Jewels split like cells in bloom,
A grid divides — no keyframes loom,
Caustics dance in Redshift’s room. ✨💎
Tried @therealentagma ’s Dividing Cell Grid algorithm — no keyframes, just VEX and attributes. Painted the geometry with custom jewel flakes material and tested Redshift’s new Brute Force Caustics. Works crazily well with dome lighting, it just needed some optimization to cleanup flickering, but the results? Worth it.
🎁 Want the Houdini shading breakdown and HIP file?
Comment “shiny” before June ends and I’ll send you the link.
#houdinifx #redshift3d #vfx #cgi #entagma #motiondesign #procedural #caustics #3drendering
Brick Generator Giveaway! 🎁
I’ve taken my Lego obsession to the next level by creating a procedural Lego brick generator! It’s fully customizable—1x1, 2x2, 2x4, or any configuration you can imagine.
✔️ Stems adjust for single or multi-row bricks.
✔️ UVs for the iconic Lego wordmark.
✔️ Resolution control for precision and optimization.
✔️ Realistic indentations from the studs for that authentic look.
If you want this Houdini Digital Asset, comment 'BRICK' below! Offer ends 31 Dec 2024. Don't miss out!
🎄 Merry Christmas and happy creating!
#lego #legobricks #houdinifx #3dmodeling #vfx #cgi #simulation #proceduralmodeling #merrychristmas #giveaway #3drendering #motiondesign
Curious about CGI hair simulation setups? Here's a walkthrough!
- Create low hair count of 200 as guides
- Simulate the guides
- Create high hair count of 200,000 actual hair strands
- Clump actual hairs based on simulated guides
- Create useful hair rendering attributes such as per strand, per clump, value along length, etc.
- Use a principled hair shader and override the restrictive melanin controls with your own albedo colors.
- Increase Trace Depth for light/blonde hair colors for hair shader's opacity maps to work as intended.
For those who need a detailed step-by-step tutorial, don't worry, it's part of Houdini Houdono Season 2's line up. Stay tuned!
#3d #hair #fur #groom #xgen #houdini #vfx #cgi #motion #design #motiondesign #simulation #colorful #animation #tutorial #walkthrough #bts #behindthescenes
So neat Ronald Fong! 😍 @ronald_fong created this Watercolor effect driven entirely by 3D geometry rasterisation. It was done in Houdini Copernicus using solver workflows and velocity extraction to push a fluid watercolor effect.
Ronald is an animation director and Educator specializing in CGI animation and 3D motion design, with years of working across diverse mediums like advertising, commercials, TV shows, games, and films. In addition to my directorial duties, I manage my Instagram and YouTube channel dedicated to share creative expertise through video tutorials for the larger creative community.
Join our Discord to meet many Houdini artists worldwide.
Link in bio.
#sidefxhoudini #copernicus #3d #watercolor #motiondesign
having spent 20 years with Maya, I have to say...
Blender is pretty amazing!
I'm measurably about 20x slower, but I love learning. So, here's to welcoming myself to Loop Cuts, Mark Seams, Origins, 3D cursor, Armatures and "what's that Rendering tab for?".
Also, cycles doesn't have curvature node? halp, anyone?
Thanks @odddough and @shkn_15 for the guidance!
Simply lovely
#blender3d #cgi #hexnut
Concrete vs Balloons.
Rough vs Smooth.
Grey vs Colors
Mass vs Air.
I’m always looking to build contrast into the frame. Light against dark. Hard against soft. Controlled against chaotic. Push the opposites far enough and the image starts to speak.
For some, this comes down to instinct.
For the rest of us, it helps to have a framework, deliberately designing contrast so the payoff feels earned, not accidental.
For fellow CGI peeps, this was driven by an animated falloff attribute on the pressure constraints, with strategic masking between two geometries to control the material transition.
Design is rarely random. It’s structured contrast.
#cgi #houdini #design #3dart
Recently watched a Bauhaus documentary, and it got me thinking about reduction and geometry.
At the same time, inspired by @thebenjmark 's layering capdev explorations in the studio. Grain. Chromatic fringing. Lens artefacts. Subtle camera blur.
On paper, these are “imperfections.” In practice, they warm the image. They soften the precision just enough. They humanise it.
I’m increasingly interested in how these analog touches shift the feel of CGI, how they make something digital feel more approachable, more tactile, more real. It may look like a pointless pursuit. An unhealthy obsession over detail.
But sometimes, these subtleties are the difference.
Sometimes that quiet layer of imperfection is what makes the image, and the brand behind it, feel human.
All these thoughts seeped into some RND I was doing. Good fun.
Happy Friday and have a super weekend fellow designers!
☝️ Swipe along for stills and other renders
Created in @sidefxhoudini@maxonredshift
#cgi #design #bauhaus #motiondesign
Watercolor effect, driven entirely by 3D geometry rasterisation.
Built this piece in Houdini Copernicus using solver workflows and velocity extraction to push a fluid watercolor effect. It’s a look that’s extremely tough to achieve with classic compositing alone. There’s still a lot more to explore here, but I’m happy leaving this experiment at this stage.
And yes, zero traditional 3D rendering involved.
☝️ Swipe to see the Copernicus network tree.
Comment “horse” if you want the Houdini file. 25 slots only. By 1 March 2026. If you see an error, then it's either fully redeemed, or expired.
Built in @sidefxhoudini — no Redshift this time.
Thanks @thebenjmark for always pushing, and @yyx08 who reignited my interest in Copernicus!
Happy CNY! 新年快乐，龙马精神!
AI gave me a hand — literally.
Been loosely testing a gen-AI → 3D workflow as a quick base model generator. It’s like 3D scanning, just more convenient (but much lower res). Not production-ready detail, but a solid starting point for blocking, testing, and building.
For me, this is where gen-AI makes sense: handling the laborious parts of the pipeline if it means I can spend more time to focus on image-making, motion-designing, and decisions that actually feel creative.
I’m less interested in letting it finish the artwork, but I know some of you are perfectly happy to watch AI take it all the way. 🤔
Where do you draw the line?
Created in @sidefxhoudini and @maxonredshift
#cgi #vfx #3dscan #houdinifx #redshift3d
To Simulate? Or to Hand-key?
With CGI food, it’s tempting to simulate every jiggle. But our job isn’t to use the fanciest tool. It’s to choose the method that gives clients the most control.
On these floating dim sum shots for DBS’s “A Wonderful World” campaign, parts of the motion were hand-animated instead of fully simulated. That let us fine-tune timing, introduce natural variation, and respond quickly to creative feedback.
For brand teams and directors, this is the invisible advantage of a controlled pipeline: visuals that stay flexible, art-directable, and consistent with your intent.
If it feels joyful and believable on screen, the process is doing exactly what it should.
#CGI #VFX #BTS
💦 Water droplets are one of the strongest visual cues our brain uses to read “cold, juicy, just-opened.”
Too many droplets can look messy, so we’re building systems to control their amount and how they flow across curved surfaces.
We study this closely so the freshness of our CGI ingredients and products can be directed with intention, and held to our clients’ standards.
Lots of fresh experimentation and exploration coming up from @notginaix@shkn_15 and the larger @masonrystudios team.
Droplets created with @sidefxhoudini and @maxonredshift
Follow for more freshness!
#fresh #cgi #motiondesign
When life gives you 🍋, you roll with it.
This lemon slice only works because it pushes past what’s physically correct. Softer edges, tougher core, exaggerated translucency. It’s a reminder that CGI doesn’t have to imitate reality. We can (and should!) stretch it for visual interest.
Follow your gut. Have fun with the choices. When you enjoy making something, people can feel it when they watch. At least in my experience. A note to myself too.
All this gen-AI noise is distracting for everyone. Hang in there, stay clear-headed, and keep rollin!
Made with SideFX Houdini + Maxon Redshift.
@sidefxhoudini@maxonredshift
More fresh CGI experiments coming from @notginaix@shkn_15@masonrystudios
#houdini #redshift #cgi #3danimation #motiondesign
