Just curious to follow up on my own thread. Any chance one of the extremely folks at SideFX Labs are working on anything in this area? I would love to be able to swap a standard Metahuman head with a custom head and I'm sure for the more technically minded this is trivial. For someone with my skills, it's pretty far outside my comfort zone.
I know Epic has invested in SideFX, so I've been hoping to see more tools being developed outside of things like terrain and prop-related tools.
Thanks,
Paul
Found 73 posts.
Search results Show results as topic list.
Houdini Lounge » Metapipe for Houdini?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Houdini Lounge » Long hair grooms?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Greetings!
I'm digging in to the various ways to customize Metahumans and one thing I was looking into was creating custom hair. I've found a few good examples, but so far all the examples of either grooming or transferring hair from Houdini to Unreal always use short hair as the example.
I tried to use the same workflow with long hair, and it starts out fine, but as I'm trying to use guidegroom (sculpt mostly) it eventually gets out of control and my attempts to undo what I've managed to do always ends with me starting over.
So, is there a trick or some words of wisdom anyone can share when it comes to creating long (in this case curly) hair?
I feel like this is a good way to quickly customize a Metahuman since the hair is extremely limited in MHC.
Thanks,
Paul
I'm digging in to the various ways to customize Metahumans and one thing I was looking into was creating custom hair. I've found a few good examples, but so far all the examples of either grooming or transferring hair from Houdini to Unreal always use short hair as the example.
I tried to use the same workflow with long hair, and it starts out fine, but as I'm trying to use guidegroom (sculpt mostly) it eventually gets out of control and my attempts to undo what I've managed to do always ends with me starting over.
So, is there a trick or some words of wisdom anyone can share when it comes to creating long (in this case curly) hair?
I feel like this is a good way to quickly customize a Metahuman since the hair is extremely limited in MHC.
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Metapipe for Houdini?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
And, found a nice talk on the subject, although I'm really only interested in transferring a head model over since I'm dealing with all human-like characters: https://youtu.be/KHPDgFGOrao?si=ykZWwUKHFgEWYXTH [youtu.be]
Houdini Lounge » Metapipe for Houdini?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I did come across this video from a couple of years ago: https://youtu.be/bp6j8tTOcRw?si=koouix9sRLFgHrjo [youtu.be]
Houdini Lounge » Metapipe for Houdini?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I've been using Unreal for a while now for everything but creating games. One thing that has interested me is creating custom metahumans. The built-in mesh to Metahumans is ok, but what you end up with is not really what you've started with.
I was at Unreal Fest this past October and sat in on the Blue Dot presentation & really liked what they'd accomplished, but a lot of the discussion didn't get into any details other than: Metahumans have a thing called Metahuman DNA that allows you to really customize the mesh. The slides and videos they showed might have been helpful to someone who's technically inclined, but that's not me - I'm squarely in the artist category.
I came across a tool called Metapipe: https://artstn.co/m/d5JYr [artstn.co] which looks very interesting, but it's a Maya-only tool.
The free version includes the Python files, but I assume there's nothing about the way Python works with Maya that relates to using Python with Houdini. However, it might have some useful information for technically-minded people.
Anyway, I was just curious to see if anyone out there knew of a similar tool for Houdini or had worked out this process in Houdini that is "artist-friendly".
-Paul
I was at Unreal Fest this past October and sat in on the Blue Dot presentation & really liked what they'd accomplished, but a lot of the discussion didn't get into any details other than: Metahumans have a thing called Metahuman DNA that allows you to really customize the mesh. The slides and videos they showed might have been helpful to someone who's technically inclined, but that's not me - I'm squarely in the artist category.
I came across a tool called Metapipe: https://artstn.co/m/d5JYr [artstn.co] which looks very interesting, but it's a Maya-only tool.
The free version includes the Python files, but I assume there's nothing about the way Python works with Maya that relates to using Python with Houdini. However, it might have some useful information for technically-minded people.
Anyway, I was just curious to see if anyone out there knew of a similar tool for Houdini or had worked out this process in Houdini that is "artist-friendly".
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » New Quadremesh guide attribute usage?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Yeah, I saw that but Houdini users are an innovative bunch, so you never know. Often the docs say something is impossible, then someone uploads a video to YouTube showing how to do that exact thing. :-)
Houdini Lounge » Introducing the Artist Directory [beta]
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
You should consider adding in a way to highlight universities that are graduating folks who know Houdini for those companies looking for new talent. I wish we taught it, but at the moment Unreal Engine is all I've been able to squeeze in.
Houdini Lounge » New Quadremesh guide attribute usage?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Thanks! I appreciate it. So it looks like what you're doing is similar to what you can do in the Labs Voxel Remesh, right?
But isn't there a way to actually draw curves along the surface to use as guides instead?
And while I'm on that topic, why is it that only draw curve lets you plug in geometry as a projection object? I started to look inside each node, but as soon as I saw VEX inside of curve my eyes glazed over and I decided to just keep working on my project instead of going down that rabbit hole!
But isn't there a way to actually draw curves along the surface to use as guides instead?
And while I'm on that topic, why is it that only draw curve lets you plug in geometry as a projection object? I started to look inside each node, but as soon as I saw VEX inside of curve my eyes glazed over and I decided to just keep working on my project instead of going down that rabbit hole!

Houdini Lounge » New Quadremesh guide attribute usage?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Can anyone point me to examples of how to use the Guide Attribute in the new quadremesh beta tool? The docs don't really give any sort of "artist friendly" answers.
Thanks!
Paul
Thanks!
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Houdini and AI - what do we think?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Something like this for Houdini would be interesting: https://youtu.be/LNtrJVlHObs?si=GjoP4ZQ6yybdJ8J3 [youtu.be]
Houdini Lounge » Orbolt - dead or alive?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I am unable to log in to Orbolt from within Houdini anymore. I click on the circular arrows to refresh things, it opens the login page, I log in, then nothing. I just have a window telling me it's waiting for me to log in.
I saw another thread about replacing Orbolt and I have to agree. It's a good idea that never was implemented very well. Why not integrate an asset store into the launcher and move it outside of Houdini itself? That way you can manage, update, etc., everything without launching Houdini itself.
I was simply trying to use the 3D Coat link HDA. I was able to download it manually, but then what's the point of having Orbolt in Houdini?
-Paul
I saw another thread about replacing Orbolt and I have to agree. It's a good idea that never was implemented very well. Why not integrate an asset store into the launcher and move it outside of Houdini itself? That way you can manage, update, etc., everything without launching Houdini itself.
I was simply trying to use the 3D Coat link HDA. I was able to download it manually, but then what's the point of having Orbolt in Houdini?
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » Had this error for a long time
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I've had this error for months now and I've just ignored it, but recently I reformatted my drive and started over with Windows and the error persists. I believe I've searched for solutions in the past and didn't find anything, so I was curious if there's a known fix for this:
I'm running Windows 11 but since Windows 10 is EOL now, I assume SideFX supports it. I'm tried setting the variable to 0 but then I get another message warning me about slow downs with something else (sorry I forget what it was).
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini has detected a new version of Windows, and may run slower as a result.
Contact SideFX about getting an upgrade to Houdini to address this issue.
To skip printing this message in the future, set the environment variable
TBBMALLOC_PROXY_ENABLE to 0
BEGIN_INFO
-> Success: free (ucrtbase.dll), byte pattern: <C7442410000000008B4424>
-> Fail: _msize (ucrtbase.dll), byte pattern: <E9AF0A0100CCCCCCCCCCCC>
END_INFO
I'm running Windows 11 but since Windows 10 is EOL now, I assume SideFX supports it. I'm tried setting the variable to 0 but then I get another message warning me about slow downs with something else (sorry I forget what it was).
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Sending rigged character to Unreal Engine?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Thanks!
Yeah, we're not having much luck. I teach at MTSU these days and a lot of the students are interested in moving their final projects over to Unreal simply due to the speed of getting decent quality work out of it. But, despite having at least one former Softimage guru (Jeremy Passerin) working on rigging in Unreal, the whole thing is a bit of a mess.
I don't use nor do I teach Maya, but the department uses it exclusively for teaching 3D character animation. I'd hoped, since SideFX has such a cozy relationship with Epic, there might be something brewing between the two that would make it easier to set up a character in Houdini and send it over to Unreal for animation. Then I'd have an excuse to also get the department to consider adding or switching from Maya to Houdini for animation. (my secret plan has been revealed! hahaha!)
If anyone from SideFX Labs sees this - please consider this as an opportunity. Maya to Unreal is still really difficult. Trying to use Omniverse and USD as some kind of middleman is way too difficult and requires too much setup (at least in a university setting). All I really want is the ability to set up a basic rig on a character in Houdini, send it over to Unreal and have the rig go along for the ride. I personally don't care about live-link. I think if the rig makes it over and is functional, it's fine to animate in Unreal.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and info!
Yeah, we're not having much luck. I teach at MTSU these days and a lot of the students are interested in moving their final projects over to Unreal simply due to the speed of getting decent quality work out of it. But, despite having at least one former Softimage guru (Jeremy Passerin) working on rigging in Unreal, the whole thing is a bit of a mess.
I don't use nor do I teach Maya, but the department uses it exclusively for teaching 3D character animation. I'd hoped, since SideFX has such a cozy relationship with Epic, there might be something brewing between the two that would make it easier to set up a character in Houdini and send it over to Unreal for animation. Then I'd have an excuse to also get the department to consider adding or switching from Maya to Houdini for animation. (my secret plan has been revealed! hahaha!)
If anyone from SideFX Labs sees this - please consider this as an opportunity. Maya to Unreal is still really difficult. Trying to use Omniverse and USD as some kind of middleman is way too difficult and requires too much setup (at least in a university setting). All I really want is the ability to set up a basic rig on a character in Houdini, send it over to Unreal and have the rig go along for the ride. I personally don't care about live-link. I think if the rig makes it over and is functional, it's fine to animate in Unreal.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and info!
Houdini Lounge » Sending rigged character to Unreal Engine?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Can anyone point me to any kind of guide on rigging a character in Houdini and then sending it over to Unreal 5.1 for animation?
Thanks
Paul
Thanks
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Lidar bug?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
To follow up. It seems the loader doesn't like spaces in file names. When I tried loading an e57 file that had no spaces in the name, it showed up and loaded just fine.
Houdini Lounge » Lidar bug?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
This could be completely a case of user error, but... When I try to use the Lidar Import node and navigate to a folder with an .e57 point cloud, the file cannot be seen. Even if I change the pattern match to * it refuses to see the file. If I put a .las or .laz file in the same folder, it does see that file.
I also tried forcing Houdini to load the .e57 by manually entering the name, but even though there was no error, nothing actually loaded.
The .e57 and .las files I'm talking about are from the same scan and both will load in CloudCompare without a problem.
-Paul
I also tried forcing Houdini to load the .e57 by manually entering the name, but even though there was no error, nothing actually loaded.
The .e57 and .las files I'm talking about are from the same scan and both will load in CloudCompare without a problem.
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » Transfer texture but change UVs?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Honestly I tried that method and just kept getting a solid white surface. That's why I went the way I did.
Houdini Lounge » Transfer texture but change UVs?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Not transferring UVs. Transferring textures from a scanned object with auto-created UVs from Reality Capture to a retopo'd model with a clean UV set.
We did 22 scans with a Trimble SX-10 and about 3000-3500 photos with Apriltags in them to build out this model and now I need to cut it up into manageable chunks, retopologize and transfer the textures to do a final paint on them.
I think I have it solved now. I chop out sections, build a clean version. Then split the graph where on one side I use UV transfer to get the texture from the scan to the clean version. For the other part of the graph I do a UV unwrap on the clean version (no texture on it). Then I put the clean uv untextured into the first port on the Labs maps baker and the uv transferred version on the 2nd port on the baker and bake the diffuse only from the transferred version to the clean uv version.
This could be the most convoluted way to go, but it seems to work:
We did 22 scans with a Trimble SX-10 and about 3000-3500 photos with Apriltags in them to build out this model and now I need to cut it up into manageable chunks, retopologize and transfer the textures to do a final paint on them.
I think I have it solved now. I chop out sections, build a clean version. Then split the graph where on one side I use UV transfer to get the texture from the scan to the clean version. For the other part of the graph I do a UV unwrap on the clean version (no texture on it). Then I put the clean uv untextured into the first port on the Labs maps baker and the uv transferred version on the 2nd port on the baker and bake the diffuse only from the transferred version to the clean uv version.
This could be the most convoluted way to go, but it seems to work:
Houdini Lounge » Transfer texture but change UVs?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Understood, however I've never before baked anything in Houdini, so I'm not sure where to begin. I'm stuck in my old Softimage brain thinking of using GATOR to transfer things over.
Houdini Lounge » Transfer texture but change UVs?
-
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Hi all -
I'm working on a photogrammetry/LiDAR project and I'm trying to retopologize the model but preserve the basic textures. I've been using the Labs UV Transfer node but I've noticed that node transfers the texture and the UV. But since I'm retopologizing I really just want to project the texture from the scanned model over to the retopo'd model.
Am I over complicating things? Is there a simpler way to achieve this?
Thanks,
Paul
I'm working on a photogrammetry/LiDAR project and I'm trying to retopologize the model but preserve the basic textures. I've been using the Labs UV Transfer node but I've noticed that node transfers the texture and the UV. But since I'm retopologizing I really just want to project the texture from the scanned model over to the retopo'd model.
Am I over complicating things? Is there a simpler way to achieve this?
Thanks,
Paul
-
- Quick Links