Alembic Workflow

2026-04-13

16 min read

The following document describes how to configure Prism for a Maya-Alembic referencing workflow.

Included Departments: Modeling, Surfacing, Rigging, Animation, Lighting

The goal is to automate the workflow from Modeling to Lighting as much as possible, ensuring that artists no longer need to worry about the import process or deal with export settings, allowing them to focus on their actual tasks.

This involves various steps, such as importing necessary products for each department and applying pre-configured export settings based on the relevant department.

Hint

This document offers a general workflow guideline. While it provides a recommended best practice approach, it is designed to be flexible and can be adapted to meet individual project requirements.

Prerequisites

Disable USD

If the USD Plugin is enabled for other projects, it can be disabled explicitly for the Maya-Alembic referencing workflow project:

Prism Settings > Project > General > Disabled Plugins > Open the dropdown > Select USD

Note

Technically speaking, this workflow can be combined with USD, but unless specifically needed, it is recommended to turn off USD.

Add State Defaults

To take full advantage of the Maya Alembic referencing workflow, default export settings can be configured in advance based on:

• Entity (e.g., Characters, Environments, Sequences, Shots)

• Department (e.g., Modeling, Animation, Lighting)

• Task (e.g., Texturing, Animation, Compositing)

For example, if a default "Export" state is set for Surfacing, it automatically applies to all Surfacing tasks. This eliminates the need for artists to manually configure export settings each time.

Note

States need to be defined via the Prism Settings inside of Maya to ensure all available export settings are exposed.

Default "Export" state for Modeling:

Create an "Export" state via the Project Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > States > State Defaults > "+" > Export

Open the "State Settings" via the "wheel" icon and apply the following settings:

Open the "Default for" settings via the "pen" icon and add the Modeling task from the dropdown list (1):

Hint

"Default for" specifies the task to which the default state applies. The dropdown (1) shows all available project tasks.

Default "Export" state for Surfacing:

Create an "Export" state via the Project Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > States > State Defaults > "+" > Export

Open the "State Settings" via the "wheel" icon and apply the same settings to those used in Modeling.

Open the "Default for" settings via the "pen" icon and add Surfacing from the dropdown list next to "Tasks".

Default "Export" state for Rigging:

Create an "Export" state via the Project Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > States > State Defaults > "+" > Export

Open the "State Settings" via the "wheel" icon and apply the same settings to those used in Modeling.

Open the "Default for" settings via the "pen" icon and add Rigging from the dropdown list next to "Tasks".

Default "Export" state for Animation:

Create an "Export" state via the Project Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > States > State Defaults > "+" > Export

Open the "State Settings" via the "wheel" icon and apply the following settings:

Open the "Default for" settings via the "pen" icon and add Animation from the dropdown list.

Summary of default "Export" states:

The following "Export" states have been created:

Prism Settings > Project > States > State Defaults

Scene Building Settings

Product Tags:

All exported products will be tagged by default. This helps Prism to identify which products should be imported into specific departments or tasks during Scene Building.

Default "Product Tags" are available in the Project Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > General > Product Tags > Manage Product Tags

Hint

Product Names and Tags can be customized as needed. The dropdown (1) lists all available "Product Tags". Furthermore additional items (2) can be added.

The Maya Alembic referencing workflow, uses the default predefined "Product Tags". No change is needed to proceed.

Maya - Scene Building Settings:

All Scene Building steps can be configured via the Prism Settings:

Prism Settings > Project > Scene Building > Maya

The following steps will be configured:

Hint

Additional steps can be added from the dropdown list (1). Right-click any existing step to access options for removing it ("Remove") or changing its order (Move Up/Move Down).

Keep the default settings for:

Set Framerange

Set FPS

Import Shot Cameras

Adjust the settings for:

Create Model Hierarchy (Modeling)

Import Products (Modeling + Surfacing)

Import Products (Rigging)

Import Products (Animation)

Apply Alembic Caches (Lighting)

Create Model Hierarchy (Modeling):

Open the step settings (Edit Settings...) via the "wheel" icon.

In the "Step Settings - Create Model Hierarchy" window, open the "Apply to tasks" settings via the "pen" icon, then add Modeling from the dropdown list to set the following selection: *-*-Modeling

Import Products (Modeling + Surfacing):

Open the step settings (Edit Settings...) via the "wheel" icon.

In the "Step Settings - Import Products" window, open the "Apply to tasks" settings via the "pen" icon, then add Modeling and Surfacing from the dropdown list to set the following selection: *-*-Modeling, Surfacing

Set the "Mode" to Reference.

Leave the "Namespace" field empty.

Import Products (Rigging):

Open the step settings (Edit Settings...) via the "wheel" icon.

In the "Step Settings - Import Products" window, open the "Apply to tasks" settings via the "pen" icon, then add Rigging from the dropdown list to set the following selection: *-*-Rigging

Set the "Mode" to Import.

Leave the "Namespace" field empty.

Import Products (Animation):

Open the step settings (Edit Settings...) via the "wheel" icon.

In the "Step Settings - Import Products" window, open the "Apply to tasks" settings via the "pen" icon, then add Animation from the dropdown list to set the following selection: *-*-Animation

Set the "Mode" to Reference.

Set the "Namespace" to {entity}{#}_{task}.

Apply Alembic Caches (Lighting):

Open the step settings (Edit Settings...) via the "wheel" icon.

In the "Step Settings - Apply Alembic Caches" window, open the "Apply to tasks" settings via the "pen" icon, then add Lighting from the dropdown list to set the following selection: *-*-Lighting

Hint

Each department below provides a more detailed description of what each Scene Building step involves.

Access Scene Building:

The Scene Building tool can be launched via the Project Browser:

Project Browser > Scenefiles tab > Files > Context menu > Build new Scene

Note

Scene Building is only available in the Project Browser of the respective supported DCC.

Modeling

Scene Building Modeling:

Launch Maya and open the Project Browser inside Maya.

Run the Scene Building in the Modeling task of an selected Asset (see "Access Scene Building").

An initial scenefile "v0001" with the comment "Scene Building" has been created.

All specified Scene Building steps have been executed. This includes the "Create Model Hierarchy" step which creates a basic structure to work with:

Note

It is recommended that a similar structure is used for assets, as shown in the above image. This is especially important for the "geo" subgroup, which should contain all geometry. The hierarchy will allow Prism to automatically apply the animation cache in Lighting.

In addition, this hierarchy ensures that Alembic caches are not overwritten when the same asset is loaded multiple times with different animations in a scene.

Export Modeling:

The model can be published (exported) to make it available for downstream departments.

As the prerequisite "State Defaults" have already been created, the model can now be exported using the Prism Export tool via the tool shelf.

The Export window shows that Prism has detected and preselected the model based on the model hierarchy, as well as the "State Defaults" set for Modeling.

Add a comment and confirm by clicking "Export".

The model has been published as "Modeling" product, and since the default "Product Tags" are in place, the product has been tagged with to_surf to make it available to the Surfacing department.

Surfacing

Scene Building Surfacing:

Launch Maya and open the Project Browser inside Maya.

Run the Scene Building in the Surfacing task of an selected Asset (see "Access Scene Building").

An initial scenefile "v0001" with the comment "Scene Building" has been created.

All specified Scene Building steps have been executed. This includes the "Import Products" step which imports (reference) the Modeling product.

Export Surfacing:

The model can be published (exported) to make it available for downstream departments.

As the prerequisite "State Defaults" have already been created, the model can now be exported using the Prism Export tool via the tool shelf.

The Export window shows that Prism has detected and preselected the model based on the model hierarchy, as well as the "State Defaults" set for Surfacing.

Add a comment and confirm by clicking "Export".

The model has been published as "Surfacing" product, and since the default "Product Tags" are in place, the product has been tagged with to_rig to make it available to the Rigging department.

In addition, the "Surfacing" product has been tagged with static to indicate that it is the target for the animation cache in Lighting. This tag ensures that the product is imported and that the animation cache is applied to it.

Rigging

Scene Building Rigging:

Launch Maya and open the Project Browser inside Maya.

Run the Scene Building in the Rigging task of an selected Asset (see "Access Scene Building").

An initial scenefile "v0001" with the comment "Scene Building" has been created.

All specified Scene Building steps have been executed. This includes the "Import Products" step which imports (import) the Surfacing product.

Export Rigging:

The model can be published (exported) to make it available for downstream departments.

As the prerequisite "State Defaults" have already been created, the model can now be exported using the Prism Export tool via the tool shelf.

The Export window shows that Prism has detected and preselected the model based on the model hierarchy, as well as the "State Defaults" set for Rigging.

Add a comment and confirm by clicking "Export".

The model has been published as "Rigging" product, and since the default "Product Tags" are in place, the product has been tagged with to_anm to make it available to the Animation department.

Animation

Connect Assets:

Before work on a shot can begin, the required assets have to be linked. These assets will then be loaded during Scene Building.

Right-click on any shot in the Project Browser and and click "Connect Assets...".

In the "Connect Entities" window select all required assets.

Confirm with "Apply" and a popup window shows all connected assets.

Hint

Hold Shift to select multiple assets. Use Ctrl + left-click to specify the number of connections for the selected asset.

Scene Building Animation:

Launch Maya and open the Project Browser inside Maya.

Run the Scene Building in the Animation task of an selected Shot (see "Access Scene Building").

An initial scenefile "v0001" with the comment "Scene Building" has been created.

All specified Scene Building steps have been executed. This includes the "Import Products" step which imports (reference) the Rigging products of all connected assets.

Export Animation:

Animation caches can be published (exported) to make them available for downstream departments.

As the prerequisite "State Defaults" have already been created, the animation caches can now be exported using the "Prism Batch Export" tool via the tool shelf.

Right-click on the Export icon in the tool shelf and select "Export Multiple Assets...".

The "Batch Export" window shows that Prism has detected all available asset. For each found asset, "Identifiers" have been defined and the "geo" subgroup have been selected.

Confirm by clicking "Export".

The "Prism Batch Export" tool will create export states for each detected asset and uses the "State Defaults" set for Animation.

Animation caches have been published, and since the default "Product Tags" are in place, all products have been tagged with animated to make them available to the Lighting department.

Lighting

Scene Building Lighting:

Launch Maya and open the Project Browser inside Maya.

Run the Scene Building in the Lighting task of an selected Shot (see "Access Scene Building").

An initial scenefile "v0001" with the comment "Scene Building" has been created.

All specified Scene Building steps have been executed. This time instead of using the "Import Products" step, the "Apply Alembic Caches" step have been executed.

This step checks for available animation caches. For each found cache the corresponding Surfacing product which is tagged with static will be referenced.

Subsequently, the animation caches will be applied to each referenced Surfacing product.

Note

It is important that the Asset product (in this example from Surfacing) is tagged with static and that the animation cache is tagged with animated in order that the "Apply Alembic Caches" step is working properly.

Render Lighting:

Once everything is set the shot can be rendered using the "Prism Render" tool via the tool shelf.

Configure the settings, add a comment and confirm by clicking "Render".

The render output can be reviewed in the "Media" tab of the Project Browser.

Benefits

• If Modeling is updating the model, Surfacing will automatically receive the update the next time the scenefile gets loaded.

• If Surfacing is updating materials, Lighting will automatically receive the update the next time the scenefile gets loaded.

• If Animation is updating animations, Lighting will automatically receive these updates.

Limitations

• Whenever the model gets changes, Surfacing will get these updates but Rigging needs to reimport the latest product and redo some rigging tasks. However, this approach helps to prevent rigs from breaking.

• The workflow is not entirely using Referencing (for example not during Rigging) to avoid deep references which could lead to several issue in Maya.

While this workflow aims to balance automation and usability, it has some limitations as described above.

For a fully non-destructive and procedural workflow, consider testing and using USD in Maya.

Further Reading

Scene Building

Alongside the Maya-Alembic referencing workflow, additional details on Scene Building can be found on the Scene Building page.

Prism-Maya integration

Alongside the Maya-Alembic referencing workflow, additional details on the Prism-Maya integration can be found on the Maya Plugin page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there so many prerequisites for Scene Building settings?

The default steps in Prism are designed to be more generic, so they can be used for a variety of workflows.

For the Maya-Alembic referencing workflow, everything should be automated as much as possible, which is why there are many prerequisites.

Why do we use ".ma" files instead of ".mb" files for the "Export" states of all Asset departments?

To be able to use master versions without file locking difficulties.

File formats like ".abc" and ".mb" are binary files. These come with the advantages of a compact file size and faster loading times since they get loaded directly from memory. However, the way they get loaded from memory (memory-mapped), they lead to file locking (e.g., if an artist has opened the file and another artist tries to publish to the same file, a file locking error message will appear from the operating system.

Master Versions in Prism come with the following advantage: If a department publishes a product and that product is referenced in a downstream department, the product in the downstream department is automatically updated to the latest version. Without master versions, the version has to be manually updated in the downstream department (Prism will show a popup if a newer version is available).

Why do we disable master versions on ".abc" files for the Animation "Export" state?

To avoid file locking difficulties.

File formats like ".abc" and ".mb" are binary files. These come with the advantages of a compact file size and faster loading times since they get loaded directly from memory. However, the way they get loaded from memory (memory-mapped), they lead to file locking (e.g., if an artist has opened the file and another artist tries to publish to the same file, a file locking error message will appear from the operating system.

Master Versions in Prism come with the following advantage: If a department publishes a product and that product is referenced in a downstream department, the product in the downstream department is automatically updated to the latest version. Without master versions, the version has to be manually updated in the downstream department (Prism will show a popup if a newer version is available).

Why is the "Import Products" step added 3x in the Scene Building settings?

To have full control over which products are imported into which department and which import settings are used.

Why does the asset get imported rather than referenced in the "Import Products" step of Rigging?

Nested references could cause the rigs in Maya to break. To avoid this, the Rigging Department will import all necessary products to ensure the rigs stay functional.

Why are the Maya namespaces for the asset departments not included?

To keep the Maya Outliner clean, namespaces are not included for all asset departments. In addition, this will prevent double namespaces like Sparrow_Surfacing:Sparrow_Modeling:Sparrow.