White water shader (Houdini)

There is a lot of discussion online about shading fluids therefore I used water simulation from "The legend of Tarzan" as inspiration.  I used Houdini`s flip particles velocity data to drive Mantra`s default shader color attribute. Also this approach is based on new Houdini 15 flip workflow. This is raw 12 fps render without foam (I`ll add foam, spray and bubbles as separated pass later)

Fur (Maya) pipeline - XGen and nCloth for stylised characters

Based on Zootopia`s fur pipeline using Maya and  XGen I created similar looking character as
mascot for StrITwise® Amazing Race event. It was combination of guided curves for long hair (Lion`s mane) and groomable splines for short fur totalling to around 2,5 million hairs. Long hair is

Creature lighting and rendering

Trying to match feature film cgi creature work quality. This 3D render title is "Arrival". (Click on image for full size view) I used Maya and ZBrush and here are some 3D renders I used as reference (trolls, goblins, giants etc):

Renderman RIS skin shading

Pixar Renderman for Maya (RIS) skin shading process - Full composited render, Specular, SSS and diffuse pass.

This is skin shader development for my characters. Specular, SSS and diffuse pass for composting. Here is Nuke comp screen grab used to plus above mentioned passes

Forest Troll - Digital Creatures / Fantasy characters (ZBrush / Maya)

Yep, beside effects animation, I`m also 3D modeller  / digital sculptor. From now on, beside effects, lighting and shading, I`ll publish some of my 3D models as a lot of my colleagues and students suggested…

HDM1.1 Tool - Tron "Derezzed" looking procedural RBD activation and shattering (Houdini)

A "Tron: Legacy" character getting "derezzed"  Credit: Disney, Source:cnet.com                                   HDM 1.1 Tool

Inspired with research for "Tron Legacy" done in Digital Domain and Dreamworks Animation I recreated same effect using my HDM Tool for procedural activation / propagation of hundred of thousands 3D pixel looking rigid bodies. Here are some of close up renders:

So, effect itself is broken into two mayor parts: "3D pixels" and their procedural activation. 3D pixels are generated from 
object volume, similar techniques as I used in one of my previous posts  Tron:Legacy.:..::..digitizer..:..::. ;-] in 3DS Max but this time same techniques is applied in Houdini. For procedural activation I used my HDM Tool also shown in previous 

HDM1.1 Tool - Houdini Demolition master (Procedural fracturing and activation)

HDM1.1 tool is quick destruction system I`m currently developing which gives you control over fragmentation (shattering) and over RBD activation. In other words, it`s possible to direct and control destruction using custom geometry shapes and standard forces. Also it`s possible to emit particles, additional debris and smoke as well. Support for those secondary elements will be added in upcoming releases. System also allows you to split your geometry into two peaces in case you don't need small fragments to cover whole object. Splitting geometry like that makes RBD calculation faster. As mentioned already it`s possible to use any kind of shape as fracturing guide and any kind of geometry to guide

BFH Tool - custom feathers / hair tool v0.8 (beta)

image credits: Disney / Pixar "UP" and "Birds"

Inspired by Pixar (Disney) birds from various movies such as "UP" (Kevin the bird) and "Birds" I wanted to create similar feather / hairs tool. On the other hand there are only few commercial tools  

available at this moment. Tool is still in beta phase. I used Houdini`s procedural approach to create, style and groom feathers. Next step is to add some dynamics which will react on a character movement.

Feather grooming and styling is divided in few stages. First is painting or populating areas with feathers. It is possible to paint areas with different type of feathers. For example, Kevin`s has fine, almost like hair thin feathers around neck area but on the other side much bigger feathers around other

Snow White and the Huntsman - Dark Fairies Scene

Credits: "Universal Pictures"

Dark Fairies scene was done by Double Negative using thousands of rigid bodies and instancing in Houdini. I`m personally using Houdini and Max equally, depending on deadline but in this case I was short with time so I decided to go with Max. Same techniques works well in Houdini as well, but, by my personal opinion, it`s just faster and easier to control all events, rules and rbd grouping in max with TP4. So, I had few groups of rigid bodies controlled by some events and by some rules. First event was: `if impact force is strong enough shards will break a part and will move into new group called fractured

Character likeness exercise

Character likeness exercise using just two images. Base poly mesh - Maya. Also here is hand painted diffuse texture and comparison with original image:

CGI Water pipeline

RnD on CGI water pipeline, comparing Naiad, Realflow and Houdini`s new Flip solver. Pretty decent

results for 5 million particles. bgeo cache size is around 45GB. Flip solver stores, beside others, velocity
attribute for isolating white water and spray particles.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Effects reconstruction

"Eating" effect used in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" movie showing swarm of  little robots  “Aphids” eating whatever they touch produced in Weta Digital (source: pierre-grage.com). Originally Maya with loads of coding was used to achieve this kind of effect. In my case I used Houdini and

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Tesla coils

(credits: Walt Disney pictures)

I developed Houdini tool which creates set of electrical arcs between geometry. Tool (Digital asset) is also able to create same effect between particles as well! (see end of video). Tool has 2 main

Master Classes - Maya Effects Animation

On your request, first set of classes covering Effects Animation in Maya. Course also introduces procedural effects approach trough Houdini and 3DS Max, commonly used in films for effects work.

Detailed lessons and timing plans are out. Please check Master Classes / Events page . In short, course will cover Maya effects Animation including: Particles types and emitters, Forces, Fluids (Dynamic containers - smoke