ANIMATION & RIGGING
Explore APEX, a brand new context designed to deliver an animator-friendly environment that is built using a robust procedural rigging toolset.
APEX is being released in BETA with Houdini 20.
APEX Animate
Animators will work with the new APEX Animate node to load the APEX rig and use the controls to set keyframes. Selection sets and Locators let you quickly block out a shot while Animation sliders help you manage in-between motion.
Selection Sets
Locators
Animation Sliders
Animator Workflow
This new suite of tools is designed to help you animate more efficiently.
This ensures a fluid viewport-centric experience that can handle multiple characters at once.
Multi-Character
Constraints
Reference Video
Curve Graph Enhancements
Dynamic Motion
Add more realistic motion to characters and props with Dynamic Motion and Ragdoll tools. Now animators can incorporate real physics into their work with complete control throughout the process.
Dynamic Jump
Dynamic Soccer Ball
Ragdoll
APEX Rigging
KineFX brought Houdini rigging to the geometry level where joints are treated like geometry. At first, VEX was used to add kinematics to these characters but this proved inefficient for complex rigs. APEX is a new mid-level graph type that can manipulate geometry as data alongside smaller types like matrices and vectors. This provides a procedural rigging framework that comes with a significant performance boost which ensures a better experience for animators.
Introducing APEX
Everything Geometry
Rig Hierarchy
Rigging Workflow
The new APEX node graph turns all parts of the rig into actual geometry that is stored with your character. The graph can be built up using rig components to define kinematics, control geometry and joint rotations. The APEX rigs integrate well with KineFX workflows such as retargeting and motion editing.
Node Graph
Rig Components
Retarget Workflow
Motion Editing
Electra & Od Studios Rigs
The Electra rig comes with Houdini as test geometry and the Luchador & Chicken can be found in the Content Library. These rigs let you experience the new APEX system - both as an animator and as a rigger. The Luchador & Chicken were created by Od Studios in partnership with SideFX.
Download from Content Library
Starter Rigs
Od Studios Rig Overview
ANIMATION FEATURES AVAILABLE IN:
Houdini CORE | Houdini FX | Houdini Indie | Houdini Education | Houdini Apprentice