release should reduce artist iteration time and allow for more sophisticated lighting setups."
RODEO EFFECTS
"Katana will allow you to change your rendering pipeline to a rendering machine, and a rendering machine that goes twice as fast as anything else you might have up your sleeve."
SONY
"Katana looks to be a real benefit to our look dev teams in terms of speed and flexibility. We are excited about the potential for speedups in getting to first pixel for our shot lighting teams.”
WETA DIGITAL
"With Katana, we were able to block the lighting across the shot very quickly in a coherent way, just as a DP on set would have done."
Buy
$4,199/yr*
- Powerful look development and lighting
- Permanent, interactive artist session license with one-year maintenance plan
- Price shown is for a permanent license with one-year maintenance plan
- 3Delight interactive rendering included. Other renderers require their own license
- Request a callback
Request callback
$323/yr*
- Render license
- Permanent, command-line session license with one-year maintenance plan
- Allows the use of Katana in batch, shell, and script mode
- Required for command-line rendering with any renderer plugin
- Pricing by volume
Katana and Mari: the ultimate look development duo
Interoperability between Katana and Foundry’s 3D texture painting tool Mari is a huge part of Katana’s past and future development plans to streamline look development workflows everywhere.
Mari is built for today’s most complex creative challenges, shipping with the Arnold Standard Surface, Vray and 3Delight render engines, plus RenderMan for Mari. Using these, artists can paint textures in Mari with a higher degree of confidence that their art will look correct in the final render, reducing feedback loops between Mari and Katana, and offering a smoother look development process.
Who’s using Katana
Shaping the lighting artists of the future
Discover how UTS Animal Logic Academy is inspiring future artists, and giving them everything they need to succeed in their dream roles in the VFX industry.
Read now
Why Rodeo FX adopted Katana into their pipeline
Rodeo FX call Katana the best software for lighting on the market—here’s why.
Watch nowFAQ
How long does it take the average user to get used to Katana?
Artists who only have to work in a Katana pipeline can be trained in a day. Most people are very comfortable in their first week. Staff that need to make pipeline choices, teach others, etc. will need more time if they are new to Katana. If you need support with Katana, download our free 30 days to success Katana calendar with the latest tutorials, tips and tricks to support you on your journey.
Where can I find Katana tutorials?
For tips, tricks and tutorials to help you get up to speed with Katana, please visit the Katana Foundry Learn page.
How long does it take to get Katana set up in my pipeline?
This depends on how complex your existing pipeline is and what has to be changed. Some clients have been producing commercial work in the first month, whereas others have taken several months. Contact Foundry to have a conversation about how long it might take your team.
Where can I find case studies about studios like mine using Katana?
Studios of all sizes find success with Katana. Check out our Insights Hub for stories on how Katana works as part of a wider pipeline, different use cases and processes, and the benefits it brings to look development and lighting workflows.
What training resources and opportunities are there for studios and artists getting set up with Katana?
Foundry has an every growing set of learning resources. Independent artists and some schools have published resources. Katana licenses are available for individuals automatically for 30 days with the option to ask for a further 60 days extension if they are learning Katana at home.
How many Renders do I need per GUI?
This varies based on your particular scenario but we typically see clients using between 10 to 20 render licenses for each interactive license. Most clients do not use less than 5 render licenses per interactive license. With the Katana 4 Foresight workflows, render licenses can power additional interactive capacity for artists.
What is the licensing model?
Find out more about purchasing and licensing with our Licensing FAQs
Experience Katana
Get first-hand insight into how exactly Katana can fit into your pipeline.
Discover the creative capabilities of Katana with a free 30-day trial.