Maya

Where a studio has a long-running character pipeline, it usually runs on Maya: modelling and UVs, skinning and rigging, keyframe animation and motion capture cleanup. Its scripting interface is a large part of the reason, because custom rigs and exporters are built around it.

Knowing the package is rarely enough on its own. Adverts pair it with the engine the assets end up in and with the neighbouring tools — ZBrush for sculpting, Substance for materials, Blender or 3ds Max where a pipeline is mixed.

What a team actually tests for is the handover: a file with clean naming, correct scale and pivots, a rig an animator can use and a mesh that deforms. The software is the easy part to learn; the pipeline conventions around it are what take time.