Google Cloud Platform announced the public beta of Zync, its cloud-native rendering solution. Google acquiredZync last August to incorporate specialized computing capabilities for visual effects production in the cloud.  According to Google’s representative, “As part of Zync, artists will get access to 1,600 dedicated Compute Engine cores to power your V-Ray, Arnold and Nuke-based renders. Integration of the upcoming release of the popular Renderman software with Zync by Google Cloud Platform was also announced.

The update to Renderman is expected to be released by Pixar later in August.  When it is, Google Cloud Platform users “will have easy access to Google’s incredible cloud rendering infrastructure from their favorite CG software packages.”

With Zync now powered by Google Cloud Platform, artists get the economic benefits of Google’s cloud infrastructure, which enables them spin-up compute nodes on-demand in minutes, while per-minute billing ensures they only pay for what they render with no wasted overhead. In today’s announcement, Google Cloud Platform further reduced on-demand prices for another 15-25 percent for all supported applications.

Google Cloud Platform’s SIGGRAPH update included news that their partner Avere Systems recently announced general availability of their high-performance NAS for Google Cloud Platform, “helping customers bridge compute and storage-intensive workloads seamlessly between on-prem and the cloud.”

Earlier this year at ETC’s Virtual Media Management in the Cloud Conference, Jeff Kember, cloud solutions architect, Google Cloud Platform, illustrated transcoding, rendering, simulation and compositing workloads in his VFX Production in the Cloud talk.  His presentation can be viewed on YouTube.