Introduction to Dynamic Oceans in Houdini
This series of Houdini tutorials explores the many different techniques used in Houdini's OceanFX toolset. Software required: Houdini 14.
What you'll learn
This series of Houdini tutorials explores the many different techniques used in Houdini's OceanFX toolset. We'll get started by using the shelf tools, but almost instantly dive deeper into those networks; discussing the details of the nodes at the heart of the OceanFX toolkit, the Ocean Spectrum and the Ocean Evaluate. We'll learn how to set up a quick iterative rendering process for tweaking the look of ocean shaders, then see how to track an object with a fluid tank, which allows us to create large ocean scenes with minimal simulation time. We'll examine the whitewater simulator and see how to effectively integrate elements like spray, foam, and bubbles into our oceans. This series of lessons was developed for an artist with a solid understanding of basic 3d concepts, a familiarity with the Houdini User Interface, and a basic knowledge of Houdini fluids. If you're completely new to Houdini fluids, you can get up to speed quickly by FIRST watching the "Introduction to Fluid Simulations in Houdini" course. Simulating large oceans has always been a challenge for visual effects artist, but Houdini's OceanFX Toolkit makes the process fun and produces great results. Software required: Houdini 14.
Table of contents
- The Ocean Spectrum Node 9m
- The Ocean Spectrum Node's Key Parameters 11m
- The Wind and Wave Amplitude Tabs of the Ocean Spectrum Node 10m
- Rendering the Ocean Surface 8m
- On Demand Displacement and Foam Map Generation 7m
- UV Tiling of Ocean Maps 9m
- The Ocean Volume Shader 6m
- The Ocean Surface Shader 11m
- Foam and Whitecap's 10m
- Using the Flat Tank Tool 7m
- The Wavetank Ocean Source 6m
- The Whitewater Simulation's Foam Element 9m
- Spray and Bubbles 10m