HOUDINI ENGINEFOR FILM & TV

Artwork by Natalia Loktionova

Houdini Engine brings a procedural node-based approach to your favorite app.
Build networks that deﬁne a recipe that can be applied over and over, then wrap them up
to create custom smart assets. Share these assets with colleagues who can load them
directly into 3D apps such as Autodesk® Maya® or 3ds Max®
or into game editors such as Unreal® or Unity.®

Procedural “Brickify” asset being built in Houdini

Houdini Engine for Maya plug-in used to apply “Brickify” asset to a torusIN HOUDINI | In Houdini, everything you do creates a node.

IN AUTODESK MAYA | Houdini Engine lets you load these

These nodes are wired together into networks which deﬁne theHoudini Digital Assets into other 3D apps. Any parameters added

ﬂow of data which allows you to easily go back and make changes.

to the asset are available for editing and handles can be set up inNetworks can also be encapsulated into single nodes called

the viewport for interactive manipulation. One asset can be used

Houdini Digital Assets which let you share your techniques withmultiple times in a level or in multiple levels. Changes made to thecolleagues. These assets provide artist-built tools that can bringcore asset, even deep into production, will update all instantiations

Houdini’s procedural solutions to your favorite application.

of the asset.

Interoperability is a key issue for studios and Houdini Engine takes it to a new level by putting
Houdini’s fully procedural node networks right inside Maya. Houdini Digital Assets can be easily
created by using geometry, particles, FLIP ﬂuids, Pyro FX, volumes and ﬁnite elements, that arethen handed oﬀ to Maya artists working in the software they know best.

SIDEFX.COM/FILMTVHOW ENGINE WORKS
2. The network can then be wrapped
up into an asset and the parameters
promoted to build an artist-friendly UI.

5. Artists can load the Houdini Digital Assets
into a variety of host applications using
the Houdini Engine

4. When the asset is loaded and theasset UI is utilized, the Houdini Engine
cooks the nodes and delivers the resultsback to the host application.
1. A Houdini artist/technical director createsa procedural solution using the nodes andnetworks available in Houdini.

3. The asset can be stored on disk inan .hda ﬁle for sharing with colleagues.

PLUG-INS
Houdini Engine lets you load
Houdini Digital Assets into otherdigital content creation apps such as
Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max,
Unreal or Unity. You can also use
the Houdini Engine API to create
your own plug-ins for proprietary
applications.
Autodesk Maya | With the Houdini
Engine, Houdini Digital Assets canbe loaded into Autodesk® Maya®
with procedural controls available toartists. These assets can interactwith Maya geometry and the results
can be rendered in the Maya UI.
Autodesk 3DS Max | Bring Houdini
Digital Assets into this popular
Windows-based 3D modelling andanimation package. This plug-in isavailable on github and is being
generously developed by Hideki
Suzuki, a member of the Houdini
community.

BATCH
Unreal | Open the door to powerfulprocedural workﬂows with Houdini
Engine for UE4. Load Houdini
Digital Assets into the Unreal Editor
and manipulate parameters to get
the right look for your game.
Unity | Create procedural game art
using Houdini Digital Assets loaded
into the Unity game editor. Create
unique environments and props thatcan be modiﬁed using parameterson the asset.
CUSTOM PLUG-INs | The Houdini
Engine API can be used to createplug-ins for any number ofapplications. If you are interested increating a plug-in for your favorite
app, you can get started right away!
To explore the Houdini Engine API
and to create your own plug-in, visit
github.com/sideeﬀects. There issample code from our other plug-ins
to show you how to get started.

A Houdini Engine license can also
be used to batch process Houdini
scenes on the farm. Whether you
are rendering to Houdini Mantra,
processing a large ﬂuid sim or
combining a library of assets into asingle scene, Houdini Engine
provides behind-the-scenes control.
Distributed Rendering | Houdini’s
Mantra renderer works by processing scene description [.ifd] ﬁlescreated by Houdini at render time.
To free up your workstation fromthis task, you can utilize Houdini
Batch to create these .ifd ﬁles thensend them to the unlimited Mantra
tokens which come free with eachlicense of Houdini.
PYRO FX Sims | To create smoke
and ﬁre, VFX artists can turn toHoudini’s Pyro FX tools to simulate
and render fore and smoke eﬀects
then partition and distribute themto your farm using Houdini Engine.
The speed and memory advantages
make this a great way to meet key
deadlines.

Head Oﬃce

USAsia-Paciﬁc

123 Front St. West, Suite 1401
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M5J 2M2520 Broadway, 2nd Floor,
Santa Monica, California,
USA 90401

Singapore

Tel: (416) 504 9876
Fax: (416) 504 6648

Tel: (310) 319 9876
Fax: (310) 319 6264

FLUID Sims | In Houdini, FLIP ﬂuids
provide a unique combination ofparticle and ﬂuid dynamics to create
realistic simulations of ﬂowing andsplashing liquids. In Houdini, theseprocessor-heavy calculations can besliced into smaller simulations thatare distributed to the farm. Theseslices not only speed up your overallsimulation time but also allow forbigger overall sims because the total
memory used is split into smaller,
more manageable chunks.
Wedging | To quickly explore
multiple iterations in Houdini, youcan turn to the Wedge tool tore-render or re-simulate a shot
multiple times, using diﬀerent
parameter settings. This approachlets you easily compare results with
diﬀerent values whcih can then be
stamped on the resulting images toidentify each wedge.

Web:
SideFX.com
Toll Free: 1 888 504 9876
Email:
info@sidefx.asia

2023 | All rights reserved. SideFX, Houdini, Houdini Engine and the Houdini logo are Trademarks of Side Effects Software Inc. registered in the USA and other countries. Autodesk Maya is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries.
Unity is a registered trademark of Unity Technologies. Unreal and its logo are Epic Games’ trademarks or registered trademarks in the US and elsewhere. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective companies.