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.

Video Tutorial

If you want to skip the video and just run the example graphs, follow these steps:

Getting Started

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.

Running the example graph

• 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