Point Render recreates Dürer and Doré in Houdini
Originally posted on 14 April 2016. Scroll down for news of the commercial release.
Tools developer Jan Białek has unveiled Point Render, a new non-photorealistic rendering system intended to recreate the graphical style of classical artists like Albrecht Dürer or Gustave Doré in Houdini.
Recreate a range of classic graphic art styles in Houdini
According to Białek, who works as a matte painter and concept artist at Chimney in Warsaw, the main aim of Point Render is to “revive old, classic artistic techniques in order to [reinvent] computer graphics”.
Judging by the demo videos, Point Render can generate both still or animated output in a range of striking monochrome styles, mimicking the look of anything from etchings to comic books.
Białek says the add-on provides a library of “brushes and styluses” plus tools for controlling and modifying lighting effects. There are also a couple of subtle digital touches, like support for depth of field.
Updated 9 July: Point Render is now shipping for Houdini 15 and above via the Orbolt store. Full commercial licences start at $250, with discounts for users of the Houdini Apprentice edition.
Białek says that he hopes to extend the toolset to other platforms like 3ds Max and Maya in future.