Vellum Hair Simulation in Houdini

Production-Level Character FX Workflow with Saravmit Singh

Develop a complete understanding of how to simulate hair within a production-level Character FX workflow with this comprehensive guide by Saravmit Singh. Focusing on bridging the gap between personal experimentation and industry-standard practices, Saravmit teaches how to build production-level templates, create custom tools with the dGroom workflow, and set up an automatic caching system to make your simulation more efficient and reliable. These professional techniques will be applicable to both studio pipelines and personal projects. 

This 4.5-hour workshop is designed for intermediate- to advanced-level artists who are familiar with Houdini and want to elevate their grooming skills to meet the demands of production. Through practical examples using a premade groom (not provided with this workshop), artists will learn how to create robust production templates and build custom tools that streamline workflows.

Key techniques covered in this workshop include building and localizing HDAs, designing a custom bend constraint with curve ramp controllers, and developing automated setups that can seamlessly rerun simulations when assets are updated. In addition to technical training, the workshop also provides valuable industry insights drawn from real production experience, including tips on collaboration, asset management, and troubleshooting common issues encountered on large-scale projects. 

By completing this workshop, artists will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to simulate hair in a production environment while maintaining efficiency, scalability, and consistency across shots. 

The Chipmunk scene project file provided with this workshop was created by Andriy Bilichenko and Aleksandar Horak, courtesy of SideFX.

The groom featured in this workshop is by Gnomon Workshop Instructor, Luis Cadavid. Saravmit also utilizes the dGroom tool by Deepak Rajan.