Day 24 - Avalanche Previsualization

Avalanche Previsualization

Today I tried out this tutorial, https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1221&Itemid=262

So basically, I'm supposed to create this collision between this slope and boulders. Firstly, I created out the slope by creating out a grid and making it to rotate on x-axis by 58 degrees, increase the rows 15 by 15 and scale 4 by 1 by 3. After that, I dived into the "slope" node and create a mountain node. I increased the height to 1.3

Next, I'll go and create the "boulders". I'll first create another grid, scale it 3.3 by 1 by 0.5 and change the rows by columns to 2 by 2. I'll then change translate y-axis to 13 and z-axis to -1.5.

Lastly, I'll go and create another box as my "source_boulders"

I'll start and make the "slope" object to be a "Rigid bodies > Terrain Object" then I'll make the "boulders" a RBD point object. Then I'll select the box as my instance. For this, when I'm selecting the RBD point object, I'll have to click on the RBD point object instead of the RBD packed object.

After that, I'll go back to "source_boulders" and create a color and null node. After that, I'll go back to the "slope" node to create an object merge for my boulders. Then I'll go and create out an "attribtransfer" node to combine my "attribcreate" and "object_merge". So after that, I'll add a group under "attribtransfer" and named it snow and at the filter expression, I'll add in this filter expression "$CB < 0.8"

Next, I'll create a popnet, dive inside to create a source and interact pop. So as to create the particle simulation to appear when my boxes started to fall down. I've also went to the "source_boulder" node to create a tube and switch so that I can toggle in between boxes and tubes to create more variables. So this is my final work.

However, I still couldn't make the particles to appear after my boxes dropped off. The particles will appear before my boxes drop off. I tried to fix it but I haven't get to solve it. But other than that, other things that is in this animation works well.

This is the directory for this project:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\avalanche_previsualization

Day 23 - Flip Fluid Render & Working With Noises

Flip Fluid

Last week, I did out a flip fluid and I went to test render it out. This is how it would look like but I think that it can be improve.

Working With Noises

Today, I tried out the tutorial whereby it's about noises.
This is the tutorial link:
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2567&Itemid=132

Firstly, I tried out with the pointwrangle node. I learned that we can refer to vopsop node if we are unsure what is the expression we should use in the pointwrangle. I created out this random wave bar lines using the expression.

By inserting this "Frame" node inside the VEXpression, it allows me to create a short animation whereby when it's playing, the random bar lines will start to move.
We can actually create other pattern of the bar line by changing the VEXpression.

So after that, I went through this tutorial whereby Mr Ari taught about the different noises waveforms. I screenshot some of the notes down. This is the 2D examples for examining the waveforms.

This is the 3D examples.

I went on to explore some simple vopsop nodes that I can apply to create basic mountain shader.

By swapping some of the nodes, we can create different effects out.

We can also use a switch node to check out different noise waveform even easier by browsing the motion view:

After that, I went on to do one of the example whereby I'm suppose to create this noise and I've made a switch for different geometry so that I can switch and look at the noise being placed on different geo such as "torus", "sphere" and "grid".

Basically, I'm following this steps and created out these nodes to form out.

This is my overall workflow.

After I created out this noise workflow, I'm able to switch this noise to different geometry.

So this is the final look of it.

Day 20 - Flip Fluid & Procedural Animation Text

Flip Fluid

I found this flip fluid tutorial in the houdini website so I decided to give it a try. 
Here's the link:
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2157&Itemid=262
Firstly, I started to create out a grid then selecting the primitives, I did some polyextrude. After that, in order to clean up the bottom edges of the landscape that we are using as our base for the water to fall down, I selected the edges and loop it then I'll edit and scale it down. So when the edges are still selected, I'll add in a polycap and make the landscape geo that I created into a static object.

I've also did some changes after I made the landscape geo into a static object by diving into the autodopnetwork and rename the static object as landscape so that it will be clear enough. Then I'll turn on the show collision guide geometry and increase the uniform division to 100. 

Next, I went on to create an emitter for the water fluid using a grid. I'll then select the grid then select the emit particles fluid.

I'll dive into that autodopnetwork and selecting the "flipsolver1", I'll adjust the box till it's only covering the landscape.

I want the fluid to flow down and got deleted, not accumulating particles inside so I'll go to the flipfluidobject > properties > initial data and tick on closed boundaries and uncheck the "+z axis".
Next, I go to my emittergeo and add a mountain and vopsop inside.

In the vopsop, I'll add in this nodes and now, my flip fluid is in this state.

I've also adjusted the height of the highest peak of my landscape to make the fluid collision to have more impact.

After that, I went to export the particles out and isolate the "particles","vel" and "surface". After that I created a vopsop inside the particle_fluid to create the randomness of the particles flowing.

I went back to the particle_fluid and create another delete node, changing the entity > points and operation > delete by expression. Then I'll add in this expression in the filter expression: "$CR<0.8" to see the filtered particles.

I'll create another dopnetwork and add a popobject and a popsolver. Inside the popsolver, I'll add a source and adjust the settings accordingly.

I'll make the landscape into a static object after I go back to the landscape geo and make the visability tab to polycap. I'll then dive back to the spraysim > popsolver > voppop and create out these nodes.

After that, I've also created out another geo for the spray and in it, I've created dopimport and box respectively. So this is the end result of my flip fluid, I'll do a test render out and post here.

This is the directory for my project:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\flipfluid_files

Procedural Animation Text

Tutorial link: https://vimeo.com/17039552
I found this tutorial in the houdini website too however, I couldn't really follow the tutorial well and I can't find any reference file for that. But throughout this tutorial, I learned a new tool which is "foreach". It looks something like a copy/instance node and it's quite useful. We can duplicate objects using either primitive/points or other options too. 

This is the directory for my project:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\proceduraltextanimation

Day 20 - Volcano

I went to render out the volcano yesterday and this is the movie file. It still look pixelated.

I've placed this movie file in the workarea:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\volcano

Day 19 - Terrain & Volcano

Terrain

Today I tried to do the procedural modeling, terrain tutorial. This tutorial taught me more about the vopsop functions and adding controls for user to adjust the terrain more easier. I started off by creating my first vopsop and make out the shape of the terrain first. I used the default and available terrain map as my terrain. Then in this "vopsop_make_terrain", I added these nodes inside to create the displacement for the terrain first.

After that, I'll have to normalise the curvature of the terrain so I'll create another vopsop for that.

Next, to create the slope and peak, I'll create another vopsop network.

I'll need to have some grass on my terrain so I'll create a vopsop for that.

This is the final look of it.

This is the directory for my project:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\proceduralmodeling_files\module07_files

Volcano

I went to Houdini website to find new tutorials to learn and I saw this volcano tutorial which looks quite interesting so I decided to give it a try. 
This is the link for the tutorial:
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2209&Itemid=262
For this tutorial, I used this pyro fx > volcano.

Firstly, I'm supposed to create a sphere object out then assign the volcano to it. The volcano pyro fx tool did mentioned that the object that we want to make it into a volcano is preferred to be a huge object so I scaled my sphere slightly bigger. After that, I dived into the sphere geometry and did some adjustment to the density.

After that, I went to the autodopnetwork. This visualisation > temperature allows me to see the wireframe of the heat of the volcano.

I want to create the wind control for the volcano so I'll create another geo for that and created out these node.

I did further adjustment so that we can see that the heat on the top part has more density than the bottom.

This is the network for the volumevop.

Initially, I couldn't get the correct look for my volcano, it doesn't look like a volcano as it's lacking of some density volume. So, I went to download the scene file and take a look. I realised that at the AutoDopNetwork > Guides > Multi, my density scale and shadow scale needs to be adjust. So the final look will be like this:

I'll go and render the volcano out as a movie file and post here tomorrow.

This is the directory for my project:
\\MUSHROOMSWISS\test\peishan\volcano

Day 18 - Update for exploded logo tutorial

Explode Logo WIP & Final Video

Yesterday I rendered out both of my WIP and final video for the exploded logo and complied them using after effects.

WIP - Front view of the exploded logo

WIP - Perspective view of the exploded logo

Final - Front view of the exploded logo

Final - Side view of the exploded logo

Day 17 - Exploding Logo & Clouds

Exploding Logo

For today, I continue to finish the exploding logo tutorial. Continuing, I added a point wrangle node at the Logo_Explode and entered these expressions:

v@pos = relbbox(@P);
f@releaseweight = (1 - @pos.z)*ch("duration"); //release over "duration" frames
f@sortweight = (@ptnum/(@Npt-1.0))*ch("duration");
f@release_frame = ch("start_frame") + @releaseweight;

These expression will help to sort out the fractured pieces and let it fractured over the time frame slowly. This is my network for the "Logo_Explode"

Next, I'll move on to do the particles part. For the particles part, I'm using another dopnetwork. I'll need to create an emitter for the particles t oemit out. So I'll have to reference the logo explode into another geo and use that as a static object. After that, I'll dive into both networks and start to work on it. The networks are "DOPNET_POPEmit" and "Particle_Stream_From_Logo_Explode". 

After that, I need to calculate the front face so in the particle stream node, so I'll add in a vopsop and from there, I'll start to create the network. This network can allow me to create a ramp from there so that I can adjust the pattern of the particles easily.

After I've completed the part for the particles, I'll make the particle stream to be a "Source Particle Emitter". So now, after the logo exploded, there will be some particles emitting from the logo out as part of the fractured simulation. I want to add some colors to my particles, so after the particles are created, I'll add in this attribwrangle node and write this expression down. 

@Cd = {1,0,0};
@pscale = fit01(smooth(0,.2,@age), 0.001,0.0123);

This can ensure that the scale of the particles are correct too.

These are some of the screenshots for my exploded logo. I'll render out my work-in-progress and the final exploded logo into a movie file and put it in my daily tomorrow.

Clouds

I went to Houdini website to find another tutorial and I found one which is the cloud simulation. 
This is the link for the tutorial:
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2498&Itemid=261

I'm using the "Cloud Rig" to create the following object. For just creating one cloud, it's more of adjusting it's setting to look like a cloud. Basically, I'll have to create a box as my basic shape for the cloud then scale it to a rectangle if we are creating a single cloud for test out. After that, when we used the Cloud FX > "Cloud Rig", they'll have a "Cloud_from_box_object1" created out for us and we can dive in to adjust the settings.

For the "cloud1" settings, the Volume > Uniform Sampling allow us to increase the cloud cell sizes. Moving on, the density tab would allow us to use a ramp which is the default to adjust the density and making it look random. Then for the scatter shapes tab, there are a lot of settings which we can adjust to make it the look that we want. The last tab flatten, allow us to make our cloud look even realistic when we flatten the bottom. Further adjustment can be made in the "cloudnoise1" tab. We can adjust stuff such as amplitude, octaves. Then lastly, for the cloud light tab, we can change the light color and this would ensure that our cloud would change to the color that we want. I've made it to be slightly grey. There's a light intensity tab which allow us to increase or decrease the brightness. If we decrease the light intensity, it would look like a dark storm cloud. So I tried to render out one cloud.

I've also learned how to make multiple clouds and creating out CG sky. First, I'll have to off the "Cloud_From_Box_Object1" visibility tab and turn on "Box_Object1". Next, I'll change the box_object1 size to "80 0.5 80". Then I'll turn back the "Cloud_From_Box_Object1". I realised that the clouds aren't appearing. So I'll have to go back to Cloud1 > Volume > Uniform Sampling and increase it to 300 or more. So now, my clouds appeared. I'm changing the settings for Scatter Shapes > Shape Size to 0.6 and Scatter Multiplier to 0.15 and Smoothing > 1. I've also continue to adjust the clouds.

This is my final cloud but I think that I can improve even further to make it look more realistic.