Houdini Mardini River

May 16th 2021 10:30:16pm

If you are looking to dive straight into the build and bypass the tutorial, you can purchase the project file with the Gumroad button on the right side of this page.

NOTE: Any lighting HDRI/texture images used in my original builds are not allowed to be redistributed and therefore will not be included with the project file. You will have to download those separately yourself.

Image files used:
Quixel Megascans Cave Rock

This week I am breaking down my entry for day 10 River. This entry did not win, but the techniques used within the build can be useful. For example this procedural canyon using curves, and a box that’s distorted numerous times.

This river is only geometry and noise. No flip simulation needed.

Mardini. If you have not heard of it, is a daily art challenge put on by Side Fx, the makers of Houdini. It’s 31 days of chaos and creativity. The main goal is to create a unique animation or still image based on the topics provided. Each week is a new category and each day a new related topic.

Taking on this challenge requires much effort, creativity, and just plain old perseverance. The spirit of the challenge is to design the concept, build it, and render it in a 24 hour period. You can of course just focus on specific days/topics if you like, but you gain a nice little Houdini swag bag if you complete all 31 days on time. Something they call the Iron Heart.

Each day three top entries for animation and still images are chosen by judges, and posted on a leader board throughout the challenge. Many talented artists join and make some amazing pieces. It’s great fun, and the community is very supportive of each other along the way.

This year I was fortunate enough to have five wins during the challenge. I took two 2nd place, and three 3rd place wins.

I decided to make breakdown / tutorials of all of these winning pieces, as well as some of my other entries that I enjoyed making. Even if they didn’t win.

    Some highlight points in the video:

  • 00:00:00 – Entry overview
  • 00:00:00 – Entry overview and resources
  • 00:06:38 – Canyon guides
  • 00:10:47 – Canyon walls build
  • 00:33:44 – River build
  • 00:49:20 – Grass build
  • 01:05:09 – Geo render outputs
  • 01:07:52 – Camera specs
  • 01:10:34 – Lighting
  • 01:11:59 – Redshift3D materials
  • 01:17:49 – Render settings

Here is a compilation video of all of my entries. I will be releasing tutorials for all of my winning entries and select non-winning entries. If you see one you’d like to see broken down, let me know.

Want to see more new tutorials? Please donate and/or purchase products to help support Fendra Fx. Spread the word. Tell your friends, and their friends. More ideas are in the works and all financial support is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Checkout more:
Houdini | Velocity Forces
Free Function Friday Ep.23 – getCurComp
Fast Marker Creator After Effects Script
8 Bit After Effects Template
Houdini | FFX Collection