Mantra & Houdini 11
Published: Sept 22, 2010 for Houdini 11

Tips for Using Mantra in Houdini and a review of the latest features in Houdini 11

This talk will cover rendering with Mantra, with a particular emphasis on Houdini 11. The new shading workflow will be presented based around the Surface Model VOP. All examples will be explored using IPR, including an overview of new IPR features.

The discussion will include:

• Light Objects including the updated Light and Environment Light assets with examples of scenes rendered using different types of lighting.
• The new Indirect Light with examples of indoor scenes rendered both with PBR and standard rendering using photon maps and will showcase the new "portal" mode for environment lights.
• Examples of how to render different types of surfaces using this node, along with a technical overview of how the node works.
• Subsurface scattering.
• A brief overview of new volume rendering features in Houdini 11 including uniform volumes and VEX volume procedurals.

Instructor: Andrew Clinton is a software developer at Side Effects with a specialization in rendering. Andrew is responsible for research and development of the mantra renderer including development of new features, performance enhancements, and maintenance. Andrew has been working at Side Effects since 2005 and has made contributions to Houdini versions 8 through 11.

Download the sample files

Download the movie in QuickTime format (239Mb)