HOU232 – Creating Fire and Smoke Simulations in Houdini and Axiom by Liam Whitehouse

On May 1, 2026

Author:Liam Whitehouse

Duration:6 hours 9 minutes

Actual Duration:6h 9m

Release date:2024, June

Publisher:FXPHD

Skill level:Intermediate

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Software:Houdini, Axiom, Karma XPU

Course URL:https://www.fxphd.com/details/676/

Master realistic fire and smoke simulations using Houdini's Pyro and the lightning-fast Axiom GPU solver.

Ready to make your destruction scenes truly epic? This course dives deep into creating incredibly realistic fire and smoke simulations, perfect for that gritty medieval warfare vibe. We’re not just talking basic effects; we’re talking about building a destroyed wooden siege tower that looks like it’s actually burning and smoking. You’ll get hands-on with Houdini’s powerful Pyro workflow and then supercharge your simulations with the blazing-fast Axiom GPU solver.

🎯 What you’ll learn

Craft detailed fire and smoke simulations from scratch.
Master Houdini’s Pyro workflow for sourcing, attributes, and simulation adjustments.
Utilize the Axiom GPU solver for dramatically faster and more efficient simulations.
Implement influence fields and procedural noise for realistic sourcing and movement.
Set up Karma XPU materials and render stunning pyro effects.
Understand OpenColorIO (ACES) for proper color management.

✅ Requirements

Skills: Familiarity with 3D concepts and basic Houdini navigation.
Tools: Houdini (version 20 recommended), Axiom GPU solver, Labs tools.
Hardware: A capable GPU is highly recommended for the Axiom solver.

📝 Description

This course is your ticket to creating jaw-dropping fire and smoke effects that look absolutely real. We’ll walk you through the entire process, starting with setting up your software correctly using Houdini and the cutting-edge Axiom GPU solver. You’ll learn the ins and outs of Houdini’s Pyro system, from how to source your simulations and manipulate attributes to fine-tuning the solver for incredible detail.

But we don’t stop there. We’ll show you how to make your fire move fast and look sharp, avoiding that common “slow-motion CGI” look. You’ll also get to grips with Axiom, a game-changer for simulation speed, and learn how to use influence fields to sculpt your effects precisely. Finally, we’ll cover material setup and rendering in Karma XPU, ensuring your simulations look stunning in the final render. This is all about practical, industry-level techniques for high-end VFX.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

VFX artists looking to enhance their simulation skills.
Houdini users wanting to master pyro effects.
Technical directors and generalists aiming to create realistic destruction elements.
Anyone interested in leveraging GPU acceleration for faster VFX workflows.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Liam Whitehouse is a seasoned Senior VFX Artist hailing from Australia, with an impressive career spanning over two decades since 2003. His recent credits include breathtaking environments for major productions like The Fall Guy, Aquaman 2, and The Rings Of Power. Liam’s expertise lies in creating photorealistic environments and complex visual effects, making him perfectly suited to guide you through advanced simulation techniques.

🏁 Final Result

A portfolio-ready destroyed wooden siege tower featuring highly realistic, dynamic fire and smoke simulations, rendered using Karma XPU.

Curriculum

📋 Course content

Class 1: Introduction
- Course overview and software setup (Houdini, Axiom, Labs tools, OCIO ACES)
Class 2: Overview of different Pyro nodes and example setups
- Key terminology, workflows, sourcing, particles, pyro solver, noise, burn, caching, and visualization.
Class 3: Setting up detailed smoke pyro simulation and sourcing
- Creating a detailed smoke sim from scratch, sourcing, particle attributes, rasterizing, simulation settings, and pyro bake visualization.
Class 4: Setting up fire simulation with fast realistic movement
- Achieving sharp, fast-moving fire, controlling dissipation, speed, sub-steps, turbulence, and temperature falloff.
Class 5: Pyro material setup overview and rendering in Karma XPU
- Solaris stage, MaterialX pyro shaders, lighting (directional, HDRI), and rendering with Karma XPU.
Class 6: Intro to Axiom GPU Solver and integration with Pyro FX
- Overview of Axiom, creating smoke simulations with Axiom, and key settings.
Class 7: How to use sourcing and influence fields to affect simulations
- Affecting temperature, velocity, wind, pressure, and fuel using influence fields and custom VDB objects.
Class 8: Sourcing the Axiom fire with noise for the siege tower
- Sophisticated sourcing for fire on surfaces, animated procedural noise for realistic flames.
Class 9: Created fast moving, detailed fire
- Axiom simulation settings for photoreal fire: sourcing, turbulence, disturbance, buoyancy, and noise scale/speed.
Class 10: Creating smoke simulation using advection from the fire simulation
- Separating smoke simulation with different resolutions and speeds, advected by fire.