Houdini FX Training for Beginners by Yi Jaejun (실전부터 시작하는 Houdini FX 트레이닝 – Korean, Eng sub)

Learn Houdini through fun and practical classes. Houdini is an essential FX tool for the movie, advertising, and video design industry. You can create cool effects right away, but it can be challenging due to its many theories and tools. However, don’t let that discourage you! FX artist Lee Jae-joon has prepared Houdini classes that are full of passion and catered to your learning needs.

Out of the total of 33 curricula, the essential theories and concepts can be burdensome for learners. However, the good news is that only one curriculum covers these topics. The other 32 lectures are focused on practical topics such as particles, volume, destruction, and water effects. By mastering these skills, you can create high-quality examples and naturally become proficient in the FX production process. The curriculum is a fusion of Houdini principles and advanced example skills, designed to provide a comprehensive learning experience. Check out the practical curriculum now at Colosso.

FX Artist Lee Jae-joon’s class is special because it focuses on eye-popping results instead of boring theories. The class provides high-quality FX examples produced by basic deception, which makes learning fun and engaging. When learners only focus on theory-oriented learning without visible results, they can quickly lose interest in Houdini FX.

In this class, you’ll learn the six most popular practices for particles, volume, destruction, and water through FX examples of various difficulty levels. The curriculum is organized to take learners from theory to practical workflow naturally. Through hands-on FX online classes, you can learn VFX by working on a single skill as well as multiple effects. Colosso’s unique teaching approach provides a fun and motivating learning experience.

In this class, you’ll have the opportunity to create more than six effects examples on your own. Here are some of the Lee Jae-joon Houdini special lecture examples you’ll learn:

1. Water Droplets (Particle)
2. Bubbles (Particle + Volume)
3. Car Dirt (Volume)
4. Collapsing Building (Destruction)
5. Carbonated Water with Ice (Water + Particle)
6. Raindrops (Water)

These examples will help you master different FX techniques using Houdini

Curriculum

Section 1. Intro and Houdini Interface

Section 01. Orientation

Introduction to the instructor
Class Curriculum Introduction

02. Houdini UI

Houdini Interface Guide
Basic Houdini Class Setup
Arnold Render Setup

Section 2. Particle 01: Water Droplets

03. Quick Intro

Overview of creating water droplets and setup interface and particle control 01
Particle setup basics: Pop solver
Main Water Drops (Hero Drops) Setup

04. Particle Control & Mashing

Creating a Droplet” Overview and Setup Interface and Particle Control 02
Setting up small drops (Children Drops)

05. Geometry Transformation and Arnold Shading with VDB

Converting particles to geometry utilizing VDB Volumes
Setting Up Wet Spots for Specular Shading
Full Rendering

06. Houdini Digital Assets

Applying effects to other targets with a Houdini Digital Asset (HDA) setup

Section 3. Particle 02: Water Bubbles

07. Quick Intro

Overview of the ‘Water Bubble in Water’ effect
Learn the Basics of Volume Setup
Volume Shape Control

08. Controlling Particles with Volume

Utilizing Volume Velocity to Implement Drift in Particles
Converting Volumes to Geometry
Rendering Setup

09. Houdini Digital Assets

Setting up a Houdini Digital Asset (HDA)
Apply HDA to Multiple Target Objects

Section 4. Volume: Car Dirt

10. Quick Intro

Introduction of Volume class
How to Use Quixel Bridge: Background Modeling
Car Animation Setup (sh001, sh002, sh003)

11. Volume Emitter Setup

Setting up Tire Volume Generation

12. Volume Simulation 01

Setting Up Running Car Smoke

13. Volume Simulation 02

Modifying the Setup for Each Shot

Section 5. Destruction: Collapsing Buildings

14. Quick Intro

Introduction of Destruction class
Exploring the Destruction Reference

15. Modeling Ancient Buildings

Modeling buildings using Quixel Bridge

16. Destruction Setup

Create a building fragment (bridge part) (Fracture Setup)

17. Bridge Destruction

Setting up building destruction motion without simulation
Creating a destruction effect through procedural animation

18. Setting Up Collision Simulation (RBD)

Creating Building Fragments (Building Parts)
Setting Up Constraints
Setting Up Building Destruction Timing
Setting up Collision Simulation (RBD)

19. Setting Up Secondary Effects to Add Depth 01

Secondary Effects Setup: Particle
Setting Up Particle Instances to Effectively Manage Memory

20. Setting Up a Secondary Effect to Add Depth 02

Secondary Effects Setup: Volume

Section 6. Water 01: Ice Filled Sparkling Water

21. Quick Intro

Water Simulation Overview
Explore Sparkling Water, Iced Tea Reference

22. Collision Simulation (RBD) Setup

Ice & Fruit in a Cup Collision Simulation (RBD) Setup

23. Water (Flip) Simulation Setup

Simulate water in a cup using Flip
Setting Up Water Droplets Using Particles

24. Vellum Simulation Setup

Setting Up a Mint Leaf Simulation Using Vellum

25. Geometry Transformation

Converting to Flip Particle geometry using several features of VDB

26. Adding Details

Setting Up Fog and Water Droplets on the Cup Surface
Rendering Setup

Section 7. Water 02: Rain

27. Quick Intro

Overview of water simulation
Explore the Raindrops Reference

28. Vellum Simulation 01

Setting Up a Vellum Simulation
Create an effective mesh for your simulation
Setting up Constrain to effectively fix the simulation target

29. Vellum Simulation 02

Setting up the process of simulating clothes and converting to the final target

30. Flip Simulation

Setting Up Water (Flip) Simulation
Setting up raindrop timing and water splashes
Converting Raindrops to Geometry

31. Water Stream Setup

Setting up a water stream using particles

32. Setting Up the Background Water Stream

Setting Up and Finalizing the Background Rain Stream

Section 8. Outro

33. Outro

Lesson Review and Takeaways