(February 16, 2012) – cmiVFX has released their first video of the brand new Motion Graphics In Houdini training series. This first video will be to test the desire for artists that want to see more of this growing trend of data connection style graphics in the motion graphics and design industries. Typical usages range from flashy opening film credits to data driven statistic animations. This new trend has been emerging over the last few years and has been becoming more and more popular. Houdini gives the user the ability to control data driven graphics interactively with computer input devices for live presentation style graphics as well as high resolution renders for critical pixel scrutinization.

Short Description

Houdini is not just for visual effects. With the availability of Houdini for all platforms and the variety of training materials now available, Houdini is making headway into the world of motion graphics. The procedural nature of Houdini, combined with its powerful dynamics system, make Houdini an important player in visualizing data and allowing graphic artists to express themselves in new and powerful ways. In this tutorial series we are going to look at a current design trend - data connections - and build a procedural system in Houdini to accomplish this task while harnessing all the additional benefits Houdini has to offer. We'll learn how to draw connections between relational points of data (in this case, by proximity), create text readouts of the data, and combine this system with Houdini's dynamics network. At the end of the tutorial, the viewer will know how to create a reusable digital asset to handle this effect, and hopeful! ly learn a few new tricks along the way!

Notice to Viewers

This video is going to be the gateway for cmiVFX to open up to new markets outside of the standard high end visual effects and computer graphics vertical markets by adding motion graphics design videos to its library. Seamless transition will be achieved for those migrating from film and gaming to broadcast media.

Chapter Descriptions

We begin by understanding the add SOP in Houdini and what it needs to draw lines. We explore point order, groups, and attributes. Finally, we look at a practical example or creating particle trails, using attributes and our knowledge of the add SOP.

We discuss ways of finding the nearest point from one location in space to some arbitrary geometry. We make use of the nearpoint() expression, and show a way to affect the nearest returned point with group selection and color.

We introduce point clouds and then roll that into our nearest point solution. First we look at point clouds, in general, making particles flow along a curve. Next, we look specifically at how point clouds and offer a solution to our nearest point problem.

We draw lines between our nearest points and discuss a strategy for cleaning up our resulting geometry. We make heavy use of the ForEach SOP, and encapsulate everything into our final digital asset.

Adam Swaab is a designer, animator, and visual effects artist working in Los Angeles. His film credits include Tron Legacy, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn.

About cmiVFX

cmiVFX is the leader in High Definition Video Training for the Visual Effects Community. Register for FREE and receive hours of FREE content at the cmiVFX Video-on-Demand Player. For additional information about cmiVFX, visit cmivfx.com. © 2012 cmiVFX | cmiStudios. All rights reserved.