Solaris

Discover the power of Solaris, a complete suite of look development, layout and lighting tools built for USD workflows. Artists can create, manage and refine USD-based scene graphs from asset creation all the way to final render.

Enter the World of USD

Developed by Pixar, Universal Scene Description is open-source software that can interchange 3D scenes composed of many different assets, sources, and animations, as part of a collaborative workflow. Solaris offers node-based tools for creating, managing and executing USD in your projects. Artists can use Solaris in Houdini to create while USD works quietly in the background or you can use Solaris to implement a full USD-based pipeline for your studio.

ASSETS

Assets can be packaged up with geometry, materials and textures then referenced into your scenes and shots.

The Solaris Component Builder is a great tool for quickly creating high quality USD assets. Variants can be built to provide options for artists when they are setting up shots.

LAYOUT

Assets can then be placed into a larger scene to create digital sets. These can then be saved out as a USD file that references the original assets to keep files efficient.

New versions of assets can be layered on top of old ones using sublayers. The Stage Manager in Solaris can help manage the layout of assets.

LIGHTING

Lights and cameras can be layered into the scenes to begin defining the look of your shots.

A senior lighter can map out the general lighting scheme which can be tweaked non-destructively for each shot using the Solaris Light Mixer. Lights and cameras also become part of the USD pipeline.

RENDERING

Renderers such as Karma XPU can use the Hydra rendering architecture to create previews and final shots.

Render settings can be set up and stored as USD to become available at render time. Solaris has a Render Gallery to help manage the creative process.

Artist Workflows

Solaris is designed to meet the needs of artists working on the lookdev, layout and lighting of shots.

Stage Manager

An updated Stage Manager node makes it easier to place and manage the layout of a shot.

SOP Workflow

When you go from LOPs to SOPs , geometry from the LOP level is shown ghosted and you can access LOP level cameras.

Quick Surface Material

New Quick Surface Materials let you work with texture maps at the LOP level without diving into a Material Library.

Clones

Clones now support multiple AOVs and work with Snapshots.

Scene Management

Solaris provides a powerful node-based environment for look development, enabling artists to manage complex scene layouts, lighting, and material assignments in a non-destructive and highly flexible way

Shot Builder

H21 | The new shot builder tools simplify working with USD by providing structured project organization, streamlined multi-shot workflows, and basic asset versioning. This makes collaboration and iteration easier for lighting artists and smaller studios.

Live Render in Gallery

H21 | The updated render gallery introduces live rendering and image comparison tools, enabling lighting artists to preview near-final frames, adjust settings safely, and streamline iteration with faster, more accurate feedback.

Scene Graph Expansion

H21 | The updated scene graph tree improves clarity and efficiency by visually highlighting instanced assets, complex hierarchies, and performance-heavy elements, helping lighting artists better manage and navigate complex USD-based scenes.

Time Samples

H21 | The enhanced scene inspection tools allow lighting artists to view and analyze time-sampled animation data directly, making it easier to debug motion blur issues and verify animated properties within complex scenes.

SOLARIS IN PRODUCTION

Fallout & Red One | RISE

At RISE, Solaris has become the backbone of a USD-based pipeline, giving the team scalability and efficiency for complex projects. On Fallout, it streamlined large environments and FX by reusing caches and enabling quick shot-specific changes. On Red One, it supported creature and environment work, including testing Houdini’s feather tools with detailed viewport previews. Together, USD and Solaris let RISE build reusable templates, reduce coding, and future-proof their pipeline.

Lighting

When working with lights, USD helps you manage interactions as they become more complex. Ensuring artistic intent while maintaining performance and avoiding visual artifacts demands precise control and iterative fine-tuning.

Geometry Lights

H21 | USD now supports decorating primitives with emissive shaders that act as actual lights, giving lighting artists more control through features like light linking and interactive adjustments.

Prims from Points

H21 | The new USD Configure Prims from Points tool lets lighting artists easily convert points into light primitives and assign properties, streamlining the process of populating scenes with complex lighting setups.

Physical Sky

The new Karma Sky Atmosphere LOP is a realistic volumetric planetary atmosphere system.

Light Instances

Instancing of lights is now supported to allow for more efficient rendering of many light sources in a single shot.

Light Filters

Light Filters provide a way of layering detail into the projected light. It can be used as a gel or to define a gobo or to project an image to a screen. Material X nodes are used to add this ability into the lighting workflow in Solaris. These powerful nodes can be added to multiple lights at the same time.

Slap Comp

Slap comps are crucial in lighting pipelines because they allow artists to quickly combine rendered layers, passes, or plates to create a rough composite for review that provides fast feedback.

Live Render | Copernicus

H21 | The file COP now supports live rendering, allowing lighting artists to pull rendered pixels directly into compositing for real-time adjustments, layering, and post-processing without saving intermediate files.

Image Filters

H21 | The new image filters feature lets lighting artists apply and adjust post-process effects in real time, offering flexible control to preview, tweak, and even bake visual adjustments directly into renders.

Solaris Nodes

Here some of the nodes to look out for when working with Look Development in Houdini. These nodes let you initiate, add properties to set up and control USD-based shots and sequences.