DreamWorks will make its own rendering software MoonRay open source

Dreamworks is going to make its rendering tool MoonRay open source. The software has been used to make How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Bad Guys, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which is due for release in December.

MoonRay comes with an extensive library of textures and materials that have been tested on multiple productions. In addition, the software is not based on older code. DreamWorks will open source its cloud rendering framework Arras alongside MoonRay. By using the tools side by side, the user can, among other things, simultaneously display multiple lighting conditions or locations in an environment.

“Demand for rendering at scale is growing every year, and MoonRay can meet that need. We expect the codebase to improve through community involvement,” writes Andrew Pearce, vice president of global technology at DreamWorks, in a statement.

MoonRay will be available later this year under an Apache 2.0 license. Interested parties can contact DreamWorks to see if they eligible for early access to the tool.

The Bad Guys (2022). Source: DreamWorks