PXLtools — Tool guide

TurnTable — Maya Builder + Nuke Comp Setup

A two-part turntable pipeline for presenting models and shaders the way a supervisor expects to review them. The Maya Builder sets up scene, lighting, and render layers; the Nuke Comp Setup builds and drives the review comp. Both share one UI kit and a guided, gated flow, and both auto-update from GitHub on launch — so a clean, client-ready turntable is a few clicks, not a pipeline project.

PXLtools v1.4.9 Colour ACES 1.2
Get it on the store ↗ How to install
TurnTable Builder interface preview

The interface

01

Overview

TurnTable is a two-part turntable pipeline for presenting models and shaders the way a supervisor expects to review them. It ships as a Maya Builder that sets up the scene, lighting and render layers, and a Nuke Comp Setup tool that builds and drives the review comp.

The two tools share one UI kit, so they feel like a single product, and both auto-update from GitHub the moment you launch them. It was forged on the Thresholds production and built so small teams can run a clean turntable without a pipeline department behind them.

02

Requirements

Maya 2025 already includes PySide6. You do not install it, you do not pip anything, you do not touch your Python environment.

03

ACES 1.2 — required, not optional

TurnTable is built for ACES 1.2 colour management. The scene, the lighting, the HDRIs and the render layers all assume it. If Maya and Nuke are not set to ACES 1.2, your textures and renders come out wrong — washed out, mis-graded, or colour-shifted. Set this up before you load the turntable.

The clean way: one system-wide OCIO variable

The most reliable setup is a single OCIO environment variable on your system. Set it once and every DCC — Maya, Nuke, and anything else — reads the same ACES 1.2 config automatically. No per-app fiddling, no drift between tools.

  1. Download the ACES 1.2 OCIO config — colour-science / OpenColorIO-Configs v1.2. Unzip it somewhere permanent and note the path to aces_1.2/config.ocio.
  2. Set a system environment variable named OCIO whose value is the full path to that config.ocio file.
  3. Restart Maya / Nuke. With OCIO set, Maya switches on Colour Management and “Use OCIO configuration” automatically on launch, and Nuke uses the same config — both tools now in lockstep.

Watch the walkthrough. The full step-by-step for installing ACES 1.2 as an OCIO environment variable is here — How to set up OCIO / ACES 1.2 colour management (video). If you would rather not use a system variable, the video also shows how to point each tool at the config by hand — but then it is on you to keep every tool on ACES 1.2.

Confirm it is actually on

Maya

Read the viewport

With ACES 1.2 active, the viewport heads-up (top of the panel) shows the view transform as sRGB (ACES). If you see that, Maya is correct.

Nuke

Project Settings · Color

Colour Management must be OCIO (using the ACES 1.2 config) — not the default Nuke option. If it reads Nuke, the comp will not match the render.

Maya viewport heads-up display showing the view transform reading sRGB (ACES), confirming ACES 1.2 colour management is active
Maya · the viewport heads-up reads sRGB (ACES)
Nuke Project Settings Color tab showing color management set to OCIO, the OCIO environment variable note, and ACES working-space rows
Nuke · Project Settings → Color → color management: OCIO

04

Install

TurnTable is free for 30 days, then $15 on the PXLmentor store. Claim it there and you are emailed your licence key and your own copy of INSTALL.py — that copy already carries the key, which is why the download comes from the email rather than from here. No GitHub account, no token. You only need an internet connection at install time.

Get TurnTable on the store

Maya

Drag and drop

Download INSTALL.py and drag it from a file browser straight into a running Maya viewport. It installs the Maya module, the Nuke toolbox, optionally the turntable asset pack (you will be prompted), and builds the PXLtools shelf.

To update later, drag the same file in again. That is the whole process.

Nuke

One-line install

Nuke cannot run a dragged file, so the install is a single line. Paste it into Nuke's Script Editor on the Python side and run it. It installs or updates only the Nuke side and rebuilds the PXLtools menu live. No restart.

Nuke Script Editor · Python tab

Copy the one-line install from your licence email — it carries your key.

That is the whole install — there is no separate zip to hunt down. INSTALL.py pulls everything it needs.

05

Auto-update

Both tools check for a newer stable release on launch, in the background, and never block the tool. When a new version ships, you get it without thinking about it.

To force a check yourself, use the Check for Updates button in the tool header — it updates both the tool and the turntable asset pack, and tells you if you are already current.

The header menu. Top-right of every tool header there is a ☰ menu button. Click it for Check for Updates (checks both the tool and the turntable asset pack), View Guide (opens this page), and Settings ▸ Reset to defaults. The version shown in the header and title is always the current release. Hover any important control in the tools to see a tooltip explaining what it does.

06

Using the Maya TurnTable Builder

The Builder has two tabs: 1 · SETUP and 2 · RENDER.

The step-gating flow

Every numbered step is gated. This is the part worth understanding once before you start.

Step states at a glance

Green — done

This step has already been satisfied. No action needed.

Orange — do this now

The one enabled step. Complete it, and the next step wakes up.

Grey — locked

Intentionally un-clickable until it is its turn. Finish the orange step first.

The tool walks you through the correct order. You cannot do step 3 before step 1. If a button looks dead, that is the gating doing its job — finish the orange step and the next one enables.

Maya Builder SETUP tab showing the guided flow: 01 Scene Setup, 02 Model, 03 Lighting, with step-gating states illustrated
Maya Builder · SETUP tab — guided flow with step-gating

The interface, area by area

Every section is colour-coded and collapsible. Here is what each one does, top to bottom.

TurnTable Builder Folder Setup section: Turntable Root Folder path with Browse and Set Root Folder, an ACES 1.2 colour management status pill, and an OpenCV install row
Folder Setup — point the tool at your TurnTable_ROOT, confirm ACES 1.2 is active, and (optionally) install OpenCV for HDRI preview thumbnails.
TurnTable Builder Scene and Frames section: Load Turntable Scene button, Frame Start and Frame End sliders, and Apply Frame Range
Scene & Frames — load the turntable rig as a reference, set the start/end frames for the spin, then Apply.
TurnTable Builder Model section: Shader Ball versus Your Model toggle, Capture Selected, and Maintain Offset
Model — present a built-in Shader Ball or your own geometry: Capture Selection, Align to Ground, then Attach to Turntable. Maintain Offset keeps its position where you placed it.
TurnTable Builder Lighting and Visibility section: visibility checkboxes, grid scale toggle 10cm or 1mt, backdrop toggle HDRI or Limbo, and RenderView and Render buttons
Lighting & Visibility — toggle what is visible (model, shader ball, charts, floor grid, ref cubes), pick the grid scale (10 cm / 1 mt), and scale / position the Macbeth chart and reference ball.
TurnTable Builder HDRI Environment section: rotation slider, a grid of six HDRI slots with the first active, and Replace Active Slot
HDRI — click a preset HDRI (Studio, Day Overcast, Direct Sun, Cloudy Sun, Night, Night Neon) or add your own in a Custom slot, set the starting angle, choose the backdrop (HDRI or Limbo), and preview with an Arnold RenderView.
TurnTable Builder Render Layers section: HDRI slot checkboxes, Select All and Deselect All, Include Charts Layers, Create Render Layers, and Delete TT Render Layers
Render Layers — tick the HDRI slots you want as layers, optionally include the charts layers, then Create Render Layers.
TurnTable Builder Render Turntable section: resolution dropdown and Render Turntable button
Render Turntable — set the frame range and resolution, then render every turntable layer in sequence with the active renderer. (Save your scene first — render names follow the scene file name.)

SETUP tab

Work top to bottom. The orange step is always your next action.

01 Scene Setup

  1. Load Turntable Scene. Brings the rig in as a reference.
  2. Apply Frame Range. Set the start and end frames (default 1001 to 1200), then press Apply. Skip this and you have no animation.

02 Model

Choose Shader Ball or Your Model, then attach what you are presenting.

03 Lighting

Pick the HDRI environment, the backdrop, and your Arnold settings.

Clear Scene

At the bottom of the SETUP tab. Removes the turntable reference but keeps your model. There is an option to also remove the TT render layers if you want a full clean.

RENDER tab

Maya Builder RENDER tab showing HDRI slots including Studio, Day Overcast, Direct Sun, Cloudy Sun, Night, Night Neon, and two custom slots, plus the Create Render Layers button
Maya Builder · RENDER tab — HDRI slots and Create Render Layers

Render Layers Setup

  1. Tick the HDRI slots you want: Studio, Day Overcast, Direct Sun, Cloudy Sun, Night, Night Neon, plus two custom slots.
  2. Optionally tick Include Charts Layers.
  3. Press Create Render Layers.

Render Turntable

Kick off the render.

Tip: Save your scene first. Render names derive from the scene file name, so a saved, sensibly named scene gives you sensible outputs.

07

Using the Nuke TurnTable Comp Setup

Same guided, gated flow as the Maya tool. Work the orange step, the next one opens.

The interface, area by area

Every section is colour-coded and collapsible, exactly like the Maya Builder. Here is what each one does, top to bottom.

Nuke TurnTable Comp Setup Preliminary Steps: ACES 1.2 colour management check marked done, Browse Working Folder active, and Set Working Folder locked
Preliminary Steps — confirm Nuke is on the ACES 1.2 OCIO config, then point the project directory at your TurnTable_ROOT/_COMP folder — every asset the comp uses (template, HDRI previews, Dirt, LUT, session) resolves from there. Finish each orange step to unlock the next.
Nuke Comp Setup section: Import Template, Render Location and Frames with format and frame range, and Asset Info fields for Type, Asset Name, Dept, Version and User
Comp Setup — load the turntable comp template, browse to the render location (the folder holding the RL_hdri_XX / RL_charts_XX render layers), apply your format and frame range, then Auto-fill the asset Type, Name, Dept and Version.
Nuke Visual Options section: HDRI, Render Type and Background dropdowns, BG Color and Wire Color swatches, and an Activate Comp Effects checkbox
Visual Options — pick the HDRI environment, the render type (Beauty, Clay, UV, Wireframe) and the background (HDRI or Colour), and set the BG and wireframe colours. Everything updates the comp live — no Apply button.
Nuke Comp Effects Settings section: Z Defocus with Focus Plane, Depth of Field, Blur Size and View Output, plus Lens Dirt and LUT strength sliders and a LUT File browse
Comp Effects Settings — optional look controls: Z-Defocus depth-of-field (switch View Output to Focal Plane, set the focus distance against the depth map, then dial DoF and blur), plus Lens Dirt and a LUT with adjustable strength.
Nuke Tech Settings section: Visual toggles for Occlusion, Shadow, BG Ramp and Vignetting with intensity, and Extra Info toggles for Asset Info, Reference Images, HDRI Previews and Balls and Charts
Tech Settings — toggle the extra passes and overlays (Occlusion, Shadow, BG Ramp, Vignetting with intensity) and choose which info blocks burn into the frame: Asset Info, Reference Images, HDRI Previews, Balls & Charts.
Nuke References section: Translate and Scale controls, a single large reference image slot with a loaded concept image, and a six-slot contact sheet
References — drop concept / reference images into the single large slot or the six-slot contact sheet, and position them with Translate and Scale. They sit alongside your render for art-direction.
Nuke Export section: Output Folder with Browse, Name with Auto and Add version, Format and Colorspace dropdowns, and Create Write Node and Apply to Selected buttons
Export — set the output folder and name (Auto builds it from the asset info), pick MP4 or a sequence and the output colourspace, then Create the Write node and render.

Preliminary Steps

  1. Check ACES 1.2 Config.
  2. Browse to your working folder.
  3. Set Working Folder.

Comp Setup

  1. Load the Turntable Template.
  2. Browse the render location.
  3. Apply Project Settings.
  4. Fill in Asset Info: Type, Department, Asset name, Version.

Visual Options

Set the background and wireframe colour.

Comp Effects Settings

Vignette (default intensity 0.25), Z-Defocus, and the other look controls live here.

Export

  1. Set the output name and version.
  2. Choose PNG sequence or MP4.
  3. Create the Write node and render.

08

Troubleshooting

The tool did not update.

Click Check for Updates (the refresh icon) in the tool header — it forces a fresh check of both the tool and the asset pack, even if an earlier check was skipped. On Nuke you can also re-run the install one-liner.

A button is greyed out and I cannot click it.

That is the step-gating doing its job. The grey steps are intentionally locked. Find the orange step — that is your current action. Completing it will unlock the next one.

Load Turntable Scene cannot find the file.

The asset pack is not installed. Re-drag INSTALL.py into Maya and accept the asset pack prompt when it appears.