Houdini FX for 3d Artist Course by Nexttut Education Pvt.Ltd.

Learn to build a full VFX shot in Houdini from the ground up. This course walks you through creating procedural rocks, lightning, particles, and dust simulations, then rendering everything in Solaris with Karma XPU and compositing in After Effects. No fluff, just a practical project-based workflow.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Create procedural rock models and animations
• Build lightning FX using VOPs
• Simulate particles, dust, and debris
• Render and composite a complete FX shot

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic understanding of the Houdini interface
• Tools: Houdini 20.5 installed
• Hardware: Minimum 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU

📝 Description

This course is built around a single, focused project: creating a fantasy-style FX shot with a character, lightning, and environmental destruction. You’ll start by building a procedural rock model using VOPs and clones, then animate it to grow from the ground. From there, you’ll dive into lightning FX — creating ground strikes, branching arcs, and a sword slash glow using SOPs and VOPs.

The simulation side covers POP solver for sand particles, Pyro solver for ground dust, and RBD Bullet solver for debris. Every step is tied to the same scene, so you see how each layer fits together. Finally, you’ll import everything into Solaris, assign materials, render with Karma XPU, and composite the final shot in After Effects.

The instructor, Shahzad Ahmad, is a self-taught FX artist who focuses on practical, no-nonsense teaching. He breaks down each technique into clear steps, so you’re never left guessing. By the end, you’ll have a portfolio-ready shot and a solid grasp of Houdini’s procedural workflow.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Beginner FX artists who want to learn Houdini through a real project
• 3D artists looking to add procedural VFX to their skillset

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Shahzad Ahmad is a Houdini FX Artist with a passion for creating explosions, smoke, fire, clouds, dust, particles, and destruction effects. He is self-taught and brings a practical, hands-on approach to teaching. His goal is to help beginners break into the world of procedural VFX without getting lost in theory.

🏁 Final Result

• A complete FX shot featuring procedural rocks, lightning, particles, dust, and debris, rendered in Solaris and composited in After Effects.