SideFX Houdini FX

The official version of SideFX Houdini FX is an efficient and practical 3D special effects production tool. The latest version of SideFX Houdini FX has powerful functions that can help users create more content faster. The SideFX Houdini FX software is easy to operate and has enhanced shader tools. Crowd animation simulation and the Houdini 2.0 engine, while modeling rendering and animation tools have been significantly improved and enhanced.

SideFX Houdini FX Latest Highlights

Pixar and Side Effects work together to create a best-in-class lighting experience" - Chris Ford, Business Director, RenderMan, Pixar Animation Studio "Houdini 15 provides interactive material creation tools, which makes it easy for artists to achieve the effects they want."

The official version of SideFX Houdini FX is equipped with a complete set of RenderMan BxDF, Pattern and integrated RIS materials as well as RIS light materials and cameras, light detectors, Rolling Shutter RIS projection materials. There is also a new RIS render node, which gives RIB and RIS a cleaner rendering interface.

SideFX Houdini FX Software Features

Modeling

Houdini has historically not been very convenient in its interactive operation, sometimes requiring a long modeling process. With some improvements made in Houdini 15 and the new 17, modelers can now intuitively complete new adjustment and editing operations in the view window, newly added ring edges, soft selection highlighting and some new tools, such as: PolyBride and PolyExpand2D. For the operation of high-resolution models, the new topology tool can easily draw low-resolution geometric shapes through the resolution geometry method.

rendering

Houdini 16’s improved Mantra rendering is faster and has richer features such as checkpoints and render view feedback. The material tools have been enhanced, with a new material library, the Sheder FX2.0 menu has been rebuilt, and new layer materials and cartoon materials have been added.

Houdini 16 also integrates Disney's physically based materials, which are designed to increase artistic flexibility. Additionally, a free PBR texture library will be available on sidefx.com and the Houdini16 material tool.

Marerial styesheets create production-grade workflows for creating and managing overlays of Alembic files and Packed geometry materials. Easily set up random textures and differentiated materials for objects that require a unique look, such as clusters of characters.

animation

Animation workflow in Houdini 16 Onion Skinning, an action library panel, improved character controller panel, better enhanced keyframe list. This makes it easier to control Houdini's keyframe properties.

Simple new male and female rigged assets have been added that artists can use to explore the character control capabilities of Houdini’s animation tools. Houdini 16 also includes support for warping deformed geometry and preventing volume loss.

Houdini games

The improvements in Houdini 16 modeling will be applied to the gaming field and will be particularly useful when building digital assets in Unity and Unreal. The PolyExpand2D tool can easily calculate Straight-Skeleton and is an ideal way to create it.

Houdini 16 also includes support for texture baking and UDIM texture viewports, world space normal maps, UV mesh boundaries and overlapping UV regions. Game makers can now import and export tangent space normal maps and convert bump and displacement maps to normal maps.

Character Cluster Ragdolls

Ragdolls dynamics have been added to Houdini 16's character swarming tools, along with limb detachment, fuzzy logic and some better swarming behavior. He can now more easily control the shape of materials and geometry and add character tools to clearly targeted locations. There is also an Agent Cam tool, which creates a camera that views the agent character in the shot from a similar angle.

Distributed VFX

Houdini 16 will greatly improve the productivity of VFX artists, making it easier to simulate larger and more vivid FX effects. The new Adaptive PBD allows artists to focus more on the particles involved in collisions in grain simulations. New viscous fluid tools like lava, melting objects and emitting steam allow artists to achieve production-grade effects faster.

SideFX Houdini FX update log

1. The biggest highlight of this update is rendering and materials. Its effect is comparable to that of the Arnold renderer.

2. The stability performance has been significantly improved, and there is no crash phenomenon until now.

3. The colorcurve flashing bug of the synthesis system has not been fixed yet.

4. The material system has added many new materials