Vancouver Film School

Advanced Visual Effects 2: Houdini is taught with a focus in effects simulation. The course emphasizes three subjects: volumes, particles and soft/rigid bodies.

In the first lessons, students learn the basics of Houdini and the differences between Houdini and Maya. They are then introduced to the idea of solvers and volume calculations by creating fire, smoke, clouds and fog. After volumes, particles are introduced and used to create many effects, such as balloons, rain, snow, magic spells, grain, sprites and more. At this point they also start learning a bit of VEX so they can control the particles a bit better. After students are comfortable with volumes and particles, they start working on projects that mix all of them, such as a disintegration effect or liquids. Near the end, they are also familiarized with the unified solver (vellum) and the bullet solver to create soft and rigid body simulations, such as flags, a balloon inflating and popping, a wall breaking, and elements being squished.