LEARN. JUMPSTART VOL.3 – INTRO TO RIGID BODY DYNAMICS

learn. Jumpstart Vol.3: Intro to Rigid Body Dynamics with Adam Swaab

In this tutorial of the learn. Jumpstart series  get your first taste of dynamics in Houdini.  You will create a simple bowling alley simulation, so that you can examine mixing dynamic objects with keyframed and art directed simulation pieces.  You’ll discuss how to get your objects into and out of the DOPS dynamic network and how to influence their properties through SOPS.

CHAPTER BREAKDOWN :

Chapter 1 : Intro
A quick overview of the lesson.

Chapter 2 : Intro to DOPS
Starting with an empty DOP network, we bring our first objects into DOPS and configure our simulation environment. The bullet solver and object representation are examined. We look at how to apply initial velocity to objects, how to change their collision representations, and how to have them interact with keyframed objects.

Chapter 3 : Mixing Keyframes & Dynamics
We look at using the shelf tools to aid in setting up DOP networks and relationships. After that, we show how to bring a keyframed object into DOPS, and then allow the simulation to make it dynamic at a certain point in time.

Chapter 4 : Examine the Bowling Alley SOP Network
The SOP network used to build the bowling alley scene is quickly examined.

Chapter 5 : RBD Point & RBD Fracture Objects
Two methods for bringing in groups of objects into DOPS are shown. First, we look at the RBD point object, then the RBD Fracture Object.

Chapter 6 : Prepare the Bowling Alley Simulation
The bowling pins are converted to packed primitives, and this is brought into DOPS with a RBD Packed Primitive DOP. The rest of the scene is brought into the simulation. Collision geometry is sorted out, and we take a first look at our simulation.

Chapter 7 : Adjusting Pivot Point & Activation
We adjust the pivot points of our bowling pins and create an attribute to control their activation and deactivation in the simulation.

Chapter 8 : Art Directing the Simulation
We rig a 7-10 split by making the 7 and 10 pins far more dense than the surrounding pins. This creates a realistically rigged simulation. We also create an art-directed animation of a bowling ball to bring into the simulation.

Chapter 9 : Move Simulation Data Between DOPS & SOPS
Now that the simulation is completely set up we bring our simulation data out of DOPS and back into SOPS.

Chapter 10 : Quick Look at the RBD Solver
As a final quick chapter, we take a very short look at the standard RBD solver and object properties in Houdini.

NB : This tutorial was made with Houdini version 13. Only small interface changes in Houdini version 15.5 will affect any usage of the tutorials.