Tutorial: Using point-e in Autodesk Maya
This tutorial will get you started using point point-e in Autodesk Maya with Bifrost. point-e is OpenAI's text-to-3D model that generates point clouds from complex prompts.
In this tutorial we will:
- Use Maya's python script editor to send prompts to the point-e model using the Replicate API
- Create a Bifrost graph to store and visualize the resultant point cloud
- Explore some practical examples of how to manipulate the point clouds using Bifrost
Result are usually returned in around 1 minute, but the first run could take closer to 3 minutes. See Replicate's info on Cold boots to find out more.
If you want to skip the video and just run the example graphs, follow these steps:
This tuturial uses Maya 2023 and Bifrost 2.6, but should work with Maya 2022 and Bifrost 2.5 and later.
First we need to install the replicate
library using mayapy
, Maya's Python interpreter:
-
On MAC: Open Terminal and run the following command:
/Applications/Autodesk/maya2023/Maya.app/Contents/bin/mayapy -m pip install replicate
-
On PC: Run Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following commands:
"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2023\bin\mayapy.exe" -m pip install replicate
Next, verify replicate was installed correctly:
-
Open Maya 2023
-
In the script editor, run the following commands in a Python tab:
import replicate
If you don't see an error, you should be good to go.
Lastly, you'll need a Replicate API token, which you can get by signing up for a Replicate account (or by logging in with your GitHub account), and going to your Account page.
- Download and open the
openai_point-e_tutorial.ma
file - Copy/paste the
point_e_to_bif_tutorial.py
script into a python tab in Maya's script editor - Copy/paste your Replicate API token between the single quotes in line 7 of the script:
API_KEY = ''
- Run the script. A prompt dialog will appear with a default prompt. Type your prompt and hit
OK
. The results should update in Maya's viewport in ~1 minutes when the - You can find some sample Bifrost graphs in examples for some ideas on how to continue working with your point clouds in Maya
Note: the Plexus example graph requires the MJCG Compound pack, which you can download here