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OVERVIEW

Are you ready to start Tabletop Food Simulation and show off your ability to create extraordinary food simulations?

Tabletop Food Simulation is a window to a new world of opportunities in an industry that is ripe with demand for this type of VFX. Right now, many different brands of food products such as ice cream, cereals, coffee, milk, and sweets, have a strong preference for using CGI techniques in their TV commercials and social media video ads.

These projects have traditionally been done in software like RealFlow, Phoenix FD, and Bifrost. However, the latest updates to Houdini have made it the perfect alternative to create this type of simulation.

Houdini is most commonly used to create large-scale simulations such as oceans, seas, rivers, and a host of other elements. However, in this course, you will learn to take advantage of Houdini’s potential to create small-scale simulations quickly and easily.

Through Tabletop Food Simulation, we will create 5 incredible projects from scratch, considering every detail in a step-by-step process, until we produce the final render.

In the shading and rendering section, we will use Solid Angle Arnold, one of the preferred and most powerful rendering engines used in the VFX industry.

After completing Tabletop Food Simulation, you will have the necessary knowledge to face similar projects with confidence. You can also make your own version of each of the projects in the course to create an eye-catching, high-quality Demo Reel.





WEEK 01

We start our journey with a bang!

For our first project, we will create an RBD setup (Rigid Body Dynamics) in which we will make coffee beans fly through the air, producing subtle collisions between them to produce an elegant and eye-catching shot.

This week, you will learn how to set up a project, generate instances, randomize attributes, add speeds, control collisions, and create lights and materials. We will also teach you post-production tricks that save simulation time, and we will finish the project by rendering the final product.



WEEK 02

The road becomes more exciting! Are you eager to know what our second project will be?

During the second week of the course, we will drop blueberries and chocolate chips on a bed of yogurt.

For this project, we will not perform simulations, but take advantage of the procedural workflow to create a deformation setup based on speed. This is fast, efficient, and produces a result of extremely high visual quality.

We will also create shaders for the different elements and will finish with a high-quality render.



WEEK 03

Now, it’s time to simulate!

This week, we will be pouring milk chocolate, coconut cream and caramel on an ice cream bar. To achieve this, we will teach you how to use the Houdini’s Flip Solver.

We will create emitters, work on the different viscosities of each liquid, build shaders, and finish the week with another professional-quality render


WEEK 04

And the simulation work continues!

In the penultimate week of the course, we will be developing one of the most colorful and striking shots possible in food simulations.

We will create a splash using a stream of milk and a strawberry. We will work with various attributes and collisions until we achieve the perfect shape. We will put great emphasis on Viscosity and Surface Tension to prevent the liquid from breaking and losing its shape.

As in the previous weeks, the work will include shading and rendering all the elements.



WEEK 05

Finally, we arrive at our last project!

In the last week of the course, we will create crown splashes, a highly sought-after FX in the industry. For this scene, we will launch about ten strawberries using the new Rigid Bodies workflow, and we will work in detail with the Surface Tension in Houdini until we achieve the perfect shape and motion.

To finish, we will create the materials and render our final product into a stunning scene.



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CREATED BY

The_VFX_School
THE VFX SCHOOL

Our Houdini courses are taught by active professionals, experts in the Houdini software and experienced in the VFX industry, who will be willing to teach you every detail and solve every doubt to succeed in your professional career.

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