LEARN. JUMPSTART VOL.4 – INTRO TO PARTICLES

learn. Jumpstart Vol.4 – Intro To Particles from Adam Swaab

Particles are used to simulate large quantities of objects that would be too cumbersome to animate by hand.  They work in event and rule based systems, allowing animators to quickly and easily create complex natural behaviors that respond to the laws of physics.  In this tutorial, we get a look at a variety of particle setups in Houdini, starting from a simple system and building up to more intricate setups.  This tutorial will become a foundation for later particle works and explorations of the flip fluid solver in Houdini.

CHAPTER BREAKDOWN :

Chapter 1 : Intro

A quick overview of the lesson.

Chapter 2 : Particle Systems

We discuss what a particle system is and how it compares to standard point animation in Houdini.

Chapter 3 : Emitter Properties

Our first particle system. We discuss emitter properties and build a simple system, coloring the particles over their lifespan.

Chapter 4 : Particle Streams

Particle streams and groups are discussed and compared.

Chapter 5 : Image Maps and Textures With Particles

This chapter focuses on using image maps and textures with particles. We see how to inherit texture coordinates and color from an emitter and how to use a texture map to control the distribution of particle birth.

Chapter 6 : Particle Expressions

Here, we get a very quick walkthrough of vops and vex, which we use to adjust our simulation – using properties from an image to affect forces within the particle network.

Chapter 7 : Particle Collision

This chapter shows how to get particles to collide with other objects in the simulation.

Chapter 8 : Confetti

We build a simple confetti simulation to demonstrate adding spin and rotation to particles.

Chapter 9 : Curve Force

We look at the curve force tool to show how particles can be art-directed along a curve guide geometry.

Chapter 10 : Mograph

Getting into some mograph-style simulations, a quick setup for particle trails and streaks is shown.

Chapter 11 : Missile System

Elaborating on previous examples, we build a missile system. Here, missiles are guided toward targets, which explode on contact.

Chapter 12 : Particle Interaction

Particle-particle interaction. We discuss the interact pop and its uses and limitations.

Chapter 13 : True Particle Geometry Collisions

We build our own Bullet Solver particle emitter and show how to swap out proxy geometry for higher resolution geometry after the simulation.

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.