Course Overview

Please note: This class is currently being edited into small clips and will replace the raw footage that is currently available for viewing.


Class Description:

Houdini's procedural systems allow you to create incredibly detailed models based on the natural world, but making them move and directing their shape and movement can be tricky and confusing. In this course, Yan Paul Dubbelman will share his most-used node setups to create plants, trees, and leaves with lifelike motion and growth. You'll learn to build flexible setups using Houdini's Tree tools to construct complex, easily-adjustable trees and plants, then discover how to bring these trees to life by making them curl and grow into their final state. We'll also create leaves by studying nature to understand how real leaves grow, replicating these natural shapes to produce high-quality models, then utilize Houdini's TOPs system to generate infinite variations. Additionally, you'll use the new Copernicus nodes to create optimized, lower-resolution versions that retain the same quality as the heavy, high-resolution models. This course avoids simulations and uses only 2 lines of code, making it accessible for beginners while delivering professional results.

Learning Outcomes:

You will finish the class understanding more about how Houdini handles growth, animations, variations, and procedural modeling. Through smart combinations of basic nodes, you will be able to create your own plants and make them come alive. Houdini is great at creating variations of objects, and understanding how to use the procedural systems is very important when working on large, highly detailed environments.

Course Materials

    1. Discord

    2. Files

    1. Session 1 Outline

    2. Session 1 Full Raw Video

    1. Session 2 Outline

    2. Session 2 Full Raw Video

    3. Submit your work

Procedural Nature

  • Free
  • 4 hours of video content
Session 1

Procedural Living Plants

In the first session, we’ll create a flexible setup that uses Houdini’s own Tree tools to build complex and easy-to-adjust trees and plants, then I’ll show you how to make those trees come to life, making them curl and grow into their final state.

  • Introduction
  • Using Houdini Tree tools to create models
  • Tree tool limitations and how to get around them
  • Animating plants
  • Combining animations using Guide Deform
  • Creating Geometry based on curves
  • Creating groups for fruits, flowers, and leaves
Session 2

High-Quality Custom Leaves

The second session involves creating leaves, examining nature to understand how real leaves grow, and then replicating these shapes to create high-quality models. Finally, we use Houdini’s TOPs system to generate an infinite number of variations. We’ll then use the new Copernicus nodes to create optimised, lower-resolution versions of the leaves that retain the same quality as the heavy, high-resolution models.

  • Simple veins using Find-Shortest Path
  • Looking at nature for inspiration
  • Art Directing leaf generating
  • Use TOPs to create variations
  • Use Copernicus to create high-res textures
  • Export Variations together with textures

Instructor

Yan Paul Dubbelman

Digital Artist

Yan Paul Dubbelman is a Dutch Digital Artist focused on calming work for use on large screens. Working internationally as an independent professional, themes such as romanticism, creative technology, and the future of computer-generated art he explored using procedural systems. With 10 years as a freelance Designer and Artist, mostly using Cinema4D and Redshift, he dedicated the last 3 years to Houdini. Projects such as 3D for websites, designing drone shows, and recently developing “ambient art” for large screens and spaces. His history of education, art direction, and digital animation has built a flexible and eager mindset that he loves to challenge with exciting technical projects.

LinkedIn Instagram Website

WHAT YOU NEED TO TAKE THIS COURSE

  • A computer (see SideFX system requirements)
  • Houdini (Apprentice version is free)
  • Houdini’s Lab tools
  • A second monitor (recommended)
  • OPTIONAL: MOPs motion design tools installed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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REFUND POLICY:


Live-Session Courses
Students may request a refund up to 1 day before the start of the course. Students may also withdraw from Live-Session Courses at any time and are entitled to a pro-rated refund. The withdrawal date must be 1 day before the next class they intend to drop.

On-Demand Courses
All on-demand courses are non-refundable.

Refund a Class
Please send a request to get a refund via email to [email protected].
Your written request to drop any or all of your classes must include:
  1. Student’s full name
  2. Name of the course(s) being dropped

See you in Class!