Houdini Solaris – USD & Environment Workflow

本系列教程全面深入地讲解了如何在Houdini Solaris中，遵循专业的USD工作流，从零开始创建一座耸立于云端的科幻风格山脉场景。教程始于使用Gaea2进行程序化地形生成与数据预处理，进而详细剖析了多种云层创建技术，涵盖从单体积云到使用SkyBox框架的大规模天空环境。在材质环节，不仅探讨了为云层优化设计的快速着色器与基于物理的精密着色器，也逐步演示了如何为地形构建基于MaterialX的程序化岩石与雪地混合材质。随后，课程深入USD布局的核心概念，指导如何高效组装与管理包含体积云和科幻Kitbash资产的复杂场景，并分享了独特的视觉开发技巧。最后，通过专业的照明分层设计与COP网络合成，最终完成一幅层次丰富、视觉震撼的史诗级渲染作品。

说明：课程不全，搜集到前4小时22分钟课程(前4部分） 1920X1080 mp4 语言：英语+中英文字幕

Cloudscape intro – Overview : What to expect of this series. (7min)

Cloudscape part 1 – Terrain Creation : Using Gaea2 to create the mountain range and processing data in houdini. (27min)

Cloudscape part 2A – Cloud Creation | Overview : Overview of the cloud generation process and its different methods. Also studying some references to understand how the sky is layered. (7min)

Cloudscape part 2B – Cloud Creation | Framework : Creation of a Cumulus cloud, then applying a simple volume material and lighting setup for lookdev tests. (37min)

Cloudscape part 3A – Cloud Creation | Skybox Intro : Introduction to SkyBox framework to create large cloudy area. (26min)

Cloudscape part 3B – Cloud Creation | Skybox Detailing : Detailing generated clouds created via SkyBox framework. (19minmin)

Cloudscape part 4A – Material | Cloud FastShader : Going through some cheats here to mimic GI/multiscatter within a volume. It’s a decent way for optimizing volumes that doesn’t require any complex look (more background or very thin clouds) while significantly decreasing render times. (13min)

Cloudscape part 4B – Material | Cloud Physical+ : What does it takes to create physically based cloud materials ?? Going through every features we need and making our own custom shader to understand the core concept of it. Karma / MaterialX ONLY, but you can apply the same logic to any other engine. (38min)

Cloudscape part 4C – Material | Shading Intro : It is time to start the lookdev on the mountain since we are into material. Before we dive into it I am doing in this video an overview of the overall process and an introduction to surface Material. (28 min)

Cloudscape part4D – SurfaceMaterial | Master layers : Going step by step into the creation of a “master layer” that will help us create material instantly for our megascan textures. Using it here to create the main Rock and Snow materials that we will then blend to create the final terrain material. (29 min)

Cloudscape part4E – SurfaceMaterial | Terrain Lookdev : Now that our master layers are set up, it’s time for a proper lookdev pass to finalize the terrain material. This one dives deep into procedural logic with MaterialX, giving us full control over how rock and snow layers blend together. (28min)

Cloudscape part5A – Layout | Fundamentals : Diving into the USD concepts that will help us assemble the scene… Reference, Sublayer, Layering, Opinion, Hierarchy, Instancing… reviewing all the methods we have to organize a scene in the most optimized way. (43min)

Cloudscape part5B – Layout | Volume Clouds : Focusing on the volume side of layout…And, as you’ll see, there are a few gotchas with VDBs and clouds that we need to handle to make tools like Stage Manager LOP work smoothly. We’re also pushing procedural cloud layout further with the Instancer LOP to help unlock all sorts of creative possibilities. (36 min)

Cloudscape part6A | Scifi – kitbash : Wrangle assets from killer packs (think Kitbash3D, ArtStation finds, and beyond) to block out some epic 3d scenes. We’ll explore the must-have steps to set up your Houdini project for success: streamlining material assignments, optimizing data flow, and getting everything Solaris-ready. It’s all about building a rock-solid foundation for your next big scene! (23 min)

Cloudscape part6B | Scifi – lookdev tricks: Walking through the prep and polish of one of my scene’s standout buildings using MaterialX. Expect some slick tricks to get futuristic vibes, pulling custom masks from geometry, and nailing material assignments that shine in Solaris. It’s a chill dive into creating eye-catching sci-fi materials that’ll level up your renders. (35min)

Cloudscape part7 – Lighting : We’re crafting a clean hierarchy to streamline layering, nailing a bold keylight, and using gobos to add that extra flair. We’ll break down the first render pass, splitting clouds, sci-fi structures, and mountains into layers for fast iteration and killer compositing material.(50min)

Cloudscape part8 – Compositing : Using copnet to comp and grade the final image ! (1h)