VFX PROJECT
My idea for the VFX Project is to be able to manipulate and "recycle" or "regenerate" points from existing points and create like a motion graphics kind of effect.
My aim to create a few effects and to be able to morph or transit smoothly from one effect to another.
After intense rnd session, I realised that work that I wanna achieve is very broad. Doing an assest that is abstract is going to be to really complex and broad. When I started out this project, I know I wanted to do mograph inspired stuff in Houdini.
The reference picture below are the look I am aiming for.
Below are my WIP.
I started out with the rubber toy test geo and remesh it. I scatter some points on the geometry and use attribute vop to add some noise to the points to get some movement.
To start out the whole effect, I did a simple particle effects that advect by smoke arpund the rubber toy.
From the particles generated, I created a curly line effect.
I copy stamp geometry and added random pscale and color it by random id.
I created a line and copy stamp the lines on to points depending on its normal. I use vex to add ramp colors on the lines. I also did a simple vex on a line that controls color, pscale and noise of the lines, however, i did not use the pscale at the end.
The image below is one of the test render of the growth effect I was trying to achieve. However, the shape of the growth is not interesting enough.
The challenge was to make the effects connect in some way. I change the flow of effect many times because it does not flow as a sequence.
Lots of work and past experience doing fx in houdini has really helped with this project.
I started out with the rubber toy test geo and remesh it. I scatter some points on the geometry and use attribute vop to add some noise to the points to get some movement
Then I created a line sop and copy stamp onto those points to get the first part of the effects. With the same points, I generated a lightning ball effects. The points act as locations where lines will be created. The more the points, the more lightning generated.
I animated uniform distribution gradually increase the amount of points thus increasing the amount of lightning generated.
I create lines using an add sop. Then i use a point vop to add curl noise and random thickness to the line to make it look like lightning.
Here is my first pass. I am still trying to improve the transition between the effects. My challenge for the transition is the electric ball. Its changing every frame and it is tough to transit from a fast effect to a slower one.
My second pass looks better as I am able to make it transit to the next effect more smoothly. I do a switch of the lighting to single frame geo and added noise to look like its deforming and then off the deformation for it to morph to the growth effect.
I finally manage to morph it smoothly throughout the effects. I switched to a static geometry
of the electricity ball and convert it to vdb, animate the iso value a little to transit to the growing
effect.
I will continue the effect from where I left off. After the growth effect, I was planning to do some cracking/voronoi or particles. I really enjoyed doing this project as I get to touch a different side of Houdini. I learnt a lot during the process.
So I decided to do particles, I was stuck on the voronoi part. The problems i faced was the mesh of the growth part was too high res even after remeshing. The effect I initially wanted was to create a crack that slowly grows around the surface and break the geometry into small pieces.
Since its almost deadline and I have not start rendering, I think I should continue first till the end and come back to this problem after the project during my free time.
Below are some of the look I am testing for the particles. Still deciding on what to do with the particles.
