Course Overview

Live Demo + Q&A

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All live classes are recorded and posted within 1-2 business days.
Saturday, July 19th, 2025 11:00 am - 1:00 pm PST
Saturday, July 26th, 2025 11:00 am - 1:00 pm PST

Class Description:

This course guides you step-by-step through the process of creating, lighting, and compositing a cinematic scene using Solaris and USD in Houdini. Starting with a blank layout, you'll bring in and organize assets to build a visually compelling environment. We'll explore lighting tools in Solaris, understand how light parameters affect rendering, and prepare scenes with AOVs and render layers. Finally, you'll learn how to composite the rendered elements in Nuke, integrating everything into a polished final image. By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid grasp of how Solaris works and how to integrate LOPs into your everyday Houdini workflow.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to confidently use Solaris to build USD-based scenes, apply core lighting techniques, and composite final renders in Nuke. They will explore the full range of Solaris lighting and layout tools, learn to group lights and assets efficiently, and generate render layers and AOV splits for post-production. Key takeaways include creating and managing USD files, setting up proxy and render geometry, choosing the right lighting tools in Houdini, preparing scenes for Karma rendering, and compositing rendered elements into a final image. This course provides a complete foundation for creating cinematic environments in Houdini and finishing them with professional-quality compositing.

Course Materials

    1. Discord

    1. Session 1 Outline

    1. Session 2 Outline

Solaris: USD & Layout

  • $75.00
Session 1

Creating USDs in Houdini

In this session, we’ll dive into what USD (Universal Scene Description) is and how to create USD files within Houdini. We’ll explore the advantages of using USD in a production pipeline and learn how to leverage its structure for efficient asset management. Students will import 3D models from third-party sources—such as Kitbash3D—and set up a basic PDG (Procedural Dependency Graph) system to automate the USD creation process.

  • What is USD?
  • Creating a USD in Houdini
  • Downloading Models from Kitbash3D
  • Preparing Models for USD Creation in LOPs
  • Building a USD Creation Pipeline
  • Procedural Texture Assignment with For-Each Loops
  • Setting Up USD Layers
  • Writing Out the Final USD with a USD ROP
Session 2

Layout, Lighting, and Compositing

In this session, we’ll explore the powerful layout and look development tools available in Solaris. Building on the USD assets created in Session 1, we’ll construct a large-scale fantasy environment using Heightfields, MegaScan assets, and custom models. From there, we’ll light the scene using Solaris' lighting tools and break it into render layers, preparing it for compositing in Nuke.

  • Showcasing Heightfield Terrain Tools
  • Converting and Showcasing MegaScan Assets as USD
  • Placing Major Structures in the Environment
  • Using the Layout Node for Scene Assembly
  • Instancing Randomized USD Elements
  • Lighting the Environment with Solaris Tools
  • Setting Up the Camera and Render Layers
  • Importing Render Layers into Nuke
  • Basic Scene Compositing in Nuke

Instructor

Fernando Cuevas

Visual Effects Artist

Fernando Jose Cuevas is a freelance Visual Effects Artist based in Miami, FL, specializing in CG and simulation work using Houdini and compositing in Nuke. He has collaborated with a range of independent filmmakers and has also directed numerous short films. Passionate about both learning and teaching, he spends his free time exploring new Houdini techniques and creating YouTube tutorials to support and inspire fellow artists.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO TAKE THIS COURSE

  • A computer (see SideFX system requirements)
  • Houdini (Apprentice version is free)
  • A second monitor (recommended)
  • Optional: Headphones, microphone, webcam for interactive participation
  • (Student license available for $75/year. Email [email protected] for details.)

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!