Houdini Dessert 20.5 by Rohan Dalvi

This course walks you through building a complete dessert shot in Houdini 20.5. You’ll set up a Vellum simulation to break a cake with a spoon, pour FLIP fluid chocolate inside, and then texture everything using the new COPs before lighting and rendering in Solaris with Karma XPU. It’s a focused, project-based look at combining multiple simulation types into one cohesive scene.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Set up a Vellum grain simulation with custom break attributes
• Build and detail a mesh using Volume VOPs
• Simulate FLIP fluids for the chocolate filling
• Create procedural textures in COPs
• Light and shade a full scene in Solaris

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic working knowledge of Houdini
• Tools: 3-button mouse
• Hardware: Minimum 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU

📝 Description

This training is all about getting your hands dirty with multiple simulation types in one project. You start by setting up Vellum grains with glue constraints and a custom break attribute, so the cake fractures realistically when a spoon hits it. From there, you build the cake mesh from the simulation data and use Volume VOPs to add surface detail.

The chocolate is handled with FLIP fluids, and you’ll learn how to add bubbles using a POP VOP and custom velocity volumes. There’s also a neat trick for getting chocolate to stick to the spoon using a SOP solver. Beyond the main sim, you’ll model a simple berry with Vellum cloth, scatter sugar using the existing grain system, and make a table cloth with Vellum brush.

Textures are built procedurally in the new COPs network, creating patterns for the table cloth and plate. Finally, everything gets imported into Solaris where you set up lights, build shaders, and render with Karma XPU. The course wraps up with rendering an animation and fixing any flickering issues.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Houdini artists comfortable with the basics who want to tackle a multi-sim project
• CG generalists looking to improve their procedural workflow in Houdini
• Anyone wanting to learn the new COPs and Solaris pipeline

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Rohan Dalvi is a veteran Houdini trainer and CG artist with years of experience creating high-quality visual effects and procedural workflows. He runs his own training platform focused on practical, project-based Houdini courses. His teaching style is direct and hands-on, breaking down complex simulations into manageable steps.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully rendered animation of a lava cake being broken open, with chocolate fluid, sugar, berries, and a complete studio lighting setup.