Simulating Crowds with Golaem & Maya by Wilfried Lhomme

Get ready to build massive, believable crowds for your next big project! This workshop dives into a full production pipeline for crowd simulation, using Golaem, Maya, and Unreal Engine. You’ll learn how to create and manage large numbers of characters, from initial setup to final render, just like they do in the movies.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Create and optimize crowd agents in Maya using Golaem.
• Implement complex animation, motion paths, and triggers for realistic character behavior.
• Export and integrate crowd simulations into Unreal Engine 5.
• Validate scale, timing, and performance for cinematic shots.
• Utilize Unreal Engine’s Sequencer, lighting, and post-processing for movie-quality results.
• Simulate various scenarios like dead characters, battles, and charges.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Familiarity with Maya and Unreal Engine basics is recommended.
• Tools: Maya, Golaem plugin, Unreal Engine 5.
• Hardware: A capable workstation for handling complex simulations and rendering.

📝 Description

This workshop is your ticket to mastering crowd simulation for high-end cinematic and film projects. Taught by Wilfried Lhomme, a Senior Crowd TD at DNEG, you’ll follow a complete, production-ready workflow that mirrors real-world feature film practices. We start in Maya with Golaem, building a solid foundation for your crowds. This includes everything from agent creation and animation assignment to setting up motion paths, triggers, and crucial optimization strategies for those demanding shots. The goal here is to build setups that are not only clean and reliable but also super easy to tweak during production.

The journey continues into Unreal Engine 5, where you’ll learn the ins and outs of exporting caches, making sure your scale and timing are spot-on, and adopting best practices for seamlessly integrating your crowds into a cinematic scene. We’ll also get hands-on with Sequencer, camera blocking, lighting, and post-processing to achieve that coveted movie-quality look without sacrificing performance. Whether you’re new to crowds or looking to seriously level up your production game, this course is packed with practical, professional techniques.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Artists new to crowd simulation looking for a professional workflow.
• Experienced crowd artists aiming to refine and professionalize their techniques for production.
• Technical Directors and Animators working on film, cinematics, or AAA game projects.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Wilfried Lhomme is a seasoned Senior Crowd Technical Director at DNEG, bringing a wealth of experience from top-tier studios like Digital Domain and Framestore. His journey into crowd simulation began during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to significant work on projects like PAW Patrol: The Movie. Wilfried combines deep technical knowledge with creative problem-solving to bring complex, large-scale crowd scenes to life for global film and animation productions.

🏁 Final Result

• A portfolio-ready crowd simulation project, demonstrating your ability to create and render complex crowd scenes using industry-standard tools like Golaem, Maya, and Unreal Engine.