DreamWorks Animation Releases MoonRay 2.34 with Integrated Atmos System

Published on January 09, 2026 | Translated from Spanish
Screenshot of the MoonRay 2.34 rendering engine showing a scene with a realistic sky generated by the integrated Atmos system, with clouds and light scattering effects.

DreamWorks Animation Releases MoonRay 2.34 with Integrated Atmos System

DreamWorks Animation has released version 2.34 of its powerful rendering engine MoonRay, confirming its commitment to the open source model. The major novelty is the native integration of the Atmos system, a technology initially developed for the movie The Bad Guys, which allows creating dynamic skies directly. 🎬

Atmos Merges with MoonRay's Core

The inclusion of Atmos within the engine itself eliminates the dependency on external tools for generating skies. Artists can now manipulate the appearance of clouds and the atmosphere in real time while setting up the scene's lighting. The system calculates light scattering based on physical principles, ensuring visual coherence under any sunlight condition or weather state. This significantly accelerates the creative process.

Key advantages of the integration:
  • Create realistic skies without needing to preprocess or render layers separately.
  • Adjust atmospheric parameters in real time during the lighting and compositing phase.
  • Reduce the time spent on extensive manual adjustments in post-production.
Simulating an epic sunset now requires fewer clicks and more coffee, a resource that artists already master.

Enhanced Optimization and Stability

Version 2.34 not only adds new features but also focuses on optimizing performance and improving the user experience. Fixes have been implemented for complex scenes, and compatibility with various production environments has been expanded, responding to community feedback. 🚀

Implemented improvements:
  • Fix several reported issues to make the engine more stable and reliable.
  • Update the official documentation to include all new Atmos system parameters.
  • Facilitate adoption and integration of this technology by other studios in their pipelines.

An Open Future for Visual Production

By releasing MoonRay as open source and integrating proprietary tools like Atmos, DreamWorks democratizes access to cinematic-level technology. This move allows artists and small studios to produce high-quality renders with a more agile and less fragmented workflow, where simulating the atmosphere is no longer a bottleneck. 🌤️