HS-224 – Liquid SOPs by David Torno

This course is all about faking it—in the best way possible. Instead of wrestling with heavy DOP simulations, you’ll learn how to build convincing liquid effects like slimy drool, bloody trails, surface water droplets, and a flowing river using only Houdini SOP nodes. It’s a practical, art-directable approach that breaks down complex FX tasks into smaller, manageable chunks.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Build procedural liquids without DOP simulations.
• Art direct the shape and behavior of slime, blood, and water.
• Use VEX and VOPs to control geometry attributes.
• Create a complete river system with foam and displacement.
• Set up and render your effects in Karma.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Some background with writing VEX code (all code used will be fully explained).
• Hardware: Computer meeting SideFX system requirements. A second monitor is recommended.

📝 Description

This isn’t your typical simulation course. David Torno shows you a completely different mindset for building liquid effects. You’ll start by analyzing real-world liquid behavior, then break it down into components you can build with SOPs, VEX, and VOPs. The focus is on control and iteration speed.

You’ll build a bloody trail on a rock surface, complete with a groove displacement and a collider. Then, you’ll tackle a more complex project: animating slime and drool on a skull, using point IDs and curves to create organic, hanging geometry. The course also covers a full procedural river system, from displacement and foam to a waterfall, all without a single simulation node. Each project is designed to give you a new set of tools for your FX pipeline.

The final sections cover rendering your work in Karma, including setting up materials, cameras, and lights. By the end, you’ll have a library of techniques for creating art-directable liquids that are fast to iterate on and easy to tweak.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Houdini artists who want to build liquid effects without simulations.
• FX TDs looking for more art-directable and procedural workflows.
• Intermediate users comfortable with VEX who want to expand their SOP-based toolkit.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

David Torno is a self-taught visual effects professional with a passion for the technical and educational side of VFX. Since starting his career in 2000, he has worked on films, commercials, music videos, and large-scale multimedia projects. In 2008, he began sharing his knowledge through video tutorials and utility scripts. Under the Fendra Fx name, he continues to create tools and training for the creative community.

🏁 Final Result

• A portfolio of procedural liquid effects: a bloody trail, a slime-covered skull, surface water droplets, and a complete river system with foam.
• A deep understanding of how to break down complex FX into SOP-based components.
• The ability to art direct and iterate on liquid effects quickly.