Tutorial: Creating a Swamp & Mud Monster in Houdini
The Gnomon Workshop has released Creating a Swamp & Mud Monster in Houdini, a beginner-friendly guide to the procedural 3D software recorded by VFX artist David Silberbauer.
The workshop provides over five and a half hours of video training, and is suitable for both beginners and intermediate-level artists.
Create a CG shot of a mud monster emerging from a swamp entirely in Houdini
In the workshop, Silberbauer reveals how to use Houdini – a staple of FX pipelines in film, animation and games – to create a monster emerging from a swamp, dripping with mud.
The entire scene – a full CG environment with a 3D creature, animation, effects and lighting – is created using a semi-procedural set-up in Houdini: no other software is required.
Silberbauer begins by setting up an animation and modifying it using simple and efficient tools like Point Deform and TimeShift.
He then reveals how to set up a basic heightfield for the environment, and how to create the mud simulation using the new MPM Solver introduced in Houdini 20.5.
Since the MPM Solver can be very resource-expensive, Silberbauer discusses what is best at, and when it should be used in production.
As well as the MPM Solver, the workshop covers the basics of Houdini’s FLIP fluid simulation toolset, including fluid meshing.
Silberbauer also demonstrates efficient workflows for building environments using heightfields, including how to scatter vegetation, before assembling the scene as a USD asset, and demonstrating basic lighting and rendering techniques to create a final CG shot.
Viewers of the workshop can download the Houdini project file for the mud monster.
About the artist
David Silberbauer is a VFX artist at animation facility Sunrise Animation Studios.
He previously worked at VFX studio BlackGinger on movies including Monster Hunter, Deep Blue Sea 2 and 3, Black Beauty and Escape Room, as well as commercials and cinematics.
Pricing and availability
Creating a Swamp & Mud Monster in Houdini is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.
Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.
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